Babycakes Covers the Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes From Donuts to Snickerdoodles (8 page)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. 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 a 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 1½ 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

Black-and-White Cookies

For the longest time, I might have been the only person in the tristate
area completely oblivious to the beautiful oversize black-and-white cookies found in
every bodega from Brooklyn to the Bronx. Have you had one? Me, I was never allowed
because of my food sensitivities, of course. So when I went to the kitchen and started
brainstorming ideas for iconic cookies, this was one of the first ones I tackled.
Prepare to be bathed in the sweet comfort of vanilla-chocolate overload.

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, arrowroot,
xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, agave nectar,
and vanilla and stir with a rubber spatula until the batter is smooth.

Using a ¼-cup ice-cream scoop or measure, drop the dough
onto the baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Using the bottom of the measuring cup,
press the dough to ⅓-inch thickness. Bake for 6 minutes, rotate the baking
sheets, and bake for 4 minutes more. Let stand on the baking sheets for 20 minutes.
Using a palette knife, spread chocolate sauce on one half of each of the cookies.
Spread vanilla glaze on the other half of each cookie and let set for 5 minutes
before serving.

Makes 12

Gingerbread Cookies

Occasionally I get so wrapped up in taste combinations and texture
subtleties that I admittedly leave the glitz and fun right out of the presentation.
Simplicity has long been my guiding principle. But then I remember the kids! Hence the
heroic Gingerbread Cookies recipe you have before you, added just for them. Gingerbread
is a natural platform for creativity. It begs for frosting of any kind, can be decorated
endlessly, and has that perfect amount of spicy bite that opens itself to all sorts of
accompanying beverages. Serve these with the hot chocolate of your choosing (hint: Mine
is in my previous book!).

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

In a large bowl, whisk together the 2⅓ cups rice flour,
the all-purpose flour, sugar, arrowroot, ginger, cinnamon, xanthan gum, salt, baking
soda, and nutmeg. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla and stir with a
rubber spatula until a thick dough forms. Gradually add the cold water and stir
until the dough is slightly tacky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate
for 30 minutes.

Dust a clean work surface with some rice flour, place the dough
in the center, and roll the dough around until the surface is entirely coated in
flour. Dust a rolling pin with more rice flour. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch
thickness.

Cut out cookies with your desired cookie cutters and transfer
them from the work surface to the prepared baking sheets with a spatula, placing
them about 1 inch apart. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the baking sheets, and bake for
5 minutes more. Let stand on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then decorate with
glaze if using.

Makes 36

This recipe is the foundation of a lifetime’s worth of holiday
merriment, a blank but delicious canvas for you and your kids to customize until your
hearts explode with happiness. By way of texture, I aimed for something traditionally
crisp, playing up the flakiness and butter-tinged richness. Just roll out the dough;
they’re a cinch. In general, just about any flourish you can imagine to add to
the top—sprinkles? Gummi bears? frosting?!—will complement this cookie
with a little density. There’s a photograph
here
, so you know what
you’re working with.

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

In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2¼ cups rice flour,
the sugar, arrowroot, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the coconut oil,
applesauce, and vanilla and lemon extracts and stir with a rubber spatula until a
very thick dough is formed. Gradually add the cold water and stir until the dough is
slightly tacky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30
minutes.

Dust a clean work surface with some rice flour. Remove half of
the dough from the refrigerator, place it in the center, and roll the dough around
until the surface is entirely coated in flour. Dust a rolling pin with rice flour.
Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness.

Cut out the cookies with your desired cutters and transfer from
the work surface to one of the prepared baking sheets with a spatula, placing them
about 1 inch apart. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the
baking sheets, and bake for 5 minutes more, or until slightly golden. Let stand on
the baking sheets for 10 minutes.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with your desired tip with the sugar
glaze and decorate as desired.

Makes 24