Carrot Zucchini Bars
Vegetable-Rich Cookies

Carrot zucchini bars prove that you can have a cake, I mean cookie, and eat it too. They are lusciouly moist, rich with vegetables and low in saturated fat.

Helpful Hints

• Most dried fruits such as raisins have a much better taste if you plump them up before adding to cookie dough. Soak them in hot or boiling water for about 10 to 15 minutes under cover.

• You can keep nuts from sinking to the bottom as they bake by mixing them thoroughly with a little flour, that is to be used in the recipe, before adding them to dough or batter.

All purpose flour	1½ cups
Brown sugar	½ cup
Honey	¼ cup
Eggs, slightly beaten	2 large
Carrots, shredded	1½ cups
Zucchini, shredded	1 cup
Chopped pecans	1 cup
Raisins	½ cup
Vegetable oil	½ cup
Ground ginger	½ tsp
Vanilla extract	1 tsp
Baking powder	1 tsp
Baking soda	¼ tsp

• Soak raisins in boiling water for 15 minutes, and drain well on paper towel.

• Mix coarsely chopped pecans and plumped raisins with a little flour that is to be used in the recipe.

• Shred carrots and zucchini.
  
  
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
  
  
  
• Mix the remaining ingredients together in another bowl.
• Add carrot zucchini mixture to flour mixture.

• Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
  
  
  

• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on wire rack.
  

To prepare delightful citrus-cream cheese frosting or icing, you need:

Light cream cheese	8 oz
Confectioners’ sugar, sifted	½ cup
Orange juice	2 Tbsp
Lemon or orange peel,	1 Tbsp
shredded

• Using an electric mixer, beat all ingredients on medium speed until light and fluffy.
  
  
  

• Spread light citrus-cream cheese frosting over cooled carrot zucchini bars.
  
  
  
• They are good under refrigeration for a week if you are successful at keeping them that long.
  Other Easy Recipes for Bar Cookies

Every time I make these delicious carrot zucchini bars, I have a hard time keeping both my mind and hands off them. Good luck!