peanut butter > gluten

proper baking requires proper bondage binding. gluten is my binding pal, now and (hopefully) forever, but it's fun to flirt with alternatives once in a while...especially when the end result is this:



what!!!

hey, let's gild the lily!



gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies originally from mitten machen, via vegan eat & treats 2010 holiday cookbooklette! these are unmissable. delicate and slightly crumbly, rich and sweet, and held together with gads of peanut butter = PERFECT. sorry gluten—don't call us, we'll call you.

my only change to the recipe: instead of 1/2 cup margarine, i used 1/4 cup peanut oil. to make them, ahem, low...er fat. just a little bit. and then i served it with unctuous coconut milk ice cream, thus blowing the mind of everyone present.

exquisite vegan vanilla ice cream, adapted from the vegan scoop

ingredients:
1 can full-fat coconut milk (about 2 cups)
1 cup nondairy milk of some kind (i used So Delicious coconut milk beverage)
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
3/4 cup sugar
about 1-2 inches vanilla bean, or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

directions:
in a medium saucepan, combine the can of coconut milk and additional cup of milk, 3 cups total. remove about 1/4 cup of milk, mix it in a small bowl with the arrowroot powder, and set aside.

cut open the vanilla bean and scrape out the precious treasure within; add to the saucepan of coconut milk. add sugar to saucepan, stir to dissolve, and bring to a boil over low heat. once it begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in the arrowroot mixture. it will thicken up a bit. if you are using vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean, add it now. refrigerate ice cream base until cold, then freeze in your delightful ice cream maker or use liquid nitrogen or your cold cold heart? just freeze it somehow.