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

chill.
    Place 1 portion of chilled dough on the work surface with a long side facing you. Spread ¼ cup of the preserves or jam onto the dough. Sprinkle ¼ cup of the raisins over it, followed by ¼ cup of the walnuts, if using, and 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll the dough into a tight log. Transfer it to a baking sheet, then pinch the ends closed. Repeat with the remaining dough, arranging the logs 1 inch apart on one of the prepared baking sheets. Brush the logs with the agave mixture and sprinkle each with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Using a sharp knife, make ¾-inch-deep cuts crosswise in the dough at 1-inch intervals, making sure not to cut through to the bottom. Repeat with the remaining dough.
    Bake for 15 minutes, rotate, and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or
     until the logs are golden brown. Let stand on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then
     transfer the logs to a cutting board and slice the cookies all the way
     through.
    Makes 40

    Irish Soda Bread
IRISH SODA BREAD
    My brothers and sisters cringed when I told them I was includingIrish soda bread in this cookbook. I can’t really blame them. Grandma McKenna used to force it on us when we’d pop by her house after church, as if it were punishment for interrupting her Sunday afternoon cleaning spree. My brother Bill pointed out that Grandma would ask him if he wanted some candy and when he said yes she’d sit him down with a thick slice of Irish soda bread. My brother Frank noted that her solution to gripes was, “Put some butter on it!” Instead, I decided I’d simply update this old-world snack so that it stands a fighting chance against the evolution of tender tastebuds.

    ⅓ cup rice milk
    1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
    3¼ cups oat flour, plus ¼ cup for dusting
    ½ cup raisins
    ¼ cup dried currants
    3 tablespoons caraway seeds
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 teaspoon xanthan gum
    ¾ teaspoon salt
    ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    ¼ cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
    2 tablespoons agave nectar
    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment
     paper and set aside.
    In a small bowl, combine the rice milk and vinegar. Set aside.
    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, raisins, currants, caraway seeds,
     baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and baking soda. Add the coconut oil, agave
     nectar, and rice-milk mixture and continue mixing with a rubber spatula until a
     sticky dough forms.
    Sprinkle half the reserved flour onto the baking sheet. Form the dough into a
     ball and sprinkle the top with the remaining reserved flour. Using a sharp knife,
     make a ¼-inch-deep incision across the top of the loaf.
    Bake for 20 minutes, rotate, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center
     comes out clean, about 20 minutes more. Tap the bottom of the loaf; if it sounds
     hollow, it’s done. Set on a rack to cool.
    Makes one 5-inch round loaf

    Chocolate Egg Cream
CHOCOLATEEGG CREAM
    This soda, made famous in Brooklyn candy stores back in the 1930s, contains neither eggs nor cream. People back then had a thing for grossing their customers out unnecessarily! For those not familiar, an egg cream is a chocolatey seltzer drink that people like my father, a native New Yorker, go batty over. My one recommendation is that you drink or serve this immediately; it is not a beverage that can sit around.

    2 tablespoons Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Glaze
    ⅓ cup unsweetened rice milk
    ¾ cup chilled seltzer water
    Combine the chocolate syrup and rice milk in a 12-ounce glass and stir until
     thoroughly combined. Slowly add the seltzer, stirring vigorously to create a foamy
     head. Serve immediately.
    Makes one 10-ounce drink

    Bread Pudding
BREAD PUDDING
    To be fair,bread pudding is an extremely delicious dish that was simply tagged with a terrible name and a rather unfortunate look. As a youngster I could hardly stomach the sight of it, all soggy and sad in its bowl, like a sandwich that had fallen into the pool