Egg and Nut Free Raspberry Cookie Bar

I realize it's been quite a while since I posted a new recipe to the blog! I apologize, but in between getting ready for baby #2 and life with a crazy toddler I haven't had much free time for trying new recipes and such.  I heard a quote that having a 2 year old is like having a blender without a lid. I'm finding that to be true. 

I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy...about 2 more months to go! I'm trying to make and freeze plenty of meals and goodies ahead of time since we can't really do much ordering out b/c of C's allergies. It'll be interesting to see if our next one has any sort of allergies or eczema. I pray that he doesn't, or if he does at least that he has the same allergies as C or else I'll go crazy!

I found this recipe on pinterest, but made a couple of tweaks to it and it turned out really good! Enjoy!



Egg and Nut Free Raspberry Cookie Bar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup organic grade b maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup jam (I used raspberry)

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch glass baking dish with butter or coconut oil. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and oats in a dish with a wire whisk. Cut butter in little pieces and mix in either with a fork, pastry blender or your hands. Add maple syrup or honey and combine.

Press about 2 cups of the mixture into the glass baking dish to form a crust. Spread jam on the crust and then sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on top. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. Cool, slice into bars and enjoy!

Egg and Nut Free Cookie Cake

Want something a little more special than just plain cookies, but don't have a lot of time to bake? Let me introduce you to....the cookie cake! Fun, but simple, it is the perfect treat to serve the next time you have company or a birthday. It is also incredibly easy to throw together. Enjoy!

Egg and Nut Free Cookie Cake
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup grade b maple syrup
3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup allergy friendly chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Put butter in bowl of a stand mixer and beat until fluffy (you can also do this with a hand mixer). Add maple syrup, applesauce and vanilla and beat until combined. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl with a wire whisk and then add to the wet ingredients and mix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter into a greased pie pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Egg and Nut Free Pancakes

We try to make pancakes whenever we are home together on a Saturday morning. This is the pancake recipe I stick to, but usually I try to come up with fun variations and flavors to add in. This morning we added a sliced banana, but if you scroll to the bottom you'll see some other fun ideas. It's important to have a basic pancake recipe because a child with food allergies will really only be able to enjoy pancakes at home.

Egg and Nut Free Pancakes
2 cups white whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp. water
4 Tbsp. coconut oil (melted and cooled)
1 Tbsp. grade b maple syrup
Extra coconut oil for the pan
Syrup, berries, etc for serving

Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat until hot.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a wire whisk.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine the milk, water, oil and syrup. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. As my husband always says....don't mix too hard! A few lumps are fine :)

Add some coconut oil to the hot pan and swirl around to coat. Drop about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the hot pan and allow to cook until bubbles form on the top and the bottom side seems firm. Flip and cook the other side until it's brown and firm. You can serve the pancakes right away or transfer them to a warmed oven until you're finished with the batter.

Here are some optional add-ins/flavors:
Banana slices
Apples and cinnamon
Blueberries
Chocolate chips
Gingerbread (add some cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice and ginger)
Raisins
Bacon (so delicious!)
Cranberries (dried or fresh)
Strawberries
Shredded coconut
Grape Nuts
And....my toddler's favorite way to eat a pancake....with cream cheese! Just make a little sandwich with two pancakes and some cream cheese. He loves it!

Egg and Nut Free Zucchini Bread

I know this is an off-season ingredient to be using right now, but I purchased zucchini for something else and needed to use it up. I also have been trying to think of ways to get my toddler to eat more greens, and although a sweet bread isn't exactly ideal, it was better than nothing. He's been so picky lately and I've just been able to get him to eat small snack type meals, so I'm trying to add in more nutrition to each little thing he will eat. He loved this bread served with some plain cream cheese and since it has whole wheat flour and a natural sweetener, it was a pretty decent snack!

Any other ideas for feeding a picky eater?

Egg and Nut Free Zucchini Bread
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup grade b maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. water
1 cup grated zucchini
2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
 1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch loaf pan. Combine the oil, applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla and water in a bowl. Stir in the zucchini and set aside. In another bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt with a wire whisk. Stir the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Batter will be thick and you might need to use your hands. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.

And the Winner is....

Aneesa (aneesa824@yahoo.com)! 

Thanks to all who entered!  If you didn't win but still want to purchase some coconut oil, you can do so here:


Virgin Coconut Oil, Gold Label - 1 quart










Right now it is only sale for $29.50 (down from $40.00).

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Giveaway: Tropical Traditions 32 oz. Virgin Coconut Oil

I've been using coconut oil for over the past year now and I absolutely love it. It smells delicious, it tastes delicious and it's incredibly healthy for you. I use it for my chocolate covered strawberry cake, salmon bites and chocolate cranberry granola.  I also use coconut oil as an eye makeup remover, diaper rash cream, face moisturizer and lip gloss. It's really quite amazing. The coconut oil from Tropical Traditions is the best you can get and right now they are giving away a 32 oz. jar to one of my readers!

Their coconut oil is actually on sale right now, so if you want to get it now you can purchase it here:

Virgin Coconut Oil, Gold Label - 1 quart










There are a few things you can do to enter. Please leave a separate comment below indicating each entry you complete. Please also leave your email address when you comment so I know how to contact you if you win. The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada only. Winner will be chosen using random.org on Thursday Dec. 20.

1. Mandatory entry: Subscribe to Tropical Traditions Newsletter or tell me if you already do.
2. Subscribe to this blog, Cooking Allergy Free, or tell me if you already do.
3. "Like" Tropical Traditions on Facebook or tell me if you already do.
4. "Like" Cooking Allergy Free on Facebook or me if you already do.
5. Follow me on pinterest or tell me if you already do.
6. Share this giveaway via email, Facebook or twitter! Let me know if you do.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. If you order the coconut oil by clicking the link above and have never ordered from them before, you will receive a free book on coconut oil and I will receive a coupon from them. 
 

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

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Gingerbread Squares with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (Egg and Nut Free)

Over the weekend, we made and decorated a gingerbread house with our little guy.  I had to make it from scratch since all the kits I could find had traces of eggs or nuts in them (of course).  However, I'm glad I did because it really wasn't that hard and it was soooo delicious! To say C liked it would be an understatement. I think he ate half the house and each time I would try to get a piece, he would grab it out of my hand and eat it himself.  (Followed by his version of "thank you, Mommy!")

Since he liked it so much, I decided to take the same recipe and make it into little squares with a cream cheese frosting. Still the same delicious gingerbread, but even better with the cream cheese frosting instead of the over-sugary "glue" frosting we used for the house. This recipe should make you about 12-16 squares depending on how big you make them or how much dough you eat in the process ;)  I only got 12...told you it was good!



Gingerbread Squares
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup*
1/4 cup light molasses
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tbsp. water

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, maple syrup, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda. Beat until thoroughly mixed. Add in the flour and beat until crumbly, then add the water 1 Tbsp. at a time. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out your dough onto a flat surface and cut into small squares. If the dough was left in the fridge longer than 30 minutes and is hard to roll, just let it sit for a while to soften or just keep working with it until it rolls well for you. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

* Whenever I have maple syrup in a recipe, I always use organic Grade B maple syrup (a natural sweetener). I don't know if it will taste the same using a regular maple syrup. If you don't want to use this kind of maple syrup, then I would substitute brown sugar. Double the amount for sugar and add some more liquid (water or even milk) if you think you need it. For the frosting below, regular maple syrup should be fine to add the flavor but taste test as you add it to see if you like the flavor.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg. regular cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and blend.

Frost and enjoy!

This post is linked up on Allergy Free Wednesdays http://www.realfoodallergyfree.com/2012/12/chocolate-peppermint-bark-chocolate-covered-pretzels-salted-toffee-chocolates-carmelita-bars-and-gingerbread-donuts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed: