Have your (carrot) cake and eat it too

I think my favorite cake has to be carrot cake. Unfortunately that does not seem to be the go-to for when places decide to make gluten free cakes or cupcakes, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. These carrot cake cookies are super healthy with a ton of spices baked in. It’ll smell like the holidays, you can ask my roommates for confirmation. And talk about having your cake and eating it too: they taste great and are packed with healthiness! I’ve been eating these for breakfast because they’re loaded with oats and almond butter to leave me full throughout the morning. They’re also very portable and sturdy so I can easily grab one on the way out the door and stick it in my bag without worrying about it crumbling or getting chocolate everywhere (my next batch will likely include chocolate though.) So if you’re not quite sure what to do with all your carrots I highly recommend giving these cookies a try! I also suggest playing with the recipe. Don’t have some of the spices? Sub in something else. Don’t have flour? Add some more oats. Don’t have nut butter? Try apple sauce or honey. You really can’t go wrong when making oatmeal cookies. Good luck!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of oats (gluten free for me)
• 1 cup shredded baby carrots (about 20 baby carrots)
• 1/4 cup flour (once again, gluten free if necessary)
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup nut butter of choice (almond butter pictured and taste tested here)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup crushed up trail mix
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tbsp cloves
• 1 egg

Directions:

• Shred your carrots with a hand grater. It might seem time consuming at first but it really doesn’t take long at all
• Mix everything in a bowl
• Refrigerate for 15 minutes so it gets a little less sticky
• Form into balls and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes