BabyCakes : vegan, gluten-free, and (mostly) sugar-free recipes from New York's most talked-about bakery

The Babycakes chocolate chip cookies were the best gluten-free cookie I'd ever made... but only after three batches of trial-and-error fiddling with the given recipe. Maybe it's because I had to substitute canola oil for the coconut oil (for allergy reasons), but every dessert I made out of this book needed adjusting to come out with an edible product. (I want to give Babycakes the benefit of the doubt, and assume that using the correct coconut oil would fix everything, but a surprising number of Amazon reviews suggest I'm not the only one having problems.) I would still recommend checking this book out of the library (definitely so if you're thinking of buying it), even if just for the beautiful pictures - they're very inspiring, and if you have a sense of adventure when it comes to baking, then by all means, try some recipes! But be prepared for possible unsatisfactory outcomes.

If you're determined to do some substituting of your own (and who can deny that canola is much cheapter than coconut oil?), I advise you to use 3/4 cup oil. 1 cup makes them super runny and flat, and burn easily; 1/2 cup looks great when they come off the pan but they get hard really fast. These cookies are best eaten within 1 or 2 days.

This book is now a favorite - funny & intelligent ~ actually a wee bit snarky! Having just begun to go gluten-free (ugghh!) this book was a real relief. The healthy hostess cupcakes were fabulous (so said even the non-vegetarians and wheat eaters!), a wonderful friend made the chocolate chip cookies and everyone who got one wanted the recipe. These goodies are not health food, but a far cry above the usual and when we want/need something yummy ~ these recipes give us an option that isn't "smutty" :) Enjoy!