Preparation 

1. Peel and finely grate the carrots.  Place the grated carrots in a kitchen towel and squeeze out the moisture.   Set aside.
2. Zest an orange and juice a quarter of it.  Set aside. 

For the Dough

1. In a mixing bowl, rub the orange zest into the sugar for 1–2 minutes until fragrant to release the natural oils.
2. Add the butter and beat with the orange-infused sugar on medium speed until well combined and smooth.
3. Add the egg yolk, orange extract, and grated carrots. Continue mixing until fully incorporated.
4. Sift in the plain flour, cornflour, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and salt to remove any lumps.
5. Mix on medium speed until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
6. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula, then gently finish mixing by hand until the dough comes together evenly. 
7. Divide the dough into two portions. Sandwich one portion between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to 6 mm thickness. Place onto a tray and repeat with the remaining dough.
8. Chill the rolled dough for 30–60 minutes, or until firm to the touch.

Bake the Cookies

1. Towards the end of the chilling time, preheat the oven to 170°C fan and line a baking sheet. 
2. Once firm, peel off the parchment paper. Cut out as many cookies as possible using a carrot-shaped cookie cutter.
3. Remove the excess dough, then use an offset spatula to carefully lift each cookie and transfer it onto a lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
4. Gather and re-roll any remaining dough between parchment paper. If the dough softens at any point, return it to the fridge to firm up before continuing.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C fan for 15–20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden (mine took 16 minutes).
6. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Icing

1. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and icing sugar until it resembles fine, sandy crumbs.
2. Add the chilled cream cheese and beat on low speed until just smooth.
3. Divide the icing into two portions: one-third and two-thirds.
4. To the smaller portion, add orange juice ½ teaspoon at a time until the icing falls off the spoon in a thick, slow ribbon. Tint with orange gel food colouring.
5. Colour the remaining icing with green gel food colouring.  Do not add orange juice to thin it out, as this icing is for the stems/leaves and should be thicker, but still pipeable.
6. Transfer each icing into separate piping bags and snip a small hole at the tip.

Decorate the Cookies

1. Place the cooled cookies on parchment paper to catch any excess icing.
2. Using the orange icing, hold the piping bag straight and apply gentle pressure. Starting from the wider end, pipe tight horizontal zig-zags down to the tip to mimic the natural ridges of a carrot.
3. Switch to the green icing. Starting at the base of the leaf, pipe outward strokes to create the carrot tops. Add as much detail as desired.
4. Continue decorating the remaining cookies, then leave them on the parchment paper until the icing is set.  

To Serve (optional)

1. Crush the Oreos into fine crumbs using a ziplock bag or food processor.
2. Spread the crumbs over a sheet of parchment paper or a serving tray to create a “soil” base.
3. Place the carrot cookies on top of the crumbs, slightly pressing them in for a fun presentation.
4. Serve and enjoy—guests can grab a cookie with a bit of “soil” for extra crunch!