If you know anyone with food allergies or sensitivities, the best gift you can give them is inclusion. While it’s not always simple or convenient to provide an allergy-friendly option at events, the extra effort will always be rewarded with sincere gratitude and big smiles.
It’s important to note that when preparing food for someone with food allergies, read all ingredient lists carefully and be aware of cross-contamination. Ensure that your kitchen surfaces and utensils are clean and free from any trace of food allergens. An easy way to reduce risks is to cook the allergy-friendly dish alone and separate from any other dishes so that you are focused and other ingredients that do not belong in your dish are kept away. Also, consider lining your bakeware with parchment paper.
Here is Best Allergy Sites’ top 9 recipes for Allergy-Friendly Christmas Cookies that are free from top allergens. All recipes are nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and soy-free.
Shortbread Cookies
Traditional shortbread biscuits are made from one part white sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour by weight, but this delicious allergy-friendly shortbread cookie recipe uses a gluten-free flour blend, coconut oil, tapioca starch and powdered sugar to create a crispy and light cookie that everyone will love.
Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread is typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg or cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar or molasses. The popularity of Gingerbread houses rose with the story of Hansel and Gretel, where they stumbled upon a house made entirely of treats deep in the forest. Here is a gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free and soy-free recipe for gingerbread cookies.
Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are often shaped and decorated with frosting or sprinkles, which make them popular during the holidays because you can make them fun and festive. This allergy-friendly sugar cookie recipe uses gluten-free flours, and replaces the eggs with applesauce and the butter with dairy-free margarine.
Peppermint patties
Chocolate and peppermint are considered holiday comfort foods, and Peppermint Patties are the perfect marriage of these two flavors. This recipe requires no baking and replaces the dairy used in traditional recipes with coconut oil to make an allergy-friendly version of an old favorite.
Chocolate Truffles
No holiday party is complete without decadent homemade chocolate truffles. This is a simple 2 ingredient recipe using chocolate and coconut milk. Make a variety by rolling them in allergy-friendly toppings like cocoa powder, shredded coconut, finely chopped roasted sunflower seeds or sprinkles.
Double Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
The possibilities are endless with these Gluten-free Double Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies. This recipe is easily converted to dairy-free by using a dairy-free butter substitute. Decorate with holiday colored sprinkles, candy cane pieces or chopped roasted sunflower seeds.
Coconut Macaroons
These sweet coconut bites are a festive treat. While they are traditionally made with eggs, almonds, flour and sometimes condensed milk, this easy to follow recipe uses coconut milk, gluten-free flour and honey to make a delicious and moist allergy-friendly macaroon.
Snow Globe Cookies
These gluten-free, vegan and nut-free snow globe cookie recipe is easy to pull together and requires no baking. High in protein and fiber, these soft and chewy cocoa cookies are made with oats, hemp and flax seeds and are dusted in powdered sugar to add a festive snowy setting to any holiday table
Aquafaba Meringue Cookies
No eggs are needed to make these perfectly airy and crispy meringue cookies. This simple recipe only requires sugar, vanilla and aquafaba, which is the bean soak water from chickpeas. For a festive twist, make Peppermint Meringue Cookies by adding ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract to the recipe.
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