Food Allergy Friendly Holiday Cookies

Christmas Cookies

It's that time of year. I've pulled out my allergy friendly go-to holiday cookie recipe cards and I'm heading into the kitchen. I've borrowed recipes from others or adapted old favorites to meet our needs of milk, egg and nut-free. Many of these work well with your favorite gluten-free flour too. No one will ever suspect that these cookies are missing anything. They are all so delicious!

• When a chocolate cookie recipe comes from the Hershey Kitchens, I figure you can't go wrong. This recipe for Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies is easy to adapt. I use dairy-free margarine and I substitute the 2 eggs with a mixture of 3 Tablespoons water, 3 Tablespoons canola oil and 2 teaspoons of baking powder. I use dairy-free chips and eliminate the nuts. Simply divine!
• Food Allergy Mama's Chocolate Crinkles are already dairy, egg, nut free and yummy.
• This classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe by Sunmaid is another staple on my cookie tray. Again, I use a dairy-free margarine and substitute the one egg with a mixture of 1 1/2 Tablespoons water+ 1 1/2 Tablespoons canola oil and 1 teaspoon baking powder.
• Snickerdoodles always remind me of Christmas. Ummmm...that smell of cinnamon sugar baking...Sue W.'s recipe is also easily changed by using dairy-free margarine and substituting the 2 eggs with a mixture of 3 Tablespoons water, 3 Tablespoons canola oil and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
• One of our new favorites is the 2010 FAANtastic Divvies Cookie Contest Winner. Libby, the creator of Double Chocolate Brownie Bites has also provided a gluten-free version of her recipe.

Happy baking...and eating! What cookies will you bake this season?

Another Year of Trick or Treat

Another trick or treat night and all was fine. A few of the neighbors had special, safe treats set aside. I sent thank you e-mails the following day to them because it warms my heart that they get that this is a tough holiday for kids with food allergies.

My son separated his candy into safe and unsafe piles. The safe pile was considerably smaller. I swapped the unsafe pile with some chocolates I made in a Halloween Jell-O mold. I added crushed almonds to the chocolate because my nut allergic child can have almonds. They are a great protein source so I try to add them to baked goods when I can.

We head into the succession of food holidays- Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day. Along the way we'll deal with cooking in the school Family and consumer Science class, a family trip and an overnight school activity. Each event requires planning and a dose of anxiety, but as a family, we've got the hang of this food allergy thing pretty well now. I am excited to read your comments about successful milk desensitization programs for your kids and I'm thrilled that our allergist office will soon start a peanut desensitization program. Strict avoidance may be an out-dated recommendation in the coming years.

Now that would be a treat!