A Halloween Treat Gets Spooky

A couple of weeks ago, I was at my parent’s house for a visit when my phone starting buzzing. It was my daughter, Katie with a question “what is the difference between confectioner’s sugar and regular sugar.” Then, a minute later, it buzzes again and its Katie again, “where is the teaspoons?” Okay, it sounds like Katie was trying to bake something but what is she making and who was helping her?

As it turned out, Katie wanted to make a Halloween treat for us and she wanted to make it all by herself. Katie and I have always baked together so I was excited that she wanted to do some baking by herself but I was a bit worried on how she was going to do this without help. With all of Katie’s food allergies, you would think that I would have been worried because she might use something that she was allergic to, but Katie has always been very careful about what she eats, she is an avid label reader and she will not touch a food item unless she knows she can have it without getting sick.

That day was an eye opener for me because not only was I feeling confident in Katie’s ability to bake safely but it also showed me that she was like other pre-teens her age who love to cook even though she has severe food allergies.

Here is Katie’s recipe for her Creepy Halloween Eyeball Cookies

2 C          Flour

¼ tsp.      Salt

½ C        Confectioner’s Sugar

2 sticks   Dairy-free Margarine (I use Fleishmann’s Unsalted Margarine)

Green Food Coloring

Dairy Free Chocolate Chips

Red Hot Candies

Red Icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, combine the confectioner’s sugar with dairy-free margarine. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add vanilla and mix well. Next, add the flour and then the salt to mixture and mix briefly. Add a couple drops of green food coloring to the mixture for the desired effect. Mix dough until it comes together into a ball.

Use a cookie scooper to measure out the dough and roll in between your hands to form a round ball. Place on the cookie sheet and use your finger or thumb to make an indent in the middle of the ball, pressing down slightly. Fill the ball with the diary-free chocolate chips and place one Red Hot candy on top and push down lightly to make sure they do not fall out. 

Bake 15-18 minutes or until just barely golden brown. Cool on a cookie sheet. Decorate the cookies with red squiggly lines coming from the chocolate chips to the edge of the cookie. Now you have your Creepy Halloween Eyeball Cookies. Enjoy!

My Daughter Grows Up!

My daughter, Katie who is a 12 year old, soon to be teen, seems more like a teenager every day. Long gone are those days of playing on the playground and running around outside. Now clothes, hair and cell phones are SO important.

With Katie’s new found interests comes the need for more independence. Instead I hear, “Can I go out with my friends” and “Mom, you don’t need to go with us.” No Mom Necessary! This need for more independence is scary enough for most parents, but for us it is every scarier because Katie is severely allergic to dairy, eggs, sesame, peanuts and all other nuts.

There are so many wonderful sites out there for Moms who have children with food allergies and many more sites for people who are adults with food allergies. While I love reading everyone’s wonderful stories, insightful suggestions and yummy recipes, I was having a hard time finding any sites for kids with allergies who are just starting to become more independent--the pre-teen and early teen years.

So here we are, Katie and I, ready to embark on a new journey together. This seems a bit daunting to us but hopefully this will be an experience that we will both learn from and maybe you will learn something as well.

Come join us in our adventure…….

J  Jeanne and Katie