Carrot Cake Cream-Filled Cookies

My memories of Easter as a kid are mostly of feeling sick at 7 am from eating way too much sugar way too fast (but enjoying every bite) and easter egg hunts.

When I was really young, I was obsessed with making sure the Easter egg hunt was completely fair, making sure by big sister didn’t find any more eggs than me.  We had to count.

When I got a bit older, I would find the eggs, take out the candy and stash it in my basket, then turn  the tradition around and hide the eggs for my parents.  Looking back it’s kinda mean to make them hunt for empty eggs.

The last Easter egg hunt I remember completely broke all tradition.  This time I hid the eggs and then helped my horse find them.  They were filled with apple flavored horse treats he could sniff out.  The tricky part was getting the egg out of his mouth, open, and giving him the treat before he cracked it with his teeth.

I love carrot cake, but I never really associated it with Easter as a child.  As a child I had no interest in cake on a holiday when I am already free to stuff myself with lots of sugar-covered marshmallows, egg-shaped chocolates, or an oversized edible bunny, ears first.  But it’s important to eat your vegetables on such an otherwise sugar-laden holiday.

Just like with the Easter egg hunts, I’m breaking tradition a little here.  I made a cookie instead of cake, and put the frosting in the middle instead of on top.  The flavors are all there though, and you don’t even need a fork.

Carrot Cake Cream-Filled Cookies

Makes 6

Cookie

1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup finely chopped/shredded carrots

1/2 cup raisins soaked for at least an hour

1 TBSP coconut nectar (or liquid sweetener of choice)

1 tsp cinnamon

1. Grind the buckwheat and coconut in a dry blender until it forms a flour.
2. Process the carrots and raisins in a food processor until there are no large chunks left.
3. Add the buckwheat-coconut flour, coconut nectar, salt, and cinnamon to the food processor, and process until it forms a ball.  It should be quite wet.
4. Roll out the dough in between 2 sheets of wax paper until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Cut out 12 circles using a cookie cutter or a jar or a cup or whatever you can find.
6. Place 6 of the circles on the dehydrator tray, and set the other 6 aside (these will be the top layers).

Cream

1 can full fat coconut milk

2 TBSP coconut sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder

1 tsp lemon juice

1. Place the can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight to separate.
2. Scoop the cream off the top of the can into a bowl, and beat it with the whisk attachment of an electric mixer.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and continuing beating until everything is mixed together and it is nice and fluffy.
4. Place in the fridge for an hour or 2 to firm up.

To make the cookies:

1. Scoop about 1/2 TBSP of chilled cream onto each of the 6 cookie bases.
2. With the other 6 cookie rounds, cover the cream and press the edges together to seal the top cookie to the bottom.  It helps to flatten the edges of the top cookie a little beforehand so it is slightly larger than the bottom cookie, but the center is still nice and thick.
3. Dehydrate the cookies on a lined tray for about 2 hours at 115 degrees.  Or you can bake them in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees with the door cracked open.
4. Even though it will be tempting, do not bite into the warm cookies unless you want a mess.  The cream becomes very liquidy when it’s warm, so it will go everywhere.  Put the cookies back in the fridge to chill so the cream solidifies again.  If they have been in the fridge for a while, you may want to let them sit out for 5 minutes before eating so the cream softens a little.  It’s a balancing act.

Happy Easter!