Kid-friendly Gluten Free Recipes for Christmas

What Christmassy treats do you have planned for gluten-free kids?

While the Christmas season may mean rushing around to find the right tree, booking a fabulous Christmas or brunch or buying gifts for friends and the kids, it also means rustling up a storm in the kitchen with yummy treats for your little elves as they eagerly wait for Santa. While we love the many options of cakes, pies and other goodies on the market during the festive season, finding treats that are gluten free might be a tad difficult.

Click through the gallery for our picks of yummy gluten-free recipes for a very merry Christmas!

A healthier alternative to traditional sugary candy canes, this recipe by rabbitfoodformybunnyteeth has bananas and strawberries sliced and arranged into a candy cane. That simple! You could use a little chocolate spread to keep these pieces together. Alternatively, use the fruit candy cane idea to skewer onto bamboo skewers and use for an easy chocolate fondue night!

Did you ever think your child could have his or her vegetables while inhaling a brownie? No? Well we are here to make your lives easier and yummier with these gluten free, refined sugar free, vegan, dairy free, but super delicious brownies that have, drumroll…. carrots! Just blitz together the following in a food processor:

Ingredients:
30 grams gluten free oats
260 grams dates
1 carrot
1 tablespoon water
60 grams ground almonds
100 grams cashew nuts (for nut-free substitute, 160 grams sunflower seeds)
60 grams cocoa powder

Directions
Flatten the delicious mix out into a square tin lined with parchment paper. Freeze for anywhere from 15 mins to two hours and voila! Brownies ready! Great as an after-school snack, Christmas holiday movie night dessert, or easy-peasy crowd-pleasing breakfast – hey it’s Christmas after all!

Watch the recipe video here: Lorrainepascal.com

While we are all for a little holiday indulgence, not all goodies have to be rich and buttery. Check out this gorgeous Christmas fruit tree by Iowa girl eats that is filled with the goodness of fresh fruit and a great centrepiece idea for your family dinner. Get your little ones involved, use a pineapple as your base fruit then assemble your fruit tree by putting fresh fruit on toothpicks or skewers and sticking into the base. Healthy and yummy!

What says festive season better than the scents of butter, ginger and cinnamon in delicious gingerbread dough? For this recipe by Glutenfreeonashoestring.com, you’ll need gluten free flour (and xantham gum).  You can freeze the dough briefly to make it easier to work with and then ask your little elves to use the gingerbread man cookie cutter to make the yummy gingerbread men.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if yoIngredientslready contains it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (84 g) unsulphured molasses
1 tablespoon (21 g) honey
1 egg (60 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Simply mix the dry ingredients together with the wet ingredients, then roll out the cookie dough between baking paper. Freeze to make it easy to work with then cut out shapes and bake at a preheated oven 350F for 8 minutes.

While its far from frosty here in Singapore during Christmas, one can always recreate the mood with air conditioning and this luscious and creamy hot white chocolate that can be made quickly with just 5 ingredients. Cuddle up with these warm mugs of joy and maybe leave one out for Santa to refuel before making more stops for presents.

Ingredients

• One can coconut milk
• 1-2 tablespoons (16-32g) raw cashew butter (or use sunbutter for nut-free)
• 3 tablespoons (40g) finely chopped cocoa butter
• 2-3 tablespoons (40-60g) pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Optional: whipped cream, marshmallows, freshly grated nutmeg/cinnamon

Directions
Just whip together coconut milk, sea salt, cashew butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and then transfer to a pot on to medium flame before adding the cocoa butter. Let the luscious yumminess bubble and boil and thicken. Whisk, pour into mugs and customize the toppings; whipped cream, marshmallows, or just some fresh cinnamon or nutmeg.

Recipe credit: TheVegan8

There is nothing like sprinkles to make any baking day more exciting. The cookies in this recipe by Evolving Table look so pretty and great for a Christmas kiddie party. Do make sure to get good quality food colouring though, so it’s a safe and fun snack for your kids. Better yet – experiment with natural food colours like beetroot!

Ingredients

• 1 c. butter softened
• 1 c. sugar white
• 2 c. white rice flour
• 1 c. tapioca starch
• 1 ½ t. xanthan gum
• Or 3 c. all purpose flour instead of the above 3 ingredients
• ½ t. salt
• 1 ½ t. baking powder
• 1 egg
• ½ t. vanilla extract
• ½ t. almond extract
• 1 container rainbow sprinkles
• Red and Green food coloring

Directions
Cream 1 cup butter and 1 cup sugar in a bowl and mix in the dry ingredients in another. Once you combine both together, beat in the egg and mix. Divide the cookie dough into two halves and add the red and green food colouring. Roll the two halves out, then layer one on top of the other and roll into a log. Then roll the log in sprinkles before putting in the fridge for 2 hours. When ready to bake,  slice and bake at preheated 325F for 10 – 12 minutes.