Halloween Recipes for Children with Food Allergies

Coming from a family with food allergies, I understand how difficult holidays can be. Here are some of my own recipes that are sure to be crowd pleasers this Halloween.

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Stir all ingredients together until completely mixed. Place spoonfuls of batter on lightyly greased cookie sheet. Bake 18-21 minutes.

Dairy-Free Caramel Apple Dip

1/2 cup sugar
3 tbs light corn syrup
1 cup vanilla flavored soy milk

Boil soy milk over medium heat until it reduces to 1/2 cup. In a separate pot, bring sugar and corn syrup and half of the remaining milk to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly. Add the remaining milk and cook over medium-low heat (stirring often) until a the mixture reaches a caramel color. When it begins to cool, use it as a dip for whole apples or apple slices.

Peanut-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sunflower butter
1 egg (or egg replacer)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugars. Mix in egg (or egg replacer and water) and sunflower butter. Mix all dry ingredients separately, then stir in. Refrigerate the dough for 2-3 hours. Preheat oven to 375. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden.

Dairy-Free Popcorn Balls

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 quarts popped popcorn

Cook sugar, water, syrup, vinegar and salt over high heat until the temperature reaches 255. Stir in vanilla. Pour over the popcorn and mix as necessary. When the popcorn cools, lightly grease hands and roll into balls. Cool completely on wax paper.