BabyCakes for My Babies

The ground is covered with snow and I am certain that the mountain is freshly blanketed after last night, but I have a recipe that I would like to share with you before I head up to Eaglecrest. My kids can’t eat wheat, are allergic to eggs and nuts, and my son can’t have dairy. I know, crazy, but somehow we manage. Bob’s Redmill has a Gluten-Free All Purpose flour that I use when I don’t want to have to mix GF flours from scratch and I routinely make a banana bread recipe that used to appear on the back of the package. Recently the recipe featured on the back of the bag changed and I finally tried it: BabyCakes NYC Chocolate Chip Cookies. BabyCakes is a bakery that was founded in New York City that specializes in “offer(ing) all-natural, organic and delicious alternatives free from the common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs.” They also have a couple of cookbook offerings available on their website and have expanded to include locations in Los Angeles and Orlando.

You wouldn’t know that this recipe is dairy and gluten free because it is just plain good and it’s also easy to make. The hardest thing that you may encounter is sourcing some of the ingredients, but if you live in a community bigger than Juneau, that shouldn’t be a problem. Here is your list of items and ingredients.

Preheat oven to 325°

One bowl (Yay! I love it when you can mix everything in one bowl)

Two baking sheets

Parchment paper (To line your baking sheets)

1½ Cups gluten free Oat Flour

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

1 Cup organic Sugar

¼ Cup Flaxseed Meal

¼ Cup Arrowroot Starch

1½ tsp Xanthan Gum

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

¾ Cup plus 2 Tbsp melted, refined Coconut Oil, Canola Oil, or Safflower Oil

6 Tbsp unsweetened Applesauce

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Start by mixing all of your dry ingredients together and then mix in the wet ingredients. Drop by the tablespoon full onto your two lined sheets and place in the middle of your preheated oven. Bake for 7 minutes, flip the pans around and bake for 7 minutes more. You should be able to find all of the ingredients in the natural foods section of your grocery store. Bob’s Red Mill makes many of the products. Xanthan Gum is pretty expensive, but it will last you for many years of Gluten Free baking. Arrowroot starch is the most difficult to source, but you should be able to find it in the spice section of your grocery store or in the bulk spice section of your health food section. It may be simply called Arrowroot or Arrowroot Powder, all the same thing.

These cookies taste great, but they also have Omega-3’s because of the Flaxseed Meal and fiber from the Oat Flour. The texture is light and full with a nice chewiness. I plan on taking some to the mountain with me to serve as “energy bars.” There is a wine that comes to mind in pairing with the cookies, Beaulieu Vineyard Maestro Collection Muscat de Beaulieu Muscat. I grabbed it here at the local Thibideau’s liquor store a few years back. It is not cloyingly sweet and its golden flavors and color go well with dried fruits, nuts, and after dinner cheese. The flax in the cookies is nutty enough in taste that I think it would marry nicely with the wine.

 

If you are not interested in baking or got hit up by some Girl Scouts and bought some of their cookie wares, you may want to check out this comic that my sister put together with wine pairings to match the cookies that you may have purchased. While you are visiting the Girl Scout Cookie feature, I would recommend that you check out more Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews.  You will find a unique and wonderful way of wine being related to you and the aesthetic value of the drawn reviews pleasing. It is yet another way for your senses to be engaged when it comes to your wine experience.

Mel