Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies- The cookies that HATE me!

I had been feeling so crappy all weekend and for the first part of this week and so thought that since I was stuck at home sick and miserable I'd try and cheer myself up by doing some baking. Bad idea. These cookies or this recipe HATE me and though I managed in the end to get a few good cookies from the batch I don't think I'll be making these again any time soon. Making the dough itself wasn't difficult though it was time consuming and messy but getting the size of the cookie and the cooking time just right was a challenge for me. I've decided that when you’re not feeling hot, tackling a tricky cookie recipe isn't the best idea. I felt more discouraged than anything by the time I was done with these. They were very good though. I'm just not sure they were THAT good. I would have enjoyed a good piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting much more.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Martha Stewart

1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins - I omitted these because I don't like them
Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour (***see note***).

Using a 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets (I didn't have one so used a tbls spoon- see note), leaving 2 inches between cookies. Transfer to oven, and bake until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking to ensure even color, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat baking process with remaining dough. Once cooled completely, use an offset spatula to spread about 2 teaspoons of cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

(***Note***)- I waited an hour and then tried to make these. It wasn't happening. My dough wasn't hard enough and the cookies baked flatter than a pancake. It was getting late and so I decided to try again in the morning. It worked much better. The batter must be as solid as it can be for these to work.
(***Note***)- I didn't have an 1/2 ounce ice cream scoop and I'll be honest I have no clue how big/little that is. So I just guessed and rolled balls to the size I thought best. Bad idea. If you roll them too big these just spread like crazy and bake flatter than flat. After much trial and error I found that a smallish tablespoon size ball was the right size.