No Bake Carrot Cake Cookies

Living in my own little place is great.

I like that I can go to the fridge without worrying that all of my $4 goat cheese will be gone, and I’m always guaranteed to have the strawberries I left in the freezer there after two days have gone by. There’s also a good chance that the head of garlic I bought several weeks ago has sprouted, grown a stem, and leaves, too.

I like that I can watch whatever I want on Netflix without getting judged by my brothers for my questionable taste in medical dramas.

I like that I can do yoga in the morning on my living room floor and there’s no one around to interrupt my zen because my roommate works mornings.

I don’t like that my dining table is bigger than all of my kitchen counter space combined.

You see, tiny counters make cooking really hard. When your cutting board barely fits, there’s no room for ingredients, bowls, mixers, or much of anything else, really. Sure, clean-up is fast, but it would be faster if I didn’t have to make the entire kitchen a mess because I have to use every inch of space. So these cookie/cake/bar/whathaveyous are perfect for making in my tiny kitchen, because they really only use a pot and a bowl. Really, you could just use the pot.

The recipe itself is super similar to the no-bake chocolate peanutbutter cookies you see everywhere. Or as I knew them as a socially awkward homeschooled child, dinosaur cookies.

2 large carrots, shredded (about ½ cup shreds)

1 cup oats

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar

¼ cup almond butter

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbsp chopped pineapple (optional)

1 tsp chia seeds

Optional Icing Drizzle

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 tsp agave nectar

Splash of lemon juice

Shred the carrots and set aside in a bowl with the uncooked oats. In a medium-sized pot, melt the almond butter, coconut oil, and sugar together, and mix in the cinnamon. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the carrots and oats. Mix together until the entire thing sticks together and forms a ball. Add the chia seeds and pineapple and mix until everything is incorporated. Place golf ball-sized mounds of the dough onto a sheet lined with parchment paper and squish them down a little. Place the sheet into the fridge or freezer to set.

While the cookies are chilling, mix together the coconut oil, agave nectar, and lemon juice. When the cookies are ready (should be firm and not sticky – takes about 30 minutes), drizzle the icing with a spoon over each cookie. Place the cookies back into the refrigerator until the icing is set, about 5 minutes.

Enjoy! These are full of fiber and other great things like fruits and vegetables, with a fairly low amount of added sugar and fat (which is the healthy kind anyways). They taste fabulous and you'll look fabulous for making them for your next potluck or whatever it is you kids do these days.