Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cutout Cookies

I was really excited when I found this recipe in an old cookbook.  The original recipe calls for butter, but I substitute dairy-free margarine. There are only five ingredients.  The dough isn't very sticky.  You can roll it out right away and you don't need much flour.  I was extra excited about it being egg-free, which meant our 3-year-old could roll out the dough and help with the cookie cutters.  Overall, the taste is okay, but with frosting -- yummy!!

Chocolate Shortbread Cutout Cookies
(Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free)


1 cup dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cup flour

1. Mix margarine, powdered sugar and vanilla together.
2. Add cocoa.
3. Then add flour.  Mix until smooth.
4. Roll out dough -- don't need much flour.
5. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  Watch them carefully because they are so dark, it's hard to see if they are burnt.

Super easy and fun to make with the food allergic child!!

No More Rack

I don't normally post non-allergy related items here.  But this looks really interesting.  The site is called No More Rack.  When you sign up you get a $10 credit -- shipping is rumored at $2. Most items are listed around or just above the $10 mark.  I think it might have some potential to get something really cheap.  Check it out and let me know if you get anything interesting.

Food Allergies and Preschool

Well, it's been about 2 1/2 months since our little food allergic daughter has been in preschool.  She is allergic to milk, egg, peanuts and tree nuts.  Her little bubble of safe food and never being around a potential hazard has been altered.  And I can honestly say all is going very well.  She eats snack and lunch at school.  Her teachers know to read the labels and have a stash of snack bars (Enjoy Life and Glutino) and some snack size Teddy Grahams and Oreos that I stocked up on after Halloween.

Lunch is a little different story.  It took a couple months to get the ingredient lists for the items from the school district.  And some of those are even a year old.  But if I don't think it will be safe, she eats something else.  She really likes soybutter and jelly sandwiches.  Typically there is fresh fruit and veggies (way to go!) from the school district lunch, so we just make up the rest later in the day if need be.  She's a typical 3-year-old who eats when she wants to eat.  Lucky for us, I work in the same building that she attends preschool.  That's a load off my worried shoulders (and for her teachers, too).  Her teachers have told me that she knows about her food allergies and doesn't mind eating something else.

On a side note; we were eating a chips and salsa at a restaurant last week.  Our daughter asked if she could have a tortilla chip.  I handed it to her and told I wasn't sure if it had food allergies, but it's probably okay (I carry Benadryl everywhere we go just in case).  She pulled back and said "no" and decided not to eat because it could have food allergies.  What a smart little 3-year-old!

While her reactions thus far are fairly mild (as far as we have seen), you never really know what may happen if another child spills milk or touches her after eating peanut butter.  There are days I pick her up and her face is rashy.  But she's a rashy kid.  She could have rubbed her face on a toy that was cleaned with soap that made her rash up.  She sometimes is rashy while eating a completely allergy free meal at home.  There just is no rhyme or reason.  But I wanted to share our slow transition to the real world and dangers for a food allergic child.  And to those of you just starting out on this journey, it does get easier.  It does.

More posts coming soon!

Sorry for the lapse in posts lately.  With work and the holidays, I'm a little extra busy.  I'll be posting more soon.  So much to share.  In the meantime, be sure to check out the food allergy blogs listed in my sidebar -- lots of great ideas!

You never know what might work

We normally make a pancakes from a box (Aunt Jemima).  It's what I knew when I first started feeding my allergic child.  And when you find something that works, you just stick with it.  Our daughter is able to tolerate milk and eggs in most baked goods, such as pancakes.

The other morning I woke up and we had no milk (cow's milk) in the house, but I had already promised pancakes.  I decided to substitute rice milk in the pancake mix and the outcome was great.  I added just a little extra mix to the batch because the rice milk thins it out a little.  But other than that, they turned out the same.  You never know until you try!