#12DaysofCookies: Zucchini and Cream Cheese Cookie Sandwich

It's almost time for our second annual Cookie Swap for a Cause! We're huge fans of Eat Boutique (in fact, all three of us hit the Eat Boutique Holiday Market last weekend for some holiday goodies), so today we're sharing another cookie recipe from the local market and online magazine. This one pairs zucchini with cream cheese, but since it's past zucchini season, consider swapping the zucchini for pumpkin or squash.

Zucchini and Cream Cheese Cookie Sandwich

Ingredients:1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Coarse salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated zucchini (or carrots)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Add raisins, if you like

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Beat 1 stick butter and the sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix in zucchini, oats, and walnuts (and raisins if you choose). Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Drop dough in roughly 2 TBSP sized scoops onto baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
4. Beat together remaining 1/2 stick butter, the cream cheese, and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon filling onto the flat side of 1 cookie, and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining filling and cookies.

Recipe by Lauren Keiper. Used courtesy of Eat Boutique.