Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Allergen-Free Picnic Dessert Ideas

Today’s post comes from guest blogger Chen, who shares picnic ideas at Picnic Food Ideas . When he offered to share some recipes with us I challenged him to make them completely allergen-free, and this is the result. Even if you don’t have plans for a picnic yet, I think he’s got some great recipes for us!

From Chen:

Fortunately, there are tons of allergen-free recipes out there that take advantage of common food substitutes in order to create delicious treats. Dessert recipes are in high demand, because many desserts contain dairy products, nuts, eggs, and other foods that trigger allergies. This article gives you two allergen-free picnic dessert ideas.

Allergen-Free Picnic Dessert Idea #1: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies make a great dessert for a picnic. This recipe makes one dozen allergen-free cookies that taste great – even as good or better as regular cookies do! They lack nuts, dairy products, eggs, gluten, and soy. You’ll need:
  • Two tablespoons of lukewarm water
  • 1 1/3 teaspoons of egg replacer
  • 2/3 teaspoon of baking powder (without gluten)
  • 2/3 teaspoon of vanilla extract (without gluten)
  • 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons of shortening replacer
  • 2 tablespoons of non-dairy butter
  • ¼ cup of brown sugar, light
  • 1 cup of flour (without gluten)
  • ½ cup of chocolate chips (without soy, gluten, or dairy)
  • 1/6 cup of cane sugar
  • 1/6 teaspoon of salt

Preheat to 375 degrees F. Take the sugar and combine it with the butter, and whip them together. Add the vanilla. Blend the egg replacer with water for 90 seconds. Add the first mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt in a bowl, then combine with the first mixture and add the chocolate chips. When you place the cookie dough down, shape the cookies into a cookie shape before baking them in the oven for 11-13 minutes. Be sure to watch carefully until they’re done.

Allergen-Free Picnic Dessert Idea #2: Rice Krispies Treats

Another favorite. You will need:
  • 1 10 ounce package of sugar-free, non-dairy marshmallows
  • 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
  • 3 tablespoons of non-dairy butter
Grab a saucepan and melt the butter on a low heat setting. Melt the marshmallows completely in the saucepan, and then remove from the stove. Stir in the cereal until you have a nice coating over all of the krispies. Then, take a 13 x 9 x 2 greased pan and use a greased spatula to put the rice krispie mixture into place. Let sit until it is cool before serving.

Both of these desserts are terrific ways to enjoy something sweet at a picnic without having to worry about pesky allergens getting in the way. I hope you enjoy!

4 comments:

MisYahd said...

Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. It's great for my kids who love to go out and have picnic.

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nyc catering said...

Now this is my kind of picnic food - safe for everyone, and absolutely yummy.

irish restaurants said...

Would you suggest an alternative to sugar for people allergic to it? Or is artificial sugar too risky?

Colette said...

irish restaurants, sugar is not a common allergy -- it's typically the proteins in food that cause allergies. It's more likely that someone will need to avoid sugar for other medical reasons. I'd avoid artificial sweeteners and opt for something like agave nectar, if that's allowed on your diet.