Soft carrot cookies with orange glaze

Ingredients

• 225 g of slightly softened butter (half of which can be replaced with vegetable shortening)
• 150 g of sugar (¾ cup)
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon of orange extract (optional)
• 250 g of cooked carrots, very tender, mashed or pureed
• 300 g of flour (2 ½ cups)
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 65 g of sweetened shredded coconut (optional)
• 55 g of softened butter
• 250 g of finely sifted powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons of orange juice (or frozen concentrate)
• 2 tablespoons of orange zest (optional)
• ½ teaspoon of orange extract (optional)

Preheat the oven to 205 °C. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric hand mixer for about 30 seconds, or until it is soft.

Add the sugar by scraping it along the inside of the mixing bowl, then add the eggs, vanilla, and, if desired, orange extract.

Add the carrots: pureed, they give the biscuits a uniform color; grated, they leave orange streaks.

Add the flour, salt, and yeast, and then the coconut if you are using it.

Spoon the dough onto the baking sheets in small, rounded mounds, leaving space between each cookie: they will spread out a bit during baking.

Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are golden brown and no longer stick when touched.

Let them rest on the baking sheet for a moment, as they are very delicate, then allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the icing, beat the butter with the powdered sugar, then add the orange juice to create a smooth butter cream; flavor it to your liking with orange zest or extract.

Gently spread the icing over the cooled biscuits. If it’s too stiff, loosen it with a little water or warm it up, otherwise the biscuits may break.