National Cookie Month: Carrot-Spice Oatmeal Cookies with Caramel Glaze

My daughter and Friday Guest Blogger Samantha is getting in on the National Cookie Month action- these look scrumptious....

Holy Mackerel, are these cookies yum.... (wait for it) .... meee.  I made these for a young adults Bible study at our apartment last week, and it was a miracle I was able to save a few for pictures.

When I decided I wanted to make cookies for the group, my first instinct was to make something pumpkin.  But after my pumpkin bread a few weeks ago, I didn't want to keep playing the same tune, so I decided to step out of the autumn-box and make something inspired by another fall dessert: carrot cake.  I used to not be a fan of carrot cake, but I realized that the secret is in the spices.  The more spice in a carrot cake, the better.  And a good dose of icing doesn't hurt either.  And that is the principle I applied to these cookies.

Here's What You'll Need:

1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 T honey
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (I did mine in a food processor)
1/2 tbs cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat butter and sugar at high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add egg, honey, and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Add in dry ingredients and mix at low speed until combined.  Add in carrot and spices, tasting as you go to determine the amount of spice you want.  (Generally, my rule of thumb is to add spice until it is just a little bit too spicy; they baking will calm down the spice a little bit.)
3. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough about 1-inch apart on baking sheets.  Bake for about 6 minutes, turn or switch the position of the pans, and bake for another 6-8 minutes.  Let cool on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes, then let cool completely on racks.  Wait until completely cooled before icing.

Caramel Glaze

1/2 stick butter
2 tbs powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs milk or cream

In a small saucepan, melt butter, stirring continuously.  After the butter melts, continue to stir the butter over the heat until it has turned a caramel-brown color.  (Keep an eye on it; don't let it burn!)  Remove from heat.  Mix in sugar, and stir until lumps are mostly gone.  Add vanilla and milk or cream and continue to stir.  The glaze will have a syrup-like consistency.  Let it cool before adding to the cookies.

How you choose to glaze the cookies is up to you.  You could either drizzle it over the cookies while it is in liquid form or let it harden a little so you can spread it on the cookies, more like icing.

(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen)

Be careful! Having these at home could prove to be dangerous, especially any leftover glaze.  Hubby may have caught me eating it with a spoon a couple of times....

Happy weekend!
Samantha