Having a chronic medical condition can be daunting and scary for anyone, but for children it can be overwhelming. For my youngest two on strict exclusion diets (and the many others I know on similar or worse) and with many eating-related symptoms they often need to feel they have some control in their lives. Some like my youngest son refuse to eat, some comfort eat, some eat non-foods, some just bottle up their feelings and suffer in silence. But food can STILL be fun, it's just a lot harder to achieve and needs a bit more inspiration.With so many "can't have"s it's vital they feel they have some say in what they CAN have, so we decided to tackle an essential part of children's diet - BISCUITS lol !!
I've long stuck to my favourite shortbread biscuit recipe which is here. It works fairly well, you can alter the fat and the flour to suit but is a little dry and crumbly. It doesn't always hold together well for decorating either, which (as my twins pointed out earlier) is absolutely essential. Or so they thought.
So, today we tried an alternative. "Animal Cookies" (or any other cutters your choose tbh) from Antonia Savill's book "Allergy Free Cooking for Kids".
Ingredients
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
300g gluten free flour mix
1/2 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
185g safe margarine
130g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 heaped teaspoon gluten free baking powder mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons cold pressed sunflower oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons water
Preheat Oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5Method
Mix the arrowroot, flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
Cream the margarine, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat the baking powder, oil and water mixture into it and gradually blend in the flour mixture.
Roll and cut your cookies, and transfer to non stick baking trays. Bake for approx 8 mins and allow to cool on wire racks after.
The Comparison!
I have to say, although more complicated to make the dough was much easier to use and the children enjoyed actually being able to roll it out and cut their favourite shapes. Older brother was even caught in the act of stealing some cookie dough and was really surprised it was gluten free - and still tasted good!!
Caught!!!
I did have to add flour to roll the dough before cutting however, as it was a bit sticky to work with before that. I suspect this didn't help our finished result which was sadly pretty dry. The biscuits broke less, but when it comes to taste, my recipe won.
I wouldn't discount either however, as enjoying making something you are safe to eat is really important, and the twins preferred handling the dough in the new recipe. It tasted really good when "raw" too! They can decorate them with safe icing tomorrow and can admire their efforts - but neither was keen on the hard, dry taste.
Looks like I will be making some more of mine tomorrow then!!!
The kids look delighted with these biscuits, how great to make some treats for them. I needed someone like you around when I was a child and allergic to everything! This recipe is great for my brother - he's a coeliac. Thank you for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI've never tried eating gluten-free, so I can't say whether I'd like these cookies, but I totally agree with you on having hte kids take some control of what they CAN eat.
ReplyDeleteIs it easy to find gluten free flour? They look great I must admit.
ReplyDeleteYes it is these days :) The Basic Substitutions page has a link to Dove's Farm which is the brand I use. They have a variety incl plain and gluten free blended flours or simple rice flour. The latter isn't great for biscuits though, very dry and breakable.
DeleteGreat idea :) my son is awful for trying anything other than toast but since he's started helping me cook he's been eating lots of new things.
ReplyDeletethey look good! I have to admit I hardly like any gluten free food I have tried, but for your children who need to stick to that diet it is so important to make them yummy things like biscuits which they can have so they dont miss out!
ReplyDeleteThat's great Kate!
ReplyDeleteI know Anna- luckily my two have never been able to try most of the foods they have to avoid more than once or twice so they don't find it as unpleasant as we might! Some gluten free food is really delicious, I eata lot of the same foods the twins do.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun - and gluten free. I do alot of GF cookery, and it's amazing how good it can taste if done properly - unlike some of the things you can buy which can quite frankly make going GF a chore. I remember my brother who is lactose intolerant having the most disgusting things back in the 80's/90's - products you could only get from health food shops that smelled more like pet shops. How times have changed - and most certainly for the better :-)
ReplyDeleteYour collection of cookie cutters looks really interesting. The cookies look good too :)
ReplyDeleteNext time you make them try using arrowroot or cornflour when rolling out.It should be easier and won't make the dough too short.
ReplyDeleteLooks like they had fun. I love the rabbit biscuits :)
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine how hard it must be to find shop biscuits that your children can eat. I must admit that these ones look delicious and your kids clearly had fun making them :)
ReplyDeleteyum! these look great, I should make them with Wilf! x
ReplyDeleteThe kids look really pleased with themselves, and it's more important than taste! And sometimes for kids it's all about the making and decorating, so if the dough held for that, it's great. For taste they'll have yours :)
ReplyDeleteAlways great to find free-from recipes that are fun for kids. Pinned!
ReplyDeletePS Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. I've Tweeted and Pinned this post and there's a fresh linky live now. I would love you to join in x
DeleteSometimes their is often as much gun in making as eating. I love this blog.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, they were so thrilled to have a dough they could work with properly!
DeleteI always found that my children ate more if they were involved in a fun cooking time before hand. Doves is a great brand.
ReplyDeleteLooks like they had great fun.
ReplyDeleteI've never used arrowroot before - going off to google it now, to find out more! This looks as though it was lots of fun, as well as confidence-boosting.
ReplyDeleteHow great that you have managed to find something fun and tasty that your children can enjoy together.
ReplyDeleteI love biscuits! And I think that rabbit cutter is amazing! xx
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe, I will be giving it a go for Jumpy! Her older siblings are going to love the idea of making something she can actually eat! Just pinned it! Mel
ReplyDeleteJust realised you had a board on Pinterest! Following now. Mel
ReplyDeleteI think it is vitally important that our children learn food can be fun, after all everybody has to eat. I do agree that biscuits and cakes are very difficult to decorate and make look nice cos they do crumble ever so easy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up, and I have shared on my pinterest board as well.
I could make these for my allergy baby! I remember seeing your recipe a few weeks ago, will pin it now to try soon! Mel #allergyfreesimplerecipes
ReplyDeleteI've not tried making gluten free biscuits but all the ones I've tasted have been a little dry. What a great idea though, getting the kids to join in with the baking and making it fun, I can fully understand how food can become a misery for a child with intolerances.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up to Kids in the Kitchen x
I can imagine this is a really useful recipe for those needing gluten free - i have several friends that are gluten intolerant and I'm full of admiration for them when it comes to food and cooking and needing to be resourceful. It's great that you are sharing your adventures along the way so it can also help others. #kidsinthekitchen
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