Kit is sensitive to gluten, eggs, cow’s milk and citrus fruit.  We limit these foods as much as possible and coming up with holiday goodies that she can enjoy can be a struggle.  I have some friends who are in a pinch right now, looking for treats their kids can share with their allergic classmates, so I thought I’d post a favorite allergy safe recipe.

This recipe for Banana Crunch Muffins comes from the book “Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids” by Leslie Hammond and Lynne Marie Rominger.  It’s a really great cookbook with healthy recipes that my kids have loved.  I recommend every parent grab a copy, because you never know when you’re going to have to come up with something to feed a food-sensitive friend.

Banana Crunch Muffins
from “Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids”

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons hiney
2 tablespoons flax meal
2 tablespoons water
1 ripe banana, sliced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Parenting Geekly note: make sure your vanilla is gluten free!)
1/2 cup white or brown rice flour or sorghum flour
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups allergy safe granola or cereal
1 cup allergy safe trail mix, any flavor

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.) In a mixer cream together the first 7 ingredients (through vanilla).  Mix in flours and cinnamon until smooth.  If desired place granols in a plastic bag and gently crush with rolling pin into bite-sized pieces.  Stir granola and trail mix into batter.  Spoon batter into a greased or paper-lined cake or mini muffin pan and bake as follows:

Mini Muffins: 20 minutes
Regular Muffins: 30 minutes
3.) Cool and cut into small bars or remove from muffin pan.

Parenting Geekly’s modifications:  I used King Arthur Gluten-Free All Purpose flour in place of all the flours.  I added a half cup of allergy safe chocolate chips and I didn’t have any trail mix, so I used all granola, which I crushed pretty fine.  They were a big hit a Kitty’s school!
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And by request, here is their version of sugar cookie you can cut with cookie cutters and decorate.

1/ 2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Remember, make sure it’s gluten free!)
1/2 vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups white rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.) In a mixer cream together applesauce, sugar, vanilla, shortening, and salt.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix at low speed, increasing to medium speed until batter is smooth.
3.) Pinch off 1 to 2 teaspoons of dough and roll into balls.  Place on a baking sheet and flatten slightly.  Or to make decorated cookie shapes with cookie cutters, divide dough into fourths.  Place one section of dough between two pieces of non-stick parchment paper.  With rolling pin, roll dough into a flat 1/2 inch disk.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes and then with a spatula gently remove the cookie shapes to a greased baking sheet.  Collect scrap dough and repeat process.
4.) Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are darker around the edges and firm in the centers.  Watch the cookies to make sure they don’t get too golden.  Remove form baking sheet with a flat spatula and place on a flat surface to cool.