First, brown the butter. Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan. Continue cooking, letting it boil gently and crackle. Once all of the moisture boils off, a dense foam will begin to appear at the surface and it will start to smell nutty as the milk solids brown. Stir the butter constantly. When the foam subsides and you see the golden brown bits, it is ready. Immediately pour the hot brown butter off into a clean bowl. You should be left with golden yellow liquid butter and lots of nutty brown flecks. Let it cool until for about 15 minutes so it is no longer hot.

Combine the brown butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk until combined. It will look more like wet sand than a pale and aerated mixture. Add the egg and whisk it in until evenly incorporated, smooth and creamy-looking. Mix in vanilla. Add the grated, blotted carrots and mix until well combined.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add this into the bowl with the wet ingredients and it in gently. Fold in pecans. Do not over-mix.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop up heaped tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into smooth balls. Place them onto lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Let them cool on the trays for 2 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

To make the icing, beat the cream cheese and sugar using a hand mixer until smooth. Gradually add milk ½ teaspoon at a time to thin it out so you can easily pipe it. You should only need about 1 teaspoon or so of milk. Place two-thirds of the frosting in one small bowl and the rest of it into another bowl. Add a few drops of food dye to colour one bowl orange, and the other one green. Pipe one carrot on top of each cookie and let dry for about an hour until set before storing.