Carrot Cake Filled Ginger Thumbprints

So the other day *I* of all people wanted something sweet.  I wanted a cookie.

Yes.. me; you know the one who rarely eats sweets or junk food.

<begin jaw drop> “Um HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  You make like 9 bajillion sweets a day and you’re saying you don’t eat ’em???  What do you do with all that stuff and can I come live with you???></end jaw drop>

LOL tis true.  I just never really got into sweets much.  Don’t get me wrong, I like cake and cookies and stuff like that (well okay, my thighs love them the most) but I tend to eat a very high protein diet and since I’ve yet to come up with a way to have a protein loaded brownie, I really don’t partake.  However, I do sample every single thing I make. I mean any good chef/baker will tell you that.

Hmmm… protein loaded brownie… maybe *grabs for her engineering cap*  Lemme think about that.

Anyway, I wanted something sweet but not like super sweet.  While rummaging through my barrage of recipes I came across my Soft ‘n Chewy Ginger Cookies.  YES!  That’s what I wanted. Ginger was something I always strayed away from in my younger years as I always thought it was too ‘hot’.  It wasn’t until I was working on an order of biscotti and the guy wanted Triple Ginger Flavored ones.  Even though I had never made them I figured I would at least give them a shot.  It took me a few attempt to get it right and once I got it right, a new love relationship was born.  I had tamed ginger – that fiery spicy beast.  MUAHAHA!

As I was grabbing for the eggs I saw a jar of the Carrot Cake Jam ♥ and KNEW I had to incorporate that somehow.  The muffin tins would work but I didn’t want a ‘cup’ type cookie.  Then it hit me… THUMBPRINTS!  Now I cannot stand standard thumbprints.  I’ve never found a good one that just blew me away.  This.. the ginger cookie made as a thumbprint with the carrot cake jam filling just may be the ticket.  Since I wanted to keep the cookies uniform I opted for the Whoopie Pie Pan.

So I went about my way, scooped them in the pan and about a minute before they were done, stuck my thumb in ’em (well okay, not my thumb technically but rather a 1/4th cup measuring scoop so I could get a flat, even surface. Filled them puppies with some of the jam and calmed my stomach from grumbling. The smell alone from these were positively heaven.

After a few minutes of cooling in the pan it was game on for my being able to satisfy my sweet tooth.

That first bite of that warm, sweet and spicy cookie was pure heaven!  It was so tender and soft, almost buttery melt-in-your-mouth soft with that warm jam.  Dear Jesus people!  I had died and gone to Cookie Heaven!

You so need to make these!  Now with Fall upon us and heading into winter, these are the PERFECT COOKIE to have on hand in your house.  But trust me, you’ll be making these… A LOT!

Carrot Cake Filled Ginger Thumbprints

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• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shortening softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3–4 Tbs coarse white sanding sugar
• Carrot Cake Jam

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the egg, then stir in the orange juice, grated ginger and molasses.
5. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
6. Cover and chill for 1 hour in the fridge.
7. Shape dough into 1” balls, and roll them in the coarse white sanding sugar.
8. Using a medium cookie scoop (about 1/4 cup size), scoop up a ball of dough and place it in the center of a whoopee pie pan cavity.
9. Slightly press the cookie down (you just want to just ‘smush’ it down slightly)
10. Bake for 9 minutes in the preheated oven.
11. Remove from the oven and using your thumb (watch it’s hot!) or the bottom of a metal1/4 cup measuring cup, gently press down in the center to make a slight indentation/well.
12. Fill each well with 1 tablespoon of carrot cake jam.
13. Place back in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until the cookies tops barely firm up. (They will have a slight give). They will firm up while resting in the pan.
14. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
15. Store in an airtight container.

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