Gluten-Free Gingered Carrot Cookies

I vividly remember the day I discovered I was allergic to carrots. I was in the first grade and my class was going to the circus after school. My mom packed a bag of carrot sticks for me to eat as a snack. After class ended, I pulled out my little bag and grabbed a carrot. Seconds later, my fingers began to itch. After that they swelled up a little. I can remember pulling the tail of my shirt taut so I could scratch my fingers on it.

As my teacher came around, I hid my hands. I knew if she saw them, I couldn’t go on the trip. And I really, really wanted to go to the circus. Of course, the reaction didn’t stop and my teacher did notice. My checks started to turn red and my lips became puffy. The teacher called my mom who came and picked me up. No circus for me!

“What did you get yourself into?” my mom asked while handing me a Benadryl.

“Carrots.” I mumbled.

“Carrots? Are you sure? You didn’t eat something someone else gave you did you?”

I could tell that my mom thought this reaction from carrot sticks was odd. But I was right. It was the carrots. To this day, carrots make me break out in hives. When I tell people that I am allergic to carrots, they have the same reaction as my mom did years ago, “Carrots? Are you sure?”

When I joined the Baking with Dorie challenge, I noticed that the second recipe was Gingered Carrot Cookies. Oh carrots, how I dislike you! But I’ve spent my life not allowing my allergies to stop me. So carrot cookies it was!

Now you might be wondering why in the world I would bake something that I can’t eat. It’s just what I do.

As someone who has a long list of food allergies, I knew when I decided to go to cooking school there would be lots of foods I would not be able to taste. Actually, tasting was the least of my worries. I was concerned about the stuff that could actually, ya know, kill me. My allergies vary in severity. For some foods, like carrots, I just break out in hives. Other foods, like soy and tree nuts, cause me to go into anaphylactic shock. This means that my throat closes up and I can’t breathe. It’s not fun!

Avoiding anaphylactic shock while at the CIA was my main priority. If I had to work with an allergen, I would wear gloves and be very careful. It was a risk. I knew that. Not everyone at school was thrilled that a food allergic person was attending the CIA. One of my instructors, upon learning about my allergies, said to me, “Why are you wasting my time? You will be of no good to this industry with all of your allergies.” I, however, didn’t think I was wasting anyone’s time. I just wanted to learn how to bake well. And I didn’t think my allergies should stop me from doing just that.

Today I don’t often bake foods I can’t consume. When you aren’t baking for a grade, like I was doing at cooking school, there is little reason to make something you can’t eat. However, I wanted to fully participate in the Baking with Dorie challenge. So, I donned my gloves and peeled and grated some carrots.

While I didn’t eat the cookies, I can tell you that my tasters loved them! After converting the cookies to gluten-free, I left out the nuts and the raisins. The reason I left out the nuts is simple: I am anaphylactic to tree nuts. I don’t allow them in my kitchen. As for the raisins, one of my tasters doesn’t like them. For him, I left them out.

Fellow Baking with Dorie blogger, Grapefruit, thought there wasn’t enough ginger flavor. I e-mailed my tasters to ask them about this. They both thought the ginger flavor was fine. In the recipe I used Penzey’s ground ginger which is stronger than McCormick. Perhaps that made a difference?

Here’s recipe. If you can eat carrots, I hope you enjoy it!

Gingered Carrot Cookies (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's recipe)

Dry Ingredients
1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (Dorie used light brown sugar. I think gluten-free baking benefits from dark brown sugar.)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 cup raisins, optional
1/2 cup pecans, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light, about 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix to combine. 
4. Turn off mixer and add the dry indigents. Turn mixer to medium-low and blend until a dough forms. The dough will be thick. 
5. Add carrots and coconut plus the raisins and pecans if you are using them. Mix until just combined. 
6. Drop dough, about 2 tablespoons, onto a prepared cookie sheet. These cookies spread. Be sure to leave about 2-inches between each cookie. 
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. 
8. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.