I Made Betty Crocker’s ‘Golden Carrot Cookies’ from 1963 and the Recipe Is Surprisingly Delicious
Updated: Apr. 12, 2023
Vintage cookbooks are a treasure trove of forgotten recipes, like these Betty Crocker carrot cookies from the '60s.
For nostalgic treats, one of my favorite vintage cookbooks is Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book from 1963. It’s jammed with hundreds of retro rolled, cut and drop cookie recipes, along with easy icings and decorating tips. I was paging through when an unusual recipe caught my attention: Betty Crocker carrot cookies made with real carrots!
What Do Carrot Cookies Taste Like?
Usually baked goods made with carrots have that typical carrot cake flavor, with strong spices, nuts and cream cheese frosting. However, ‘Golden Carrot Cookies’ are completely different. You can’t taste the carrots at all. Instead, each bite is soft and citrusy, thanks to a buttercream frosting with fresh orange juice that tops the brightly-colored cookies.
Betty Crocker’s Golden Carrot Cookies
From the 1963 Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book, this recipe makes about 50 2-inch cookies.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cooked, mashed carrots
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 sweetened shredded coconut
Icing:
- 2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1-1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1-1/2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
Nancy’s Tip: Save time by using pureed carrot baby food. The smooth texture is exactly what you want. Choose a brand that has 100% pureed carrots with no other added ingredients.
Tools You’ll Need
- Baking sheets:Â Taste of Home pans ensure even baking.
- Cooling rack: Before they can be frosted, the cookies need to cool completely. Don’t rush this step!
- Offset spatula: Use a flexible spreading tool to easily frost all these carrot cookies.
Directions
Step 1: Blend wet ingredients
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cream the shortening, butter and sugar together on medium speed for two minutes, until they’re light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Then, mix in the vanilla extract and mashed carrots, scraping the bowl once or twice.
Step 2: Add dry ingredients
Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients, and mix together on low speed until just combined. Stir the shredded coconut in by hand.
Step 3: Scoop the batter
Use a small cookie scoop to add scoops of batter to the prepared cookie sheet, placing them about 2 inches apart. (If you don’t have a cookie scoop, use a rounded teaspoonful of dough.)
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes; when you touch the tops of the cookies, no imprint should remain. Move the cookies to a cooling rack. Finish scooping and baking the rest of the dough. Let the cookies cool completely.
Step 4: Make the icing
Use a hand mixer to beat together the softened butter and confectioners’ sugar. Mix in the orange juice and orange zest; mix the icing on high speed until it’s smooth and light.
Step 5: Frost the cookies
Use a knife or icing spreader to add a thin layer of orange icing to the top of each cookie. (If you want the cookies to be thickly frosted, make a double batch of icing.) The cookies are ready to serve.
To store them, place the cookies in single layers separated by sheets of wax paper in an airtight container. They’ll keep for up to five days.
Here’s What I Thought
The cookies have the beautiful, bright-orange color of carrots, so naturally, I expected them to taste like carrots. To my surprise, I couldn’t taste the carrots at all. The coconut gives the cookies a little texture and a very mild coconut flavor. In addition to the gorgeous color, the cooked carrots give these cookies a soft, moist texture and extra sweetness.
The orange icing on top is just delectable! They’re so unusual and tasty, I can’t wait to make the Betty Crocker carrot cookies again, especially for spring and Easter desserts.
Originally Published: December 07, 2022
