Spiced Carrot, Orange & Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These delicious, soft and chewy cookies were inspired by one of my dad’s past girlfriends.
Denise was an incredibly beautiful woman inside and out. I always looked forward to visiting her and my dad in the time they were together. Not only did I love her company… but I also loved her baking. My favorite recipe of hers was for these spiced orange-carrot cookies, I could eat an entire batch if she let me. I don’t know what it was about them… maybe the combination of the allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, or maybe it was the moist alluring texture of the cookie itself! Whatever it was, it was working for me!
Sadly, Denise passed away a while after her and my dad separated. When I heard the news I was devastated. She left us all far too soon…
Shortly after I found out about her passing, I was scrolling through the photos on my phone and what did I find? Her cookie recipe! I decided that I would do my best to recreate these magnificent little treats, but I would of course make them gluten-free and vegan. SO, after many trial-and-error attempts, I have finally created my own version. I added some super dark chocolate and toasted pecans to take them one step further, and holy smokes - I think Denise would be proud.
SO, wanna make some cookies? I promise you won’t be disappointed. Your kitchen will be enveloped in some pretty incredible aromas, and your tastebuds will thank you for the adventure. Let’s do this!
Spiced Carrot, Orange & Chocolate Chunk Cookies - aka ‘The Denise’
Makes 18 cookies
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup vegan butter
1 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2 flax eggs
3 tbsp fresh orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1.5 tbsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1.5 cups grated carrot (squeeze out the extra juice through cheesecloth)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup toasted pecans (optional)
1/2 cup super dark chocolate, roughly chopped, or chocolate chips
2 tbsp hemp hearts
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper
In a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together the vegan butter, sugar, vanilla, flax eggs, orange juice, and orange zest
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and allspice
Slowly incorporate your dry ingredients into the wet until combined
With a spatula, fold in your remaining ingredients - the carrot, coconut, oats, pecans, dark chocolate, and hemp hearts
Cover batter and chill in the fridge for about half an hour
Once chilled, begin scooping your cookies! I use a medium-sized cookie scoop, but using a regular spoon would work as well. Aim for your scoops to be about 2 tbsp in size - the recipe should make 18 cookies
Gently press down on your cookies before putting them in the oven - they don’t spread much
Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden - they should bounce back a little when you touch them!
If you can, let them rest for 10 minutes or so, just to let the chocolate reset a little bit. I totally get it if you can’t wait though, I usually can’t!
Enjoy!
If you try this recipe, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment, share this post, and don’t forget to tag your photo #thelittlestoat on Instagram!