Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

@erin_martian combining all things delicious into one recipe. Carrot – Good. Cake – Good. Oatmeal – Sometimes Good…Sometimes Wack. Cookies- Always, ALWAYS – Good. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
1 c instant oats
¾ c whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 TB coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ c maple syrup
¾ c grated carrots

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup until thoroughly incorporated. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the carrots. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops on the baking sheet. Bake at 325°F for 12-15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

I wanted to make these cookies because I had copious amounts of extra coconut and walnuts on hand…like more than I knew what to do with. Plus, whole-wheat flour, oats, and carrots make this recipe a great nutritional option! I know the recipe doesn’t call for coconut or walnuts, but I love to add them, as well as crushed pineapple, to my carrot cake. I like it when there are a lot of different elements and textures in my carrot cake/carrot cake cookies so this was a perfect option for me. Obviously they are optional. Something else that is optional, something that I would highly recommend, is covering these cookies in a rich cream cheese frosting. They have a low fat and sugar content, so these cookies could use the soft, sweet, fattening, delicious frosting. Serve these for dessert or breakfast.