After living a freelance lifestyle for almost a year, weekends eventually lost their meanings--I could stay out raging until 4 AM on a Tuesday if I was in the mood (not that I was). Throughout the year I consistently realized I had no desire to go out on a Saturday night, and found that the magic hour when people who live in big cities and have access to all kinds of activity begin to reach their height of excitement, I had a savage urge to bake.

I had never successfully baked before, mostly because it involves very precisely following a recipe. It sort of feels like being told what to do, like it's bossy or something. (It seems most of us here at ReadyMade view a recipe as a suggestion, rather than strict advice, so I know I'm in good company when I say this.) And until super chic gluten-free, vegan, mostly sugar-free bakery BabyCakes came around (yes, there have been many before and after, but they're the ones who changed the game for everyone and really inspired me), baking according to my health specifications was not an option.

At the beginning of the year my cousin who owns a raw restaurant in Sedona called Chocolatree gifted me a five-gallon bucket of primo coconut oil, one of the main ingredients (I've found) to successful baking without gluten, dairy, eggs, or processed sugar. Really nice coconut oil can be extremely cost prohibitive. With this windfall, I decided to get cracking on the experiments.

Now that it's getting a little chillier and turning on the oven feels nice, I'm going to start sharing some of the success stories with you. First up: Not-too-sweet Cakey Brownies.

 

1/2 cup Garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup Brown rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free baking flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips (can use carob chips too if you want to diminish the sweetness)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 heaping teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
scant 1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water
 
 
Preheat oven to 325
 
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, starches, powders, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir in the oil, agave, applesauce, vanilla extract, and hot water. You want a fairly smooth batter but don't go crazy on it and over blend. It should be sticky and fudgy looking when you're done. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips.
 
Using a rubber spatula, gently pour and fill in a lightly oiled 9x9 baking pan.
 
Bake for 15-18 minutes closest to a middle rack. Turn pan 180 degrees after 8 minutes. Check on them around 15... if a toothpick/knife comes out clean, take 'em out. The center will look slightly gooey still. It's ok. Let them cool in the pan a good ten minutes or more, then dig in or transfer to a cooling rack, your choice.

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