"Pleasure is the carrot dangled to lead the ass to market; or the precipice."

- Robinson Jeffers

When I was 12 years old, I had my first slice of carrot cake with this thick layer of cream cheese frosting. It had raisins and was very sweet. Too sweet even for this sweet tooth. The frosting made my teeth ache and my tummy unsettled. Yet there was something so comforting with every single bite. It was too much and I didn't have a slice for a very long time. I think that sweetness was enough to last me a lifetime.

Fast forward to a decade later and I decided to try my hand at vegan carrot cake. Of course I've baked traditional carrot cakes before, with eggs, copious amount of sugar and a heart attack inducing cream cheese frosting. But just because I'm vegan doesn't mean I should miss the fun, too.

The thing about baking carrot cake is it just bloody takes a long time. All the shredding. All the waiting to cool. The preparation of the frosting. It's exhausting. I do love carrot cake, I love baking a big cake, but I don't always like the intensive labour it requires in the kitchen. Sometimes, but not always. Always willing to find a compromise, I bake carrot cake cookies instead.


Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies (Adapted from Trois Fois Par Jour)
Makes 10

Ingredients:

• 1 flax egg (1 tsp flax seeds, 3 tsp water)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup gluten-free oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the flax egg and lemon juice in a small bowl.

In a bowl, mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon. In a small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients (flax egg with lemon, coconut oil, brown sugar and grated carrots).  Pour liquid ingredients with the dry. Careful not to over mix. Put the mixture in a fridge for 15 minutes.

When ready, shape the dough into 10 balls and place them on the sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar if desired

Enjoy! xx