In the bowl of a food processor, pulse shredded carrots until finely grated. Add confectioners’ sugar, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract and flour. Pulse mixture until combined.
Dice the cold butter into small cubes and add to food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You will still see little specks of butter. Test the dough for readiness by squeezing a small amount together in your hand. The mixture is ready when it can be squeezed into a solid dough. If it crumbles at all, pulse the dough three to five more times and check again.
Pour the contents of the bowl onto a clean, dry work surface. Squeeze and pat the dough into a rough rectangle. Roll half of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to ¼-inch thick. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes to firm up, or up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking trays with parchment paper. Working with one sheet of dough at a time, peel back the top layer of parchment, place it back over the dough, flip the sheet over and peel back the other piece of parchment. This process ensures that your dough is not sticking to any parchment paper for easy cookie removal and eliminates the need to flour your work surface while cutting out cookies.
Using a 2 ½-inch cookie cutter, cut cookies and place on prepared baking trays leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Repeat process with second sheet of dough. Extra dough can be re-rolled and cut. Refrigerate again after re-rolling to let the dough rest and become firm again. Bake cookies for 22-25 minutes until golden brown and slightly firm to the touch in the middle. Cool completely before frosting.
Beat cream cheese and butter together with a handheld mixer, a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or by hand with a stiff spatula. Add sifted confectioners’ sugar, pure vanilla extract, pure matcha powder and salt.
Spread frosting on cooled cookies or place frosting in a piping bag with a decorating tip to pipe your desired design.
Enjoy cookies right away or store cookies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for three to four days.
Store-bought shredded carrots in a bag tend to be drier than shredding your own. If your grated carrots seem wet or damp, blot with a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove excess moisture before adding dry ingredients.
To small dice butter, cut a stick in half lengthwise, roll the stick over and cut in half lengthwise again to get four quarters. Slice the butter crosswise seven to eight times.
Matcha can be strong in flavor. Start with the smaller amount and add more to taste, if desired. The frosting will continue to get greener as it sets.
Adjust your baking time if cookies are bigger or smaller than 2 ½ in.
Recipe by pastry chef Jessica Ellington.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse shredded carrots until finely grated. Add confectioners’ sugar, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract and flour. Pulse mixture until combined.
Dice the cold butter into small cubes and add to food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You will still see little specks of butter. Test the dough for readiness by squeezing a small amount together in your hand. The mixture is ready when it can be squeezed into a solid dough. If it crumbles at all, pulse the dough three to five more times and check again.
Pour the contents of the bowl onto a clean, dry work surface. Squeeze and pat the dough into a rough rectangle. Roll half of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to 6 millimeters thick. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes to firm up, or up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 180°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper. Working with one sheet of dough at a time, peel back the top layer of parchment, place it back over the dough, flip the sheet over and peel back the other piece of parchment. This process ensures that your dough is not sticking to any parchment paper for easy cookie removal and eliminates the need to flour your work surface while cutting out cookies.
Using a 6 centimeter cookie cutter, cut cookies and place on prepared baking trays leaving 5 centimeters between each cookie. Repeat process with second sheet of dough. Extra dough can be re-rolled and cut. Refrigerate again after re-rolling to let the dough rest and become firm again. Bake cookies for 22-25 minutes until golden brown and slightly firm to the touch in the middle. Cool completely before frosting.
Beat cream cheese and butter together with a handheld mixer, a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or by hand with a stiff spatula. Add sifted confectioners’ sugar, pure vanilla extract, pure matcha powder and salt.
Spread frosting on cooled cookies or place frosting in a piping bag with a decorating tip to pipe your desired design.
Enjoy cookies right away or store cookies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for three to four days.
Store-bought shredded carrots in a bag tend to be drier than shredding your own. If your grated carrots seem wet or damp, blot with a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove excess moisture before adding dry ingredients.
To small dice butter, cut a stick in half lengthwise, roll the stick over and cut in half lengthwise again to get four quarters. Slice the butter crosswise seven to eight times.
Matcha can be strong in flavor. Start with the smaller amount and add more to taste, if desired. The frosting will continue to get greener as it sets.
Adjust your baking time if cookies are bigger or smaller than 6 ½ cm.
Recipe by pastry chef Jessica Ellington.
Pure Vanilla Extract
