THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE THAT COULD

THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE THAT COULD

My brother and his girlfriend hooked me up with one of the best Christmas presents ever: Babycakes Covers the Classics, a new cookbook from the fabulous gluten-free vegan East Village bakery in NYC. I’ve been so excited to bake with it.

But before I dive into that, I’d like to share three important lessons I’ve learned so far on my gluten-free vegan baking escapades:

1. Plan ahead. Never wait until the night before to buy all of your supplies, because the store will be out of a necessary ingredient, which is exactly what happened to me last night.
2. Don’t substitute ingredients or try to adjust recipes. Follow them exactly as they appear. My brownie baking fiasco. Need I say more.
3. Get an oven thermometer because most ovens are surprisingly off in temperature. This noteworthy tip I learned from reading the introduction of the Babycakes cookbook. Last night, I preheated my over to 325 degrees per the recipe, but the thermometer said my oven was actually 400 degrees. Big difference. No wonder I’ve been burning stuff.

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the recipe. To start, I chose the Chips Ahoy! recipe because it was a.) very easy, and b.) I’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies for a really long time now. Can’t tell you the last time I had one.

Things started off a bit rocky. I broke rule number one and waited until last night to buy ingredients and my local food co-op, Weavers Way in Chestnut Hill (a great store, I might add), was out of arrowroot. What the heck is arrowroot, you ask? Well, I had never heard of it either, so I looked it up. Basically, arrowroot is a pure starch that is used as a wheat flour replacement for gluten-free baking.

But since I was on deadline, I decided to break rule number two and substituted the arrowroot with teff flour. After all, the recipe only called for a ¼ cup arrowroot and I figured it wouldn’t make a big difference. Teff flour is also a wheat flour substitute, and I still had a lot left over after using it to make those bad brownies, so I gave it a whirl.

And I got lucky. While I don’t know what the cookies are supposed to taste like, I think these turned out really good. The texture is somewhat grainy, and they seemed a bit dryer, but the flavor was great. They aren’t nearly as rich or sweet as regular chocolate chip cookies, but I really like that. If you ask my mom, she’ll tell you that as a child I used to always ask for my chocolate chip cookies to be made without the chocolate chips, but in this case I think you need the chips to help balance out the cookie.

I was so proud of my cookies that I decided to bring them into the office this morning and share them with my colleagues. Overall, everyone seemed to like the cookies, or at least they said they did:

“Um, these are good! Just a slightly different taste, though they still feel indulgent. I probably wouldn’t know they were gluten free if you didn’t say so.” –Jennifer Leczkowski, Managing Editor

“The second and third bites were better. I think I just needed to have my palate awakened. The texture reminded me of the more rich butter-laden cookies from gourmet stores, but not as overpoweringly sweet. It was surprisingly delicious.” –Geoff Stone, Editor

“I love it. This might be my new go-to cookie!” –Jennifer Kasius, Executive Editor

Here’s the recipe:

CHIPS AHOY!

1 ½ cups oat flour

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour

1 cup vegan sugar

¼ cup ground flax meal

¼ cup arrowroot

1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons melted refined coconut oil or canola oil

6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 cup vegan gluten-free chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, flax meal, arrowroot, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla and stir with rubber spatula until a thick dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Drop the dough by the teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 ½ inches apart. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the baking sheets, and bake for 7 minutes more, or until the cookies are golden brown and firm. Let stand on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before eating.

Makes 36

Recipe excerpted from Babycakes Covers the Classics © 2011 by Erin McKenna, Clarkson Potter Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.

Enjoy!

- Caroline

Barking Up the Right Tree

It’s a great time of year! Colorful lights on every street, Perry Como in every store, a giving spirit around every corner, it’s the season for frenzied fun and tasty treats. Break out the star-shaped cookies cutters and pour a mug of hot spiced cider. Of all the rich holiday foods my favorite involves chocolate, and lots of it. Two pounds of chocolate to be exact.

Chocolate is amazing. Derived from the beans of the cocao tree, it was originally thought to be the food of the gods and was consumed as a bitter drink called xocolatl by the Aztecs. Legend has it that Emperor Montezuma drank 50 cups a day for stamina and virility, and a good buzz. Good-quality chocolate is so versatile. Pure, dark chocolate adds a subtle richness to so many dishes: muffins, cookies, cakes, oatmeal, Show Stopping Pasta (from Chocolatique), or even pork chops (for real). You can drink it straight (like Monty), or with some sugar and cream (the way I prefer my hot chocolate), or mold it into shapes (check out these chocolate chicks). It can prevent tooth decay. Tim Driscoll, DDS, says that “healthy chocolate has been shown to decrease cavities and gum disease.” He also had one patient who reduced his cholesterol level by 21 points in eight weeks. Oh, the wonders of chocolate. Plus it makes you happy by boosting serotonin levels. According to WebMd, researchers say eating an average-sized dark chocolate candy bar a day can reduce stress and fight depression. Is there anything dark chocolate can’t do?

It certainly does a lot for me. And this holiday season it is melting beautifully in a double boiler over low heat. One pound of rich dark chocolate spread smoothly on a parchment paper–lined sheet pan and cooled until hard. That’s enough in and of itself. But wait, there’s more. Another pound of creamy white chocolate mixed with crushed peppermint candies quickly spread over the chilled sheet of dark chocolate makes an enormous black and white chocolate sandwich with a cool minty bite. Chill until hard. With stratified layers this treat has a barklike appearance. Break it into chunks and eat it a few pieces at a time, and you will definitely be barking up the right tree.

PEPPERMINT BARK
1 pound white chocolate
1 pound bittersweet chocolate
1 cup crushed candy canes
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Combine the white and bittersweet chocolate in a double
boiler and melt over medium heat. Combine the candy cane
chunks with the chocolate and add the peppermint extract.
Pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper
and let cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm.
Remove from the cookie sheet and break into pieces.

Merry Christmas!
Geoff