With the holidays coming up, we’re in a giving mood. So throughout the next month, we’ll be sharing excerpts from books featured in our holiday store. Today, it’s Heather Crosby’s YumUniverse Pantry to Plate, which features 30 ingenious recipes to help you freestyle plant-packed, gluten-free meals and snacks with just what’s in your pantry.

You can find the recipe for her vegan “Red Velvet” Peppermint Choco-Chip Cookies below.

Buy the Book
Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Workman

“Red Velvet” Peppermint Choco-Chip Cookies

A great one to try on all the “I don’t like beets” people in your life. Not only do they provide beautiful “red velvet” color without chem-y dye, but they add a scrumptious level of sweetness to these cookies.

Makes 16-18 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 medium red beet, peeled and diced
• 3 tablespoons warm water, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons if needed
• ¾ cup (150 g) Sucanat
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (70 g) blanched almond flour
• ½ cup (80 g) brown rice flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa/ cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch/flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, gently warmed to liquid
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup (85 g) chopped dark chocolate (one 3-ounce/85 g bar)
  Instructions

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two large baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside, then start a double boiler and steam the diced beet until easily pierced with a fork.
2. Place the beet in the blender and purée, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water if needed (just to get the blades going—you want applesauce consistency, not watery). Transfer ¼ cup (60 g) of the purée to a small bowl and save any leftover for soup or muffins.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the Sucanat, almond flour, rice flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder, and salt.
4. In another large bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons warm water with the beet, oil, and peppermint and vanilla extracts until thoroughly combined.
5. Fold together the wet ingredients and flour mixture, then incorporate the chocolate until evenly distributed. Use a spoon to place 1½-inch (4 cm) dollops of dough onto the lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until browned and the tops and edges are cooked. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets. The cookies will set more as they cool.

Recipe from YumUniverse Pantry to Plate © Heather Crosby, 2017. Photographs copyright © Heather Crosby, 2017. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.