Carrot Cookies

Took a chance (as per my usual unashamed experimenting on guests), and made carrot cookies this morning for my first play date with a new friend (for the record, I would play with my friends if any of them showed any interest, but mostly "play date" means that our children played together).  Not sure if Sam was just being nice when she said they were good, since this was our first "date", but her kids ate a couple each and Luke ate a couple and I ate (!) five (but are we really surprised, or just saying we are to retain our dignity...and am I using the royal plural to avoid admitting that it's ME, only I, who ate 5 cookies?).  Yes.  Ahem.  They were quite good.  The recipe is from Simply in  Season, the carrots are from my garden, the orange was sitting on my counter for at least a week already (poor lonely soul), the vanilla was the last in my cupboard and needs to go on the grocery list, and the appetite for sweets was born in me.

Here is the recipe:

1 C butter (softened)
3/4 C sugar
beat together with electric mixer in medium bowl

1 1/2 C raw carrot (shredded)
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
add and mix well.

2 C flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
sift together into bowl and stir together. Drop by teaspoons on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven at 375F for 10 min.

The recipe says "Optional Frosting" but I say "Necessary and Delicious Frosting":
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar and the grated rind of 1 orange with enough orange juice to obtain spreading consistency (was the juice from half of my zested orange).  Spread on the cookies right away because if you leave this in the bowl it will turn icky and hard, but on the cookies it turns into a nice glaze-ish sort of frosting.

YUM!