Sweet (Food Allergy Safe) Recipes for Valentine’s Day
The holiday decorations may have just come down, but before you know it, it’s going to be time to think about Valentine’s Day. Aside from planning a romantic evening with your spouse, you’ll need to make sure the kids are prepared for the Valentine’s Day plans they might have at school. If you signed up to bake for your child’s class for Valentine’s Day, more than ever, you’ll need to be mindful of whether any children in the class have a food allergy.
According to a study from the CDC, 1 out of every 25 children suffers from a food allergy. Before agreeing to bake something for your child’s classmates this year, first make sure you know whether any of the kids in your child’s class suffers from a food allergy. If you do need to keep dietary limitations in mind when baking keep these two gluten and nut free Valentine’s Day recipes in mind.
Nut Free Recipes
While it might seem that all you need to do is eliminate nuts from your recipe to make sure that you don’t trigger a child’s nut allergies, you’ll need to make sure that all the ingredients you use to bake are from a nut-free factory. Food labels will have information about whether the food was made at a nut-free facility or if may contain nut products.
The Hershey factory has several products that are made on dedicated nut-free lines, such as their regular size bar of milk chocolate. Hershey’s kisses are also safe for nut allergies, as are semi-sweet baking chips.
Kisses Cookies
The traditional Hershey’s kiss cookies are made with peanut butter, but you can create this variation if you want to make them for your child’s class – or for yourself!
For the cookie batter, combine 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup white sugar, 2 beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons vanilla extract, 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, mixing well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on an ungreased bake sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until set. Press a kiss into the center of each cookie and cool on a wire rack.
Red Velvet Cookies
These cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day with their bright red coloring. You and your kids will love this decadent, gooey treat. To make these cookies, you’ll need 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese, 1 ½ cups room temperature butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 box of red velvet cake mix (make sure you pick a variety of cake mix that comes from a nut-free factory).
Combine the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the egg and then beat in the vanilla. Add the cake mix and stir until everything is completely combined. Cover the mixture and place in the fridge for two hours.
After the dough has set for a few hours, roll the chilled dough into tablespoon sized balls. Roll them into confectioners’ sugar and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Place the dough into a heated 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. After they’ve finished cooking, remove to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
Gluten free recipes
If you realize your cooking for someone who follows a gluten-free diet, there are still ways you can offer them a sweet treat that adheres to a gluten free lifestyle.
(Vegan) Strawberry Cream Pie
For the pie shell, you’ll need 2 cups ground almonds, 1 cup of pecans, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 1 cup of dates. For the filling, you’ll need ½ cup cashew nuts, 1 cup tofu, 1 ½ cups strawberries, 3 tablespoons agave syrup, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, and an additional cup of strawberries for a topping.
To make the base, combine the pecans and ground almonds into a food processor and blend into a fine flour. Add the coconut oil and dates, blending for three or four minutes until a sticky dough forms. Remove the dough and mold it into a greased pie dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until the top browns. After the crust is cooked fully, remove and set it aside to cool.
While your pie crust is baking, place the filling ingredients into a clean food processor for about 5 minutes and allow a creamy middle to form. After the pie crush has cooled, place the pink strawberry cream into the pan. Place the pie into the fridge and allow it to set. After the filling has set, top with sliced strawberries.
Crispy Rice Squares
These are easy, no-bake treats that even your kids can help with. To make these treats, you’ll need 1 ¼ cups gluten-free brown rice syrup, ¾ cup almond butter, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 2 tablespoons bourbon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, and 6 cups gluten free crispy brown rice cereal (whichever variety you prefer).
Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside. In a saucepan, heat the brown rice sugar slowly until it begins to bubble. Remove it from heat, stirring in the coconut oil, almond butter, vanilla and almond extract. The mixture should become thick and glossy.
Place the rice cereal into a heat-safe bowl and pour the sugary mixture over the cereal. Stir the mixture gently to coat the cereal. Scoop the mixture into the baking pan and spread it evenly. Cover the pan and place it into the fridge to chill. After the mixture has cooled, cut them into squares in the shape of your linking.
About The Author Of Gluten And Nut Free Valentine’s Day Recipes
Amy Nicole is a freelance writer for Medical ID Marketplace, a company that specializes in fashionable yet functional medical ID bracelets and jewelry.
