Sunday, February 12, 2012

From me to You: Raw Carrot Cake Cookies. Happy Valentine's Day!


I wish I could take credit for these delicious, healthy cookies but I cannot.  A while back I found these at my local Natural Foods Coop.  I was looking for something to snack on, and these looked perfect.  Can I tell you - they were AMAZING!!  They are super healthy, grain free, nut free, sugar free, and raw. See HERE for my homemade lemon cookies. 
Needless to say, I ate um' all up in like 2 minutes...and of course wanted more, but at nearly $6.00 for a bag...no can do.  So I kept the little bag, made note of the ingredients (only 5), and then started making my own.  It took a while to find the right ratios, but I did it!  And my homemade creation taste just like the store bought variety.  So much more cost effective to make them.  My kids eat these up like gangbusters.  I made my family a batch with Valentine's Day in mind and wanted to share them with you.  I also thought these cookies went well with this month's "Go Ahead Honey" theme hosted by the lovely Heather at Gluten Free Cat.  Wishing you and yours a wonderful Valentine's filled with love and laughter!




Ingredients:
-6.5 ounces of carrots, peeled then grated (3 medium) 
-14 soft dates, pitted and soaked in filtered water for an hour 
-4.5 ounces unsweetened shredded coconut
-1 cup sesame seeds
-1 teaspoon nutmeg 
*(I didn't make these "hot and spicy" but you totally could - for the hot and spicy factor, add in some ginger and/or a pinch of cayenne)

How To:
1.  In food processor fitted with the s-blade, add grated carrots and dates.  Blend well.  
2.  In another bowl, add coconut, sesame seeds, and nutmeg.  Mix well. 
3.  Add carrot and date mixture to coconut, sesame seeds, and nutmeg and with clean hands, mix well. 
4.  Spread out "dough" on a non stick surface, I use this (spray the mat with a little oil before you spread out the dough) and then make your desired cutouts.
5.  The dough is a little tricky to work with, but you'll get it.  My advice is to use a metal spatchula - slide on the cookie and then slide off (the slide action works well).  It took me a while to find my groove.  You can make any shape; I also made cute little carrot cake balls (see below). 
6.  Place the cutouts in your dehydrator (on a mesh fitting) and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 24 - 30 hours.  

Notes:
*These cookies don't get crispy hard like the store bought.  They are slightly chewy and soft.  However, you will get that super crispy texture if you dehydrate longer.
*I put my dehydrator in the laundry room and just forget about it.  I make a batch at night and they are ready the following night. 
*If making the cute little carrot cake bites, dehydrate 105 degrees for 12-15 hours.  

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A big thanks to Heather for hosting this month's theme!
Shared on: 
Just Another Meatless Monday, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Monday Mania, Ruth's Real Food 101 (Mondays), Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays,  Traditional Tuesdays, Fat Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays, Pennywise Platter, Miz Helen's Country Cottage,  Lunch Box Love Fridays, , Wellness Weekend, Allergy-Friendly Friday, Freaky Friday, Fresh Bites Fridays, Raw Foods Thursday, Raw Foods Thursday 
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32 comments:

  1. Nancy @Real Food, Allergy FreeFebruary 12, 2012 at 8:01 PM

    Brilliant! I can't wait to try these!

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    1. Thanks Nancy! :-)

      Hugs,
      --Amber

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  • Amber, I found your blog searching the web for these exact cookies! I purchased these at my local Health Food Store and fell in love with them. They are $5.00 a bag here and that is just too expensive for the amount I can eat! Thank you sooooo much for figuring out the recipe. I am a follower forever

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    1. My pleasure. I hope you enjoy them!

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  • What a find! Those carrot cake wafers are my 16yo daughter's favorite too. I even gave her two bags as the treat portion of her birthday present last month!
    Have you perfected the lemon ones? Those are my favorites, although the carrot run a close second. ;)

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    1. Hello There. They finally started carrying the lemon at my natural foods Coop and I made them:

      https://thetastyalternative.com/2012/04/raw-licious-lemon-cookies-scd-friendly.html

      I think these are my favorite!!

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  • I am so thrilled to find this recipe! I did the exact same thing as you...bought those little cookies (same brand!) at my health food store to take to a picnic for my little ones. Although I'm very used to converting recipes to GF, I have very little dehydrator experience except drying sprouts, culturing yoghurt, etc, and with four babies 5 and under, I don't have time to experiment. I'm totally making these. Thanks SO much for taking the guesswork out of it.

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    1. Hi Lisa,

      Yeah! Fun to find another lover of these little cookies! I do hope you enjoy them. This recipe makes a TON! As stated in the post though, they didn't get super crunchy (but they might if you leave them in longer). The cookie balls are a big hit too with the kids. Easy to snack on. :-)

      Please let me know if you like them.
      Have a great week.

      Be Well,
      --Amber

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    2. I made these the other day. The texture is beautiful (I left them in a few extra hours, and they were nice and crisp), and I had no problem transferring the cookies to the dehydrator. My only observation is that mine weren't as sweet as the storebought ones. It could have been because I didn't weigh out the carrots and our ideas of medium are different;-) or my carrots might have been on the strong side instead of sweet. In any case, I'm going to weigh the carrots next time. Otherwise they were perfect, and boy do they make a fantastic snack to take on outings for my gluten-fearing family! Thanks again so much for the recipe!

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    3. Oh, and I meant to add that I fermented and dried the sesame seeds ahead of time to make them even more digestible, and it worked great.

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    4. Hi Lisa,

      I would love to know how you did that!! I soaked the sesame seeds for the lemon version, but didn't ferment. Would love to learn more about this from you. :) Do you think that affected the sweet flavor?

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    5. Hi Lisa,

      I definitely think the quality and sweetness of the carrot will affect the overall sweetness factor. I found these to be sweet enough, but I'll be honest, I am very sensitive to sweet, so just a little goes a long way for me. For example, whenever I made ice cream or smoothies, I always have to add more sweet for my husband, as it's just not enough for him while it's perfect for me. So funny how we all have such different sensitivities. So I like your thoughts on weighing the carrots, and I would add in a few mores dates next batch. You could also do 5-7 drops of stevia. Let me know how it works out and if you find your preferred level of sweetness. :-)

      Great questions today! I can't thank you enough for checking in. And I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I recently made the lemon cookies and they are quite delicious!

      Have a great rest of your week.

      Be Well,
      --Amber

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    6. For fermenting, I just soak them for 7-24 hours in an acid medium. I cover the seeds with water, then add several tablespoons of whey, kefir, yogurt (or if you don't do dairy--I'm new to your site--you can use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice) and let soak in a warm place. The fermentation is subtle, and while it definitely makes them taste a little more "earthy," I don't think it affected the sweetness...I think my carrots were really strong. I then dry them in my dehydrator and freeze them to be used in tahini grainless granola bars, etc. I've been fermenting and sprouting our nuts, seeds, and GF grains for years to reduce phytates, and while it was recently called into question how much fermenting/sprouting reduces phytates, I just know this celiac girl feels SO much better off of food prepared this way that I keep doing it.

      After I read your reply that you're sensitive to sweet, I thought that I don't usually like things super-sweet either, and I realized what part of the problem might have been. I gave them to my children last night to test, and they rejected them. I was so irritated (because I made 10 dozen!) Today they ate them up like crazy. The difference was that I offered them last night after supper, and they had had a rare treat for dessert...I made a grainless red velvet torte with red beets and it was quite sweet, so of course the cookies didn't taste sweet to any of us after that. Next time, I'll make sure I have nice sweet carrots and weigh them accurately, but I think our taste buds were off after the sweet torte. Thanks for your reply. I'm off to try the lemon ones next. I heart lemon :-)

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    7. Thank you for this information!! I don't know much about fermenting. But I do this to my kid's oatmeal. I'll have to start with seeds too.

      I'm so glad your family enjoyed the cookies. Your grainless red velvet torte sounds amazing! Wow! Yes, I can see the issue there.

      I hope you enjoy the lemon cookies too. They are my favorite.

      Have a great rest of your week.

      --Amber

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  • Heather @Gluten-Free CatOctober 5, 2012 at 5:35 AM

    Oooh, I remember how much I loved these when you shared them with Go Ahead Honey! The ingredients are so simple, wholesome, and delicious...I love that about your recipes! Thanks for linking them up to Raw Foods Thursdays.

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  • I would dearly love to try these! Has there been a change in the recipe for converting to conventional oven yet?

    Great website!

    Melissa

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    1. Hi There,

      Well, my advice would be to set your oven to the lowest temp and cook for about 15 minutes, then check every 5 or 10 mins for crispness. They will surly get crunchy in a regular oven. Let me know what works best for you.

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  • Am so happy to have found this - bought a bag our last trip to the states and loved them! Question about the carrots - do we weight before or after peeling and any trimming?
    Also, any chance you're working on the ginger snap or spirulina ones? :) didn't see the lemon ones - but will definitely try your recipe!

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    1. Good question. The weight is before they are peeled and grated. And yes...the ginger snaps are next on my list to make!!! Can't wait. Stay tuned. :-) Here is the link to the lemon: https://thetastyalternative.com/2012/04/raw-licious-lemon-cookies-scd-friendly.html

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