Carrot Cake Nest Cookies

Food Network's April cookie of the month is perfect for this time of the year! The cookies jelly beans remind me of Easter Eggs and the carrot cake flavor of the cookie is a bold spring flavor this year. Carrot cake is definitely a Spring flavor and when made right can provide the right amount of sweetness without being over the top sweet.

I made these cookies for a girls night at my friends house. It was a potluck so I thought what a good excuse to bake a fun treat and show my creative side, so that's exactly what I did!

This recipe is pretty easy to make. I baked the cookies earlier in the day and then before I headed out to my friends I whipped (literally!) the cookie filling up real quick, placed the jelly beans on top, and out the door I went. The girls loved them! I had a few left over so I took them to work the next day as a treat for my co-workers. Well I am sure you're dying to know how to make these, so let's get to it!

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup finely grated carrots (about 2)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
• 1 1/3 cups shredded sweetened coconut 

For the Filling:

• 2oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• Jelly beans for topping

Directions:

1. Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until well combined, then beat in the carrots and walnuts. Reduce mixer to low and slowly beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
2. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball, then roll in the coconut (you may have to press the coconut onto the dough). Repeat until all the dough is gone and rolled in coconut. Arrange cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking pans. Make a deep indentation with the back side of your tablespoon or another spoon. Bake, switching trays halfway through, until the cookies are set and the coconut is golden brown (about 22 to 25 minutes). Let cookies cool completely on pan.
3. Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the confectioners sugar until fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to use. Dollop a teaspoon of the filling into the deep indentation of each cookie. Fill with 1 teaspoon and if necessary you can go back and add extra filling to fill the indentation. Top with whatever color jelly beans you prefer!

I hope you have fun making this recipe! It's definitely kid friendly as kids could help roll the dough in coconut or top the cookies with whatever jelly beans they want. Choose different color jelly beans depending on what time of year you make them too coordinate with the season or holiday!

Have you made this? I would love to hear how it turned out! Share with me below!

Stay tuned for May's cookie of the month! We're making Macarons!