BabyCakes Covers the Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes from Donuts to Snickerdoodles
For those with food sensitivities, these desserts have remained a distant dream—until now.Following her widely adored debut cookbook with this delectable and extensive new collection, Erin McKenna, celebrated baker and proprietress of BabyCakes NYC in New York and Los Angeles, satisfies all your food fantasies with fifty recipes for perennial favorites—all created without gluten, dairy, eggs, or refined sugar.In addition to its important primer on key ingredients and easy substitutions,BabyCakes Covers the Classicsincludes a section filled with Erin’s insightful solutions to frequently asked questions, which will lead you to newfound baking glory. As for the goods themselves, prepare for untold hours of refreshingly simple and undeniably delicious recipes adapted from the ones that sprinkled our collective childhoods. They include:Thin MintsMadeleinesChocolate Chip WafflesSnickerdoodles S’moresHamentaschenSquare-Pan Tomato PizzaSix-Layer Chocolate Cake with Raspberry PreservesBanana Royale Five variations of BabyCakes NYC’s famous donuts& many more . . .BabyCakes Covers the Classicsis filled with timeless sweet and savory temptations that vegans, celiacs, and the health-minded can safely indulge in. Erin shows people of all stripes how to take control of a vegan, gluten-free pantry, and she proves that once you do, there are no limitations to what you can bake.Featured Recipe: Thin MintsThin MintsMakes: 30Ingredients1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour1 cup vegan sugar1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1/4 cup arrowroot1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon salt3/4 cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce2 tablespoons vanilla extract1 cup vegan gluten-free chocolate chips3 tablespoons mint extractI’m Catholic by birth. Winter to us means Lent, which, to be honest, is about all I remember beyond the school uniforms. Anytime winter/Lent rolled around, the only thing we could count on was the house-wide hostility that would mount as we spent several weeks avoiding sweets and desserts in all their overindulgent forms. The colder months, you might recall, make up Girl Scout cookie season. In a unique show of torture, rather than simply not placing an order with the Scouts, our family bought a bunch, tossed them into the freezer, and stored them until Easter--about two months later. This recipe is for all you lifetime gluten-free folks who have never been able to enjoy a winter of Girl Scout Thin Mints--and for all you weak-willed kids who can’t help but break the Lenten period of atonement. Bless your hearts!Instructions1.Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.2.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, arrowroot, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla and mix with a rubber spatula until a thick dough forms.3.Meanwhile, combine the chocolate chips and mint extract in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the chips are just melted. Do not overcook. Remove from the heat. Dunk the top of each cookie into the melted chocolate and place in a single layer on a platter. Refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes, or until the chocolate sets.