Gluten Free Christmas Treat Ideas / Recipes

[jenphilly]

I had to post... I've been kinda perturbed that because gluten is a trigger for aches and spasms with me, I can't have so many of the goodies I make or have around for the family this time of year. We do gluten free brownies and I'm actually experimenting this week making gluten free cake bites dipped in chocolate... so am thinking and coming up with solutions.

But, had to share that I just found a great treat that can be purchased or made. We drove out to York this weekend to pickup a huge custom bird playstand for my daughter's monsters for an Xmas present for her. It's over a 2 hour drive, so we left Saturday late, stayed the night, picked up the stands Sunday and drove home. We figured 4 plus hours in a car in a single day might be a bit miserable for me.

Anyway, on the way home we stopped at a Sheetz (kinda like a Wawa, Turkey Hill or 7-11 convenience store very popular out in Central PA). I was just craving something sweet (already had fruit at breakfast), and wanted something 'bad'.... Really wasn't finding much that fit what I was craving, then I saw their own baked goodies and they had peanut rice krispie treats with a thick top layer of chocolate. Much like a Tastykake kandy cake peanut butter goodies (think peanut butter cups with a sponge cake middle). Anyway, these were such a great find, I only had 2 small squares, but it was the first time since we've realized gluten was an issue that I was someplace out and found a 'bad' treat that really made me feel like I was eating a 'bad' treat! And they are not terrible, but did make feel 'normal', not that I was having a specifically gluten free approved snack!

I did find recipes online for making these and my daughter and hubby thought they were really good too, so it's really a good feeling to know something I make that I can eat won't just sit because no one else will touch them! Does that sound silly??? It's a good feeling to know I can fight with everyone for the last piece of a holiday favorite

With all that babble aside... anyone have MS/gluten friendly recipes or treat ideas? Would love to hear more! This is my first year knowingly dealing with gluten and MS, so wide open to suggestions!

Thanks

Hugs,

Jen

[Keepin_on]

I totally hear you! I generally eat pretty healthy because it is easier for me to do (except during xmas and easter times for me) when you don't eat gluten. But, man o'man...when I have got my hand on something sweet that is gluten free and it actually tastes like the 'real' thing (brownies, cake, etc), I turn into a ravenous woman. I am pretty sure if someone asked me to share I would probably grow claws.

My mom actually made an entire GF Thanksgiving dinner this year and didn't say anything until the end and no one noticed (except I had separate rolls because you can for sure tell those aparat ha ha).

Oddly, one of my fave things is my BF's gluten free banana bread. He just switched out the flour and used Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour - and it tastes amazing! I could eat half the loaf in one sitting.

AllRecipes has a ton of great recipes for GF desserts. You should check it out and read the comments for any other suggestions

As you can tell, my biggest weakness is sugar...sugar...sugar. My dentist likes it though. I probably personally pay his mortgage.

[Bob698]

Much like a Tastykake kandy cake peanut butter goodies (think peanut butter cups with a sponge cake middle).

I'm old enough to remember when they were wrapped in wax paper.

[maitrimama]

My 15 yr old daughter was diagnosed in September with Celiac's Disease and IBD so she is on a very strict gluten free diet (plus she can't have nuts but nut butters are okay). I have gone gluten free with her. We quickly learned the the fewer ingredients the better and avoid processed foods as much as possible because the ingredient lists are too complicated =).

Our Go To List of Goodies & Treats
- Dove Chocolate
- M&M's
- Most Candy Canes
- Rice Krispie Treats
- Pamela's Baking Mix is Less Granier Than Most
- **ICE CREAM** We Stick to Hagen Daz, Edy's, Hood and Ben & Jerry's

You have to use your common sense with the above list i.e. You can't eat pretzel M&M's or Cookies & Cream Ice Cream.

Happy Holidays!!!

[jenphilly]

keepin on - recipe??

Any chance you can get your hands on that banana bread recipe??? I LOVE banana bread Or any suggestion for swapping out flours? I tried a direct swap and things did not work out so well!

I've been experimenting with hodgins mills bake mix, used that make up a crust to make turkey pot pie after thanksgiving. Wasn't bad... sure after some time, I'll adjust to not having the 'real' thing

I've been online reading all different recipes and suggestions, but much seems to be trial and error, which is okay, keeps me busy!!

For rolls, I just ordered some of the Chebe mix... will post after we try those and see how they turn out. So far I've been really unhappy with most of the GF mixes. We even purchased a bread machine, but while they all bake up properly, they just don't have a bread texture... I know, whiney, picky pain

thanks to each of you for posting

Jen

[maitrimama]

I have tried many flour and baking mixes and like Pamela' Products the best, much less gritty.

[sattrles]

gluten

My son has a very severe gluten allergy and we have tried all the gf products and recipes and read the books. Like everything else, it comes down to trial and error. Some gf items are ok,(that's about it) and some are gritty, grainy and awful. we use red mill flour most of the time b/c it seems to work closest to regular. I bought him a bread machine for Christmas so he could have good bread which is one thing hard to get gf. He has been experimenting. So far, one loaf of white and one loaf of banana nut. They aren't regular bread but, they sure beat nothing and the frozen at the store.

good luck.

[jenphilly]

Had to repost some of the experimenting I've done the past week!

Tried the gluten free brownie mixes which were not bad. But the big hit was gluten free chocolate cake used to make cake bites. I would not eat the chocolate cake as cake, just was not cake like! But I crumbled it up after baking, mixed in a tub of caramel icing with pecans and coconut (german chocolate icing) and 1/4 container of cream cheese icing. Used a melon baller to make the cake bites, partially froze them, then dipped them in melted chocolate. These turned out to be a fudge like texture, but were sooooooo good. If you are a baked goodie fan, these are a definite thought to try! I want to try a vanilla cake with strawberry icing next. Unfortunately there are only a few cake mix options, but you can mix with any frosting/icing variety to come up with some great combinations.

My other 'why not try it', was a package of flan mix. I've made my own flan many times, but saw that on the shelf at the store, so had to give it a try. They actually turned out better then most of the from scratch flan I've made! The brand was Royal and I opted to add egg and some raw sugar for bit of sweetness. These are another great dessert option that actually make a very pretty presentation for dinner parties or special events.

I did see a recipe on the GF all purpose flour mix to make chocolate chip cookies. Will need to give those a try!

Non-sweet goodies that we tried that I was happy with were Chebe roll mixes. The original mix made with cheddar cheese were huge hits, my daughter (who can eat whatever she wants), had 4 the first time I made them. We next tried the mix for making the sandwich buns, but I rolled it out flat to make like a large pita bread. We did not add cheese to that mix and was not thrilled with the results. But, we used the second box of the sandwich bun mix, added cheese, but rolled it out to make pizza dough. I used the pampered chef medium stone and baked the bread for about 10 minutes before adding sauce, cheese and pepperoni. This turned out unbelievably well, definitely something we'll do when I have a craving for pizza. Have to say, I was really, really happy to have pizza after months of not having pizza or bread! This did not taste gluten free, the chebe mix is a must try to anyone who is eliminating gluten.

Anyway, that's my experimenting to report for the moment!

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year!

Hugs,

Jen