Cookie of the Week: EASY Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies with Orange Sugar and Cream Cheese Frosting

The other day I had to make a treat for Cub Scout pack meeting.  I didn’t want to go to the store to get ingredients, so I went to the pantry to figure out what I could make from the ingredients I had on hand that would be easy and yummy.  I saw a carrot cake mix and thought, “Carrot Cake cookies would be festive!”  I grabbed the cake mix and after referring to a cook book on how to make cake mix cookies I whipped these up.  I happened to have some leftover orange sugar in the fridge from when I made the Orange Poppyseed Snickerdoodles. I thought that carrot cake cookies rolled in orange sugar sounded even yummier.  Then I remembered some green cream cheese frosting I had in the pantry from Christmas time that we got for FREE from the grocery store!  I decided to sandwich the frosting between two cookies to make them extra fun.  I really didn’t expect them to be all that great as I’m not a huge fan of cake mix cookies but actually they were delicious!  They seemed to be a big hit with the Cub Scouts as well.  So, I thought I would share them for the Cookie of the Week. {recipe after the break}

EASY Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies with Orange Sugar and Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 18 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup orange sugar (in food processor mix together sugar and 1 teaspoon orange zest, or just use plain sugar)
• 1 jar cream cheese frosting (or homemade would be delicious)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  With an electric mixer, combine cake mix, softened butter, eggs, and vanilla.  If dough seems to dry, add water 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the dough comes together well. Take tablespoons of dough and roll in orange sugar.  I use a 1 ounce cookie scoop and then divide each scoop in half.  Press the dough balls down slightly onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until edges are set and light golden brown.  Allow cookies to cool completely before spreading frosting on one cookie bottom and placing another cookie on top.