Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays where chocolates, sweets, and other treats fill our homes, offices, and schools, but once again, many of our kids can’t enjoy them because of various allergens. These three easy allergen free treats are sure to be a hit to all kids, allergy or not.
Pick Your Butter Chocolate Hearts
(gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, soy free, modify for nut-free)
This recipe calls for peanut or almond butter, but if all nuts are out, try it with sunflower butter instead. Using allergy-friendly chocolate chips, the recipe is free of dairy, eggs, soy, and gluten, but huge on taste!
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup peanut, almond, or sunflower butter
- pinch of salt
- 10 ounces of allergy-free chocolate chips
- heart-shaped cookie cutter (I used a 1½-inch heart, but anything between 1-3 inches will work)
Yields: 10 hearts
In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, nut butter, and salt until combined. Tape a piece of parchment paper to your counter and lay the mixture onto the paper. Flatten the mixture to about a ¼-inch thickness and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to remove pieces from the mixture. Re-roll and flatten the mixture as needed, to allow for more heart-shaped cuts. Place the hearts on a piece of parchment paper on a freezer-safe plate and put them in the freezer for at least an hour. Before removing the hearts from the freezer, place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 30-seconds at a time, stirring the chips in between heating. When the chips are melted and smooth, remove the hearts from the freezer. Carefully hold a heart with two fingers on the bottom edges and dip the heart in the chocolate until it is fully saturated. Place the dipped heart on a piece of parchment paper and continue with the remaining hearts. When finished, place the hearts in the refrigerator to harden. Keep them stored in the refrigerator or freezer and always use a piece of parchment to separate hearts if you stack them.
Linzer-Style Heart Cookies
(gluten-free, dairy-free, nut free, soy free)
This cookie style tends to include copious amounts of nuts and dairy, but a few modifications allow for a sweet, allergy-friendly treat.
- 2¼ cups brown rice flour, plus another ¾ cup for dusting and rolling
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup arrowroot
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp xantham gum
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup canola oil
- 4 oz. jar of apple baby food
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- ⅓ cup cold water
- ¼ cup raspberry jam
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Yields: about 12 cookies, depending on the size of your cutter
Mix the first six ingredients together, holding the extra ¾ cup of brown rice flour to the side for later use. Add the oil, apples, vanilla extract, and lemon extract and mix until a wet dough is formed. Slowly add the water into the mix. Cover the dough and put it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. The dough should be oily and wet, so sprinkle the remaining rice flour on your parchment-lined cookie sheet and a little more onto a rolling pin and roll out half of the dough to a thickness of about a quarter of an inch directly on the cookie sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough. This recipe is difficult to use cookie cutters on prior to baking, so I cut them after I bake.
Bake the dough for 14 minutes, turning the sheet halfway as needed. Let it cool for about ten minutes after it comes out of the oven. Using a larger heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as possible. Using a butter knife, spread a thin amount of jam on half of the hearts, all the way to the edges of the cookie. Using a smaller heart-shaped cutter, cut a window hole in the remaining hearts and gently place each one over a cookie with jam careful not to push jam over the edges. Place the powdered sugar in a sifter and gently sift over the assembled cookies.
Glazed and Sprinkled Sugar Cookies
(gluten-free, dairy-free, nut free, soy free)
The basic sugar cookie recipe that is the base of the Linzer cookie above lends itself to so many other cookie styles with it’s light flavor and sweet, lemony aroma. This basic glazed and sprinkled sugar cookie is easy to make, is a favorite for kids and adults alike, and tastes as delicious as it looks.
- 2¼ cups brown rice flour, plus another ¾ cup for dusting and rolling
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup arrowroot
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp xantham gum
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅔ cup canola oil
- 4 oz. jar of apple baby food
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- ⅓ cup cold water
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- about 3 tbsp water
- ½ tsp vanilla extract, or to taste
- Allergy-free sprinkles (or make your own with raw sugar crystals and food coloring)
Yields: 24 cookies
Follow the directions for the Linzer-style cookie recipe above until the dough has been removed from the oven and cooled. Use a circular cookie cutter (or you can use the lid to a canning jar or another circle-shaped object) and cut out as many cookies as possible.
In a small bowl whisk the powdered sugar with about 3 tablespoons of water. Add more if you like a thin glaze and less if you like a thicker frosting-like glaze. Add the vanilla extract using more or less based on your taste preference. When the glaze is smooth and is a consistency that can be easily spread, you can frost the cookies. Start by adding a dollop to the center of the cookie and use a butter knife to spread it to the outer edge. Before the glaze hardens, sprinkle with allergy-friendly sprinkles. You can make your own by adding a little food coloring to raw sugar crystals.
