Free Babycakes Covers the Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes From Donuts to Snickerdoodles by Erin McKenna, Tara Donne

pudding. Bread pudding! I have a policy of never ruling anything entirely out of the question, so I began investigating.
    Over the course of writing this book, I simply isolated my favorite parts of these sorts of recipes—in Irish soda bread it was the caraway seeds and the dense crumb, in bread pudding it was moist bread pockets surrounded by sweet and spiced fruit, and so on. I had soon acquired a real fondness for all these desserts, and I can happily report that they have been thoroughly vetted and approved by the highly selective McKenna brood. At the very least, you and Grandma can now take an encore whirl in the kitchen together!
    HAMENTASCHEN
    RUGALACH
    IRISH SODA BREAD
    CHOCOLATE EGG CREAM
    BREAD PUDDING
    MOUNDS

    Hamentaschen
HAMENTASCHEN
    I admit that the first time a customer requested hamentaschen I had to go to the local kosher bakery to see what the person was talking about. But then I recognized them immediately and I quickly fell in love with every variety of light pastry stuffed with jam. Use any preserve or jam in the center that you like, but I’ve included a recipe for my favorite blackberry filling. You can sub in a different berry without trouble, with the exception of raspberries, which tend to be very watery and don’t, for the most part, thicken up all that well.

    BLACKBERRY JAM
    2 quarts blackberries
    3 cups agave nectar
    3 tablespoons lemon juice
    1 teaspoon arrowroot
    ½ cup poppy seeds
    Basic Gluten-Free Pastry Dough
    Combine the blackberries, agave nectar, lemon juice, arrowroot, and poppy
     seeds in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer,
     uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. Pour the jam
     into an airtight container.
    Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment
     paper and set aside.
    Roll the dough out onto a clean work surface to ¼-inch thickness. Using
     a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into rounds. Drop a teaspoonful of the jam
     filling into the center of each circle. Identify three separate, equidistant points
     on the edge of the rounds to create a perfect triangle. Grab the dough at these
     three points and bring them up one at a time around the filling to form a tent and
     pinch the points and seams together, leaving a bit of the filling exposed (as
     pictured).
    Transfer to the prepared baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, rotate, then
     continue baking for 7 minutes more, or until the edges are browned. Remove from the
     oven and let stand on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.
    Makes 30

    Rugalach
RUGALACH
    This is another Jewish recipe that became an instant favorite at the bakery. I don’t know about you, but I’m a complete sucker for any and all rolled pastry. Pulling apart the layers and investigating and indulging in the different textures inside are activities I would do all day if asked. Normally, rugalach recipes call for nuts but I made them optional in honor of the allergy-plagued among us.

    ¾ cup vegan sugar
    2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon agave nectar
    2 tablespoons melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
    ¾ cup rice flour
    Basic Gluten-Free Pastry Dough
    1 cup purchased apricot preserves or homemade blackberry jam
    1 cup raisins, chopped
    1 cup walnuts (optional)
    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment
     paper and set aside.
    In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the sugar with the cinnamon;
     set aside. In a separate small bowl, combine the agave nectar and coconut oil and
     stir until thoroughly incorporated. Set aside.
    Dust a clean work surface and a rolling pin with the rice flour. Place about
     one quarter of the dough on the work surface and roll it out to form a
     ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment and place
     it in the refrigerator to chill while you roll out the remaining dough in the same
     fashion. Place the second rectangle of dough in the refrigerator to