Weekend Baking Fiend...

OK...perhaps I wasn't a total fiend (cause' that would require making more that I did...) But, there was baking involved...as a matter of fact, there was a Kitchen Aid involved too...because it's near impossible to cream butter and sugar without it. Actually, I was almost tempted to buy a professional one (there was one for sale on QVC, which is odd, because I don't usually watch that channel, but I happened to bustle by on the way to a different channel, and there it was in all it's glory) I talked myself out of it, however...because I don't use the one I have enough to warrant a professional size, but I suppose I would if I was a stay at home mom or someone who was selling their baked goods outside the home...and either really seems appealing when faced with the work week...

Until then, I have been craving chocolate chip cookies (well, pupcakes too...but I thought I'd make those later this week in honour of a special friend coming to play for the weekend) and I thought I'd see if it was possible for me to make the cookies without gluten (spelt flour it was) without chocolate chips (dairy free carob chips) no eggs (1T. soy flour combined with 1T. water instead) raw sugar and soy based shortening...oh, and no nuts, I don't usually like nuts in my cookies (I know, it's not sounding much like chocolate chip cookies at all is it?)

And what do you know? I could make them just this way! I followed the recipe in Joy of Cooking (my all time favorite basic cook book) making my various substitutions and they turned out...well,

crunchy.

But, good.

They tended to fall apart quickly if I didn't immediately remove them the second I got them out of the oven...and I use an air bake cookie sheet, so sometimes they cooled quicker than I thought they would, and there's not a ton of room for me to climb in the oven with the 2 sheets of cookies and the spatula and still have room to scoop the cookies onto the cooling racks...So, it was a lot of me shoving the cookies off the cookie sheet as fast as possible (which is not that easy when you've got goey cookie dough and carob melting all over) smooshing them up or accidentally flipping them over.

But, they were still good...

Specially for breakfast, with a piping hot cuppa...