Carrot Cake Bars

My sister has a killer carrot cake recipe, and I always forget to find out where she got it from. She attributes its super-moistness to the copious amount of vegetable oil that the recipe calls for. This recipe has a small amount of oil, but still came out very moist. I made this for a party a few months ago (okay, it was a Christmas party.) Cutting them into bite-sized squares made them convenient for our friends to eat.


Carrot Cake Bars
adapted from Cuisine at Home, Holiday Cookies

2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c canola oil
2 c grated carrots
1/2 c sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c golden raisins
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 stick butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 c powdered sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9 baking pan with nonstick spray.

Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom together in a bowl; set aside. Beat eggs in a second bowl with a mixer. Add both sugars and blend until dissolved, then add the oil and beat until the texture
becomes smooth and thick.

Stir carrots, coconut, raisins, and vanilla into the egg mixture. Gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix well to incorporate the flour, but do not overmix.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Cool bars completely before frosting.

Blend butter and cream cheese together in a bowl with a mixer. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Spread frosting over cooled bars using an off-set spatula. Cut into bars.