5 Gluten Free Halloween Candies that Kids Will Love

Going trick-or-treating can be a huge disappointment to a gluten free kid if most of their treasure trove is off limits due to wheat or gluten as an ingredient. Halloween parties at school can also be a huge disappointment if there aren't a lot of gluten free Halloween candies on hand to snack on at the party. If parents are aware of a classmate suffering from a wheat or gluten allergy, they should know that there are still some great tasting gluten free Halloween candies that all kids, celiac or not, will enjoy. Below is a list of five great tasting and gluten free candies appropriate for Halloween or any other school party.

Skittles as a treat

Who doesn't want to taste the rainbow of flavors in a pack of Skittles? These yummy treats are a gluten free Halloween candy favorite with kids. There is some confusion as only three varieties are listed as gluten free on Skittles.com: Skittles Sours, Skittles Wildberry and Skittles Crazy Cores. However, Skittles themselves are listed as such right on the packaging. Since Skittles come packaged in fun sizes already, they make a perfect gluten free Halloween candy to use as a treat in a school or daycare setting.

Marshmallow Peeps are a great tasting gluten free Halloween candy

Normally when you think of Marshmallow Peeps, you think about chicks and bunnies from Easter. The folks at Just Born make Peeps for several holidays, including Halloween. Give a celiac child a pack of ghosts or pumpkins or buy the larger packs and hand them out as a Halloween treat that the whole class can enjoy. Save some ghosts or pumpkins to use to decorate cupcakes made using Betty Crocker's new Gluten Free Devil's Food Chocolate Cake mix.

Neccos Wafers are a crowd pleaser at Halloween parties

Neccos wafers are a candy favorite of mine, Halloween or not. Also included in their gluten free offerings are their Talking Pumpkins candies, which are available only at Halloween. Neccos can sometimes be found packaged in snack sized portions for Halloween, making them a perfect treat to hand out at a school party. Otherwise, the larger roll costs approximately 75 cents, which could make it an affordable treat to give to a celiac child who trick-or-treats at your home.

Jelly Belly jelly beans, though a bit expensive, are a gourmet tasting gluten free Halloween treat

Jelly Belly jelly beans are gluten free. However, parents should still be cautious about peanut allergies with regard to their peanut butter jelly beans as the peanut butter jelly bellies are made with peanut butter and peanut flour, according to Jelly Belly's FAQ page. Many grocery stores do carry Jelly Belly in bulk, so parents can buy in bulk and purchase other flavors instead. Though expensive, these gourmet jelly beans are a kid favorite because of the various flavor combinations possible because of the large number of flavors available.

Some Hershey's Candies are gluten free

Hershey's does not maintain a gluten free candy list on their site, but consumers are encouraged to contact them by telephone to obtain a verbal list. According to a Hershey customer representative, Hershey's milk chocolate Kisses are gluten free, as are their milk chocolate bars. Though many candy manufacturers have begun to specifically label products as gluten free, Hershey's does not. They do, however, specifically label for wheat, a common allergen.

Tip: Halloween is the perfect time to purchase gluten free candies such as those listed above. Companies that normally do not package their products in large packages generally do so at Halloween for marketing purposes. Most candy has a very long shelf life, so purchasing in bulk now for the remainder of the school year will mean that the product is still fresh whether used as a gluten free treat at Halloween or perhaps for a Valentine's Day party in February. Parents of celiac kids may also want to purchase the large Halloween packages for lunches.

Sources:

http://www.Skittles.com
http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/
http://www.necco.com/faqs/default.asp
Jellybelly.com FAQ; email from Jelly Belly customer representative on 9/2/09
Product packaging
Telephone conversation with Hershey's customer representative on 9/5/09