BabyCakes

I have never been fond of babies; as the third oldest of 14 cousins there were plenty of babies around to be less than fond of. I adore all my cousins now that they are graduating from high school and old enough to joke and hang around and watch R-rated movies, but back in the day I'd just as soon pop my eye out with a spoon as play with a bunch of toddlers.

My youngest cousins, J and The Demon Baby, however, are the slight exceptions to the rule. Born when I was 21 and 24 respectively, J and TDB are major players in my life and I go out of my way to spend time with them. This isn't to say that I want to go out and start having dozens of my own (quite the contrary) but knowing babies as an adult is very different then meeting them as an adolescent.

In addition to spending the weekend with J and TDB (for the latter's third birthday party), I also attended my first baby shower. I spent 4 hours decorating onesies (fun) surrounded by women who all seemed to love and adore babies (strange and slightly alienating since I still can't really stand babies I'm not related to).


As I get older, I've been dreading the moment when I'll hear my biological clock ticking and suddenly desire a baby more than anything else in the world. It seems logical that it would happen at a 3-year-old's birthday party (watching a bunch of toddlers eat cake with their hands is pretty cute if you're not the one in charge of cleaning them up) or a baby shower (there's a lot of estrogen at a baby shower; it's why I've heretofore avoided them). So far, no clock.


What was ticking this weekend was my internal clock that tells me it's been too long since I made any cookies. Finding a cookie recipe that didn't require vegan butter or soymilk (both banished in the raw-ification of my kitchen) took a bit of doing, but I was able to cobble together a pretty delicious cake-like cookie with the ingredients I did have in my cupboards.



Double Chocolate Raspberry BabyCakes

1 container fresh raspberries (I think it was a pint)

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

rounded 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 rounded tbs dark cocoa powder

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix together the raspberries, sugar, oil, and extracts. Use a fork to really break up all the berries until it reaches a watery consistency.

In a seperate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add to the wet in three or four batches mixing well inbetween each batch. Don't use an electric mixer for this one. The dough gets pretty thick so a wooden spoon or large plastic fork (like I have) works best.

Roll the dough into half-dollar sized balls and then flatten them into 2-2 1/2 inch disks. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart (they don't spread out at all). Bake for ten minutes. Do not overbake the cookies. Burny chocolate makes babies cry. Leave sit on the tray for about 5 minutes. While still warm on the tray, dust the tops with powdered sugar. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These were quite a hit at the shower. They have a texture somewhere between cake and cookie, soft and chocolately. I could easily make these bite-sized for a more refined looking dessert or replace the powdered sugar with a drizzle of icing. Possible negative: the seeds from the fresh raspberries. I actually liked having the seeds in the cookies. I think it made them taste even fresher, kinda like a chocolate dipped raspberry or a Godiva truffle. I can see, though, how some people might not dig it.

Had I the time, I would have dyed the powdered sugar blue in honor of the soon-to-be-born Thatcher. And like all good moms know, nothin' says lovin' like colored powdered sugar.

Hmm. Perhaps it's for the best that I don't have any kids.