Nut-Free Halloween Edible Craft Project: Pumpkin Cake Haunted Houses!

A completed pumpkin cake Haunted House.

Halloween is fast-approaching and those of us who have kids with severe food allergies are searching for fun Halloween treats and activities that are safe. Here's one to do with your kids at home or for a Halloween party with friends: an edible Halloween craft project using delicious and healthy pumpkin cake to make "Haunted Halloween Houses."

I recently included a pumpkin-apple bread recipe and please note that this recipe is a bit different. It's more dense, which helps the cake stay together. Another tip is to let the cake sit for several hours after coming out of the oven so that it does not fall apart when you try to work with it.

To "glue" the roof of the Haunted House to the base and to create doors, etc., we used a basic buttercream frosting. I tinted the frosting purple, black and orange and then a reusable pastry tube with tips.  (I have this kind of stuff because I am a kitchen gadget geek.) Nordic Ware has a wonderful pastry bag made out of solid plastic--it is kind of like a cookie press and is very easy to clean up. I bought mine at SuperTarget, my home away from home.

 If you don't have one of these frosting decorators, you can place the different frostings in resealable plastic bags, cut off the corner of the bag and then squeeze the frosting through it. Works great!

My daughters used inedible plastic spiders as well as Sixlets, Halloween gumballs and cupcake picks (inedible) to decorate. We got this huge bag of nut-free candy made in Canada at my local Jewel (Albertson's) supermarket for some of our candy decor.

Candy made in facility that does not process nuts.

Front of the bag: It's called Witch's Brew and has gumballs
 (Jack o Lantern and eyeballs) and black and
 orange Sixlet candies, among other nut-free treats.

You could also use Surf Sweets spooky spiders, Vermont Nut-Free Chocolate Skippers (like M&Ms) and other chocolate props such as Premium Chocolatiers amazing array. Whatever you like and is nut-free (or free from) would work here. I just had a thought that a plain Tootsie Roll (nut-free facility, by the way) would make a nice little chimney on the house. In any case, you and your kids can have fun with this project.

Nut-Free Haunted House Pumpkin Cake Project

(Please note: make this nut-free, dairy-free and egg-free by using dairy-free margarine, dairy-free milk and your favorite egg replacer)

Recipe:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (or use a combination of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg)
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (from a can)
1/4 cup milk (you can use dairy-free milk)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 - 1/2 cups sugar plus 2 tablespoons (you can use part brown sugar if you like for a deeper, richer color and taste)
2 large eggs (or use egg replacer)

Method:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 9 inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix. In a small bowl, combine pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla. Set aside.

Cream butter or margarine with sugar in a large mixing bowl until fluffy and light. Beat in eggs or replacer; eggs should be added one at a time and then blended.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Alternately, add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture, ending with flour mixture. Beat until just blended and no traces of flour remain visible.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes; check with wooden pick. If it the pick is clean, remove from oven. If not, bake a few more minutes and test again. Do not over bake.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. For this project, let it cool for several hours. If eating it without doing the project, eat a slice warm with some powdered sugar on top.

Project:

Once the cake is cooled, slice it evenly into squares. Use one full square for the base of the house. Cut another square in half; these triangles will be used for the roof.

Secure the roof to the base of the house with butter cream frosting of your choice. Decorate as desired and enjoy!

You can keep the finished houses in a container with a tight-fitting lid for a few days...but they will probably disappear pretty quickly.


Happy Halloween!

While you are online today, will you take a minute and vote for me in the Facebook Circle of Moms Food Allergy Blogger contest? It ends today, so every vote counts! If you like this blog, I'd love your vote. And THANK YOU!




Having Trouble Finding Nut-Free Items at the Supermarket? Online Resources to the Rescue

Zipping around to too many supermarkets in search of nut-free foods?
Online resources might be the answer.

Grocery shopping for a growing family takes up a fair amount of time, but shopping with specific food allergies in mind is even more time-consuming and often frustrating. Higher cost and limited accessibility to certain nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free or other "free from" foods can result in multiple shopping trips that might leave you empty-handed. It's true that foods specifically created to accommodate food allergies and intolerance are becoming more common in U.S. grocery stores, but they are still not readily accessible in many cities.

A recent trip to the Southwest to visit family, along with trips to a new and different supermarket in a completely different part of the country (I'm Chicago-based) got me thinking about the availability of peanut and tree nut allergy-friendly foods for all of us nut-free parents out there. I don't know about you, but it's not really worth it to travel to Whole Foods and use the gas money just to buy my favorite brand of nut-free trail mix that my kids love, only to discover that the store no longer even stocks it.

Now for the good news: Online retailers are increasingly meeting the needs of shoppers in quest of nut-free (and other free-from) foods.

Tasterie is service that has cropped up to meet the needs of food-allergic and intolerant customers. Created by a pediatrician and mother of kids with food allergies, this company sends you tailor-made boxes of allergy-friendly snacks and treats. Working with a nutritionist to keep things healthy as well as a peer board, this company takes the guesswork and legwork out of allergy-friendly shopping and the cost is surprisingly reasonable. If you are a busy parent--and who isn't--this could be a real time saver for you. Visit Tasterie's web site for more info.

Amazon is another convenient resource for allergy-friendly foods and baking items. Check Amazon to see if your favorite brands are offered and order in bulk to save money and time. I like to order my holiday baking supplies via Amazon -- it's easy and the delivery time is quick.

Of course, if you want certain items available at your local grocery stores, you can always ask your grocery manager to stock and/or order these items for you in bulk. You should be able to save money if you buy non-perishables in bulk. Asking your local grocery to stock certain items is a good idea because unless you ask, they won't necessarily know that these items are in demand. Customer demand brought 4 varieties of SunButter sunflower seed spread to my local grocery shelves, along with Enjoy Life Foods granola and Boom Choco Boom bars, among other items.

In fact, customer demand has brought nut-free cookie company Skeeter Snacks to many store shelves including Costco. Currently, you can also find Divvies nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free treats at Wegmans and other select grocery stores.  Of course, you can also order these treats online (click the links to visit their company websites) but when you can just swing by the store for your nut-free treats, that is a huge convenience.

Reading grocery labels can be confusing, too, so I devoted an entire section on how to decipher food labels and deal with customer service concerns in my e-book, The New Nut-Free Mom. Click the link for more information on the e-book and how to get it.

How do you find nut-free or other free-from treats and snacks? At the store? Online? What works best for you?

Food Allergies and Halloween Parties at School: Some Ideas on Staying Safe

It's that time of year again! Parents are starting to plan and/or hear about Halloween parties at school and many are concerned because once again, the kids with severe food allergies are at higher risk due to all of the food coming into classrooms.  The sheer amount of candy that comes into school can make it difficult to monitor, especially if your child is very young and not doing much self-management yet.

I think there is a better way to do this and that is by reducing food. Even if food is allowed, why not limit it to just a few things instead of a gazillion food items that then need to be screened. Something will always slip through the cracks if you offer an unlimited supply of food. Everyone -- kids, teachers, other parents -- want these parties to be fun and not potential ER emergencies.

I wrote an article for Chicago Parent magazine awhile ago, but it is a perennial one in terms of addressing food at school parties.

Plus, here is a recent blog post about going food-free for school parties. This has been one of my most popular recent posts, so I am sharing again for those who haven't seen it.

Don't stress, just be prepared to offer alternatives. And it's never to early to start coaching your child NOT to eat anything until you give it the thumbs up at home.

Please feel free to share my articles and posts with your school and thank you for all you do to keep Halloween parties safe, fun and inclusive!

Nut-Free Candy Corn Cookies for Halloween!

Candy corn shortbread cookies.

Last week, I talked about options for nut-free candy corn. Here's a link to that blog post if you would like to learn more about where to find nut-free candy corn.

This week, it's all about candy corn cookies! Made out of a simple shortbread dough that is nut-free and egg-free (and can be dairy-free if you use dairy-free margarine), you can create sliceable refrigerator cookies that resemble a kernel of candy corn. A lot of you were asking for egg-free candy corn and I haven't been able to find any.You might be able to make these egg-free cookies work instead!

I use this type of dough to make my youngest daughter's favorite short bread cookies, simply cut into squares, but as long as you keep it well-chilled, this dough is very easy to cut out and/or mold into whatever shape you want.

The great thing about this shortbread dough is its versatility. For example, to make a different candy corn shortbread, skip the food coloring, roll out the dough in to a rectangle and cut into triangle shapes. You can then make a simple confectioner's sugar icing, color it with food coloring and voila. Iced candy corn shortbread cookies.

Another use for this rich shortbread dough is to make round cookies with a nut-free candy corn in the center. Simply roll the finished dough into 1-inch balls, criss-cross with a fork to flatten slightly, then bake. While still hot from the oven, gently but firmly place a nut-free candy corn piece into the center of the cookie.

Now for the refrigerator cookies pictured above. These are surprisingly easy to make and they are definitely a great lunch box or party treat!

Candy Corn Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
(if using unsalted butter, add a tiny pinch of salt to the dough with the flour)
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
Yellow food coloring
Red food coloring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer (Kitchen Aid or electric beaters) on medium speed until well combined. Add vanilla extract, then stir in flour.

When dough is well combined, divide into 6 equal parts. Take 3 parts dough and knead until it comes together. To this dough add yellow and red food coloring until the dough takes on a bright orange hue. (Add more yellow and less red to start, then add more if needed). I placed the dough back into the Kitchen Aid added the food coloring in order to mix the color quickly and thoroughly. Remove orange dough from mixer and set aside.

Next combine 2 parts dough and add several drops of yellow food coloring to make a bright yellow dough. Set aside.

You will be left with one part dough; leave that one its natural color.

Next, put out a large sheet of plastic wrap on the counter. Pat the orange dough into a rectangle about 9 x 2 inches and 3/4 inch thick. Use a ruler to make sure you have this measurement.

Take the yellow dough and pat it out into a slightly smaller rectangle than the orange dough, about 1/2 inch thick and 9 x 3/4 inches. Center the yellow dough on the orange dough.

Roll remaining plain-colored dough into a 9 inch roll, about 3/4 inches in diameter. Place this in the center of the yellow rectangle. Using plastic wrap and a spatula to create as even lines as possible, form the dough into a triangle shape so that it will look like candy corn when sliced. This is what it should look like:

 

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill until firm, a couple of hours. You can speed this up by placing in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut dough into about 1/4 inch thick slices. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or until set. (Test for doneness by pressing your finger gently on the cookie; no imprint should remain.)

Be careful not to over bake. You don't want these to brown at all.

Remove from cookie sheet and place on wire rack to cool. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nut Allergy at School: A Sample Note from the Teacher

In my experience with elementary school, it's a good idea to let the parents of your child's classmates know about food allergies in the classroom. This not only helps reduce the incidence of unwanted and allergenic foods making their way into the classroom for parties and other events, but it also gives parents an idea of why this is happening and why the policy was instituted. The more the school backs you up on this, the better. Plus, some kids' Individual Health Plans or 504 Plans include a policy of reducing  or eliminating certain foods in the classroom.

 

Some teachers like to issue a letter at the start of the school year. Others may issue reminder notes before class parties or events. Our daughter's elementary school teachers have done this and it's been very helpful.

The note does not have to be long or filled with medical detail. Keep it informative, but also short, sweet and to the point. Notes don't solve everything, and I know parents get a lot of notes sent home that they disregard. But the benefit of the teacher issuing a note shows parents that this is policy and just part of the class rules.

Here is a sample note from the teacher alerting classmates’ parents to the presence of nut allergies in the classroom. Despite the fact that most elementary schools in the U.S. are not nut-free throughout the school, many classrooms strive to be nut-free in order to reduce additional risk from foods. This letter reflects that type of policy.

 

For every teacher who helps keep our kids safe and healthy during the school day, THANK YOU!

 

Sample Note to Parents from Your Child’s Teacher

Dear Parents,

This year we have students in our 4th grade class with severe allergies to peanuts and/or tree nuts. Because of the seriousness of this allergy, we are asking you to refrain from sending peanut or tree nut products to school for snacks or class parties. 

Your child is still able to eat what they like in the lunch room, where a peanut-free table will be available for allergic students or students who have not brought nut products with them that day. However, due to shared computer equipment and art supplies in the classroom, as well as the ease with which food residue is transferred from one student to the other, we would like to keep our classroom “nut-free.” 

Our goal is to make school a safe place for all of our students. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. If you have any questions, please contact (your child’s teacher). For a great source of food allergy information, visit www.faiusa.org.

Sincerely,

Your Teacher’s Name

 

What about your school? Do they issue a note or reminders about not bringing in certain foods?