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February 16, 2012

Ginger & Carrot Evolution

It's time again for our 2-Ingredient Improv Challenge with Kristen. The ingredients for February are... what the heck!? Carrots & Ginger?!? We don't "do" carrots sweet at this house. No braising them with citrus, no glazing them with ginger, and we most def do not sauté them with honey & herbs! Carrots are either eaten raw (every day, in every lunch) or roasted with other root vegetables with olive oil drizzle.

Whilst deciding on an acceptable recipe, I determined I would make crystallized ginger for my dish. (You can read my blog about that here.)  It was not too arduous a task; & the house smelled sooooooo delicious!

I figured I would create some kind of a gingerbread shortbread, because I totally wanted to utilize my ancient Pampered Chef clay mold
 
(which, by-the-way, hasn't seen any action for decades, except to decorate my kitchen wall the past ten years...)
Unfortunately, adding a carrot purée to shortbread maketh a most sticky mess! Plus, I wanted my cookie to be a little healthier than pounds of white flour, butter & powdered sugar would be... (Although -- I do know my way around a shortbread cookie!)

Anyhoooooo -- I whipped up a semi-healthy concoction I named "Gingered Carrot Drops" and made a little Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling to sandwich them together. Here are the recipes:





And here are some pics on how I made them...
Hate to see all that beautiful crystallized ginger chopped up. Ahhhh, well...


Be sure to smash squash flatten them with a glass dipped in sugar.

Bake them, & then let 'em "chill" for a bit...

Can you see the yummy little ginger chunks?

mmmmmm -- cinnamon & cream cheese!

Spread some love!

...tasty little sandwich...

This stack won't last long after the boys get home from school...

So very delicious with a cup of Earl Grey...

Improv Challenge

17 comments:

  1. Those are fantastic and yes perfect with a cup of Earl Grey. I've got the tea can you pass me a cookie?

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  2. Perfect cookie to go with some Earl Gray tea - my favorite!

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  3. I love that you made your own crystallized ginger! And what a yummy cookie to try it out in :)

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  4. What a perfectly delicious cookie and I can only imagine how wonderful your house smelled when making the crystallized ginger.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my Improv Cooking Challenge entry: Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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  5. Kudos for making your own crystallized ginger. Your cookies sound delicious.
    Mimi

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  6. What a novel way to use ginger in a cookie! Yum!

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  7. The look so good! I would love for you to come by and link up to my Recipe Party at The Sweet Spot!

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  8. Ok this looks like the best cookie I have seen in months! Thanks for sharing! Come check out my Carrot Cake Ice Cream

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  9. I've always loved ginger in cookies. This is a great addition to the challenge list!

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  10. How wonderful do these look!?!? Found you through the challenge!

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  11. These are gorgeous!I love the cinnamon addition to the cream cheese! I can't wait to try it!

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  12. Oooh, the cinnamon! I'd absolutely devour this! Very creative take on the ingredients! :) Bakers awe me.

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  13. I love that you spiced up the cream cheese filling, too. Though you said don't do carrots in sweets, these are pretty fantastic!

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  14. This is the kind of healthy I can get into. Nice way to use your 2 ingredients! :)

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  15. YUM! These look so, so good! Love the use of homemade crystallized ginger!

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  16. Another delicious recipe! They look wonderful. By the way - I made the lemon curd recipe you had on your blog a few weeks ago. I can never go back to store bought. It is soooo delicious and so easy! Loved it! Time to make some more!

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  17. Oh wow! I never knew you could do so many things with carrots! Your creation looks super tasty. :)

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So...
What do you think?