2010 was the last time I was in New York.  

Some days it feels like a lifetime ago, others, like yesterday.

Aromas and songs can transport me back to the moment we munched on ice-cream in Brooklyn, or to the cheese and olives we collected from the Garden of Eden Gourmet.  However, the one memory that always springs to mind and that I didn't indulge in at that time....

Wandering back to our East Village apartment, we passed the longest que of people stretching all the way down the street.  All queuing to get into a cookie shop...what the?  The store sold home-made lemonade and cookies....again, what the?

Now, I'm not a lemonade fan and I'm certainly no cookie monster but for that  many people wanting to get their hands on the goods.....they must have been bloody brilliant!

My ode to this impressive cookie shop may be both gluten and refined-sugar free (something I'm quite sure was not on sale that day), but they are made with love.  Something I like to believe was the main reason so many people flocked that day.

Real Chocolate Chip Cookies

(recipe from the I Quit Sugar Website)

+

1 tsp baking powder | 1 ½ cup buckwheat flour | 1 tsp vanilla extract | pinch of salt | 125g unsalted butter, room temperature (or coconut oil) | ½ cup rice malt syrup | 1 egg | 100g raw cacao nibs

Makes 24

1. Preheat 160 degrees and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cacao nibs in a bowl and set aside.
3. In an electric mixer beat butter and rice malt syrup until creamy.  Add the egg and beat until smooth and combined.
4. Add flour mixture and mix together gently until just combined.
5. With damp hands scoop teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls and press down.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.  Cool on wire rack and store in an airtight container.