Mise en Place the Cookie Ingredients

• To see how Mise en Place can benefit you, see The Finer Cookie’s post on why everyone should Mise en Place.
• Coarsely shred the carrots and set aside.

• Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add the two sugars and stir until combined. Keep warm and fluid.

• Separate 1 large egg and set aside the egg yolk. To learn more about separating eggs, see The Finer Cookie’s post on How to Separate Eggs.
• In another bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon and salt.

• Combine the oats, carrots and raisins.

• Finely chop the pecans and set aside.

Assemble the Cookie Dough (BAKE at 350ºF)

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Pour the melted butter/sugar mixture into the flour, spices and salt. Stir to combine.

• Add the egg yolk and blend thoroughly. Avoid adding the egg yolk to the hot butter and sugar. This could cook the yolk and reduce the cookie’s ability to hold together.
• Mix in the oats, raisins and carrots. Stir to combine.
• At this point, feel free to add the pecans to the cookie dough. Stir well. Alternately, you can roll the cookie dough in the pecans to create a nutty crust. I added the pecans to the dough and saved a step.
• Set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• At this point, remove the butter and cheese (cream or goat) from the fridge and let it warm to room temperature.
• Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or cooking liners and set aside.
• If you have a #70 scoop, set it in your workspace.

Bake the Carrot Cake Cookies at 350ºF

• Roll dough into balls that measure 1/2 inch in diameter or that weigh .65 ounces/19 grams each.

• If you held the pecans aside, roll each dough ball in the pecans.
• Set each cookie on the tray. Leave some space between the cookies without crowding them. They don’t spread much.
• Once all the cookies are rolled, make a deep, decisive indentation in each cookie. When the cookies bake, the indentation will fill in a bit and become less deep.

• Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on the bottoms.

Mix the Cream Cheese Filling

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter, cheese of your choice and the confectioners’ sugar until very smooth. See The Finer Cookie’s post on How to Cream Butter.
• If you choose, fill a ziplock bag or a piping bag and get ready to fill the cookies.

• Fill the center of each cookie either with two spoons or a piping bag. A piping bag makes short order of this job!

• Continue to fill each cookie until they are complete.

• Now, go ahead and enjoy them. Store in an air-tight container and keep in the fridge.