Healthy Dish For The Weak: BabyCakes Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I don't normally watch television during the mornings. In fact, my TV doesn't normally come on until about 5pm.

I just can't do daytime TV.

But this morning was different. I was going through my crafting drawer, which got me thinking about the days when I worked at The Evil Empire. This developed a sudden desire in me to check out Martha on TV this morning, all in order to reminisce. And one of today's featured guests was Erin McKenna, the founder of the BabyCakes bakery on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

McKenna's BabyCakes specializes in vegan and (mostly) gluten-free treats. They are a big hit among New Yorkers, and even celebrities. Cupcakes, cookies, muffins, scones, breads... BabyCakes makes them all. But now we can too... As McKenna's recipe book, BabyCakes, came out this week in bookstores.

I went to Barnes and Noble to get my copy today. I took the book and a cup of coffee out to sit in the sunshine to see if there was something I could make for today. And sure enough, there was something that I had most of the ingredients for at home, already in my cupboards:

Chocolate Chip Cookies!



Ingredients:
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour
1 cup vegan chocolate chip cookies
6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup flax meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups of evaporated cane sugar (also known as "turbinado sugar")
1 cup canola oil (recipe calls for coconut oil, but I substituted)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven with a rack set in the center to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together oil, applesauce, salt, vanilla, and evaporated cane juice. In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, flax meal, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Using a rubber spatula, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until a grainy dough is formed. Gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
3. Use a 2-inch ice cream scoop to make evenly sized dough pieces and place onto prepared baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Gently press down on each cookie with the heel of your hand. Transfer cookies to oven and bake until edges are crisp but cookie is still soft in the center, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 9 minutes.
4. Let cookies stand on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

OMG! YUMMY!!!

Even The Husband LOVED these! And we all know how finicky he is when it comes to baked treats. (Or rather, you should... He is very picky.)



Pick up your copy of BabyCakes today!!!!