Archive for the ‘egg and dairy free’ Category

Are these not yummy looking?! And I love how they used graham crackers instead of baking sugar cookies. What a time saver!

Read all the details about this great idea from Duncan Hines. And for you moms out there like me who have a little one with food allergies, most Duncan Hines cake mixes are dairy free… and so are the Nabisco brand graham crackers! {wink}

Happy baking!

Okay, I swear my obsession with the Thanksgiving turkey cookie and cupcake are going to end soon, but before it could I needed to get into the kitchen myself. And I did just that with my two little ones this week. These are mine. I call them the giggling gobblers. All smiles and happy… little did they know they were about be “gobbled!” {wink}

And this is what they likely looked like (thanks Alex!) just before the terrible end. Feathers flipped around, wide eyes, melting chocolate, mouth screaming… Ahhhhhhhhh!! Just trying to help you guys get in the Thanksgiving spirit. {giggle}

Oh, and if you’re interested in making the before version, here’s what you’ll need (just so you know, they’re kind of big… but could be fun as a placecard at your Thanksgiving kid’s table):

• Sugar cookies (round and large flower shapes)
• Chocolate and white icing (we used Pillsbury cream cheese since there is no egg or dairy)
• Candy corn (we were lucky and found a dairy free store brand at Kroger)
• Yellow and orange food coloring (I recommend gel so that you don’t thin your icing)
• Optional: M&Ms for the after version

And here are the easy steps:

1. Outline and flood a flower cookie (chocolate or yellow depending on your version) and a round cookie.
2. Once they’ve almost set, stack them and start decorating.
   •  Candy corn feathers, or
   • Pipe orange outline, like leaf veins, using a plastic bottle (like we did) or a #2 tip would work the same
3. Pipe on the eyes and add a candy corn nose

Remember, not everything you bake has to be perfect. Enjoy your little ones in the kitchen; it makes for great holiday memories!

For our deep blue sea bash I also made flip flop crispy pops. I’ve mentioned before that my youngest has severe food allergies and these are a great non-dairy (and non-egg) treat. They’re really super simple to make and a great end of summer treat even if you’re not having a party!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Rice crispy cereal
• Marshmallows
• Butter (Smart Balance Vegan for non-dairy)
• White cake icing 
• Gel food coloring
• Resealable bags (2 per color you plan to use)
• Icing connectors, #4 and #103 Wilton tips (both easily found at craft stores)
• Candy decorations
• Wax paper
• Lollippop sticks
• Flip flop cookie cutter (available with our sleepover decor)
• Toothpicks
• Optional: Clear cello bags and ribbon

And here are the super simple steps:

1. Lay out a piece of wax paper and grease your cookie cutter with a little bit of butter.
2. Make your rice crispy treats like you normally would and as soon as you can stand to touch them, while they’re still hot/warm, mold them into the flip flop cookie cutter (making your top as flat as possible for easy icing), set them aside and let them cool. TIP: A little butter on your hands will keep the crispy treats from sticking to you! (One batch should yield 8.)
3. Now tint your icing and separate each color into two bowls. One will be for flooding and the other for piping. We used green and blue to make them as boy-like as possible. {wink}
4. Insert your lollipop sticks. You want to do this before icing them. If you wait your icing could crack.
5. Insert your piping icing into a resealable bag with a #4 tip and connector. Pipe an outline, like you’re coloring a picture, around each flip flop you want that color and allow them to set for a minute. (Tip: You are creating a barrier for the thinned icing, known as flooding, so if you see any gaps between your barrier and your rice crispy, pipe in a little extra so that your thinned icing doesn’t run out.)
6. Insert the second set of icing, the same color as the barrier, into a resealable bag and heat it 10-15 seconds or until runny. Snip a small corner off the bag and pipe it into the center of your flip flop. You may need to pull the thinned icing to the corners with a toothpick. Allow the icing to set if you want it to be one color, OR using another color of thinned icing you can drip (for polka dots) or drag (for stipes) while the first color is still wet.
7. For the flip flop straps, use a #103 Wilton tip and start just next to where the big toe should be! {wink}
8. Embellish with a candy; we used stars. And since my guy was turning five, we also piped a five on each flip flop.

Here’s another shot showing how we displayed them in sand buckets!

Just be creative and let the kids join in. It’s a little messy, but super fun! Oh, and we made some shark, fish, turtle and seahorse chocolate pops too using a Wilton candy mold and colored chocolates.

I’ll share our splash bash favors with you tomorrow! Happy baking everyone.