Carrot Cake Cookies

I love these cookies. My mom used to make them all the time when I was little, and I decided to include them in my Christmas baking this year. The dough will be a bit dry at first because it gets its moisture from the carrots. This is a very soft cookie. It also lasts several days longer than most cookies and tends to taste better after a day or so because the flavor of the spices start to come out. The citrus glaze also adds a lot of flavor to the cookie. I brought these to a Christmas party and gave them as part of my baked goods gifts and people loved them. I will definitely start making these cookies more often.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
½ cup margarine or butter, softened
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 ½ cups loosely packed shredded carrots
½ cup dark seedless raisins
1 (3 ½ -ounce) can flaked coconut (1 1/3 cups)
1 (3-ounce) can pecans, chopped
Citrus Glaze (recipe follows)

About 2 ½ hours before serving or early in the day:

Into a large bowl, measure first 10 ingredients and ¼ cup water. With mixer at low speed, beat ingredients until well blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Stir in carrots, raisins, coconut, and pecans until well mixed.

Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, about 1 inch apart, onto ungreased large cookie sheets; flatten slightly. Bake cookies 20 to 25 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned but still soft in center. With pancake turner, remove cookies to wire racks to cool.

When cookies are cool, prepare Citrus Glaze. Drizzle glaze over cookies; let dry 30 minutes or until glaze is set. Store cookies in tightly covered container.

Citrus Glaze: In small bowl, mix ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, 2 ½ teaspoons lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth.