I am working as a teacher in my two-year old daughter's preschool class. I am trying to come up with my lessons for the next two weeks and would really like to make some cookies with the kids, but I have so many restrictions.
I have one child who is allergic to nuts, milk, butter, etc. and even some wheat and soy products. I also have one child whose parents don't want her to have anything processed (like Jello, jelly, candy, etc.) Then I have the limitation of not being able to use an oven (obviously) in the classroom (not even a microwave).
So, does anyone have any cookie recipes, or other holiday dessert ideas, that might be fun? We've already done things like toast painting, making smoothies in the blender, making pizza roll-ups, etc. I just really need ideas and recipes that fit the holiday season, as well as all the dietary restrictions.
Any help would be more than appreciated!
Thank you to everyone who responded! I am moving forward with having the children prepare reindeer food on Christmas eve, rather than making cookies. However, I am saving the links to the other sites provided, so that during weeks where food and cooking are the themes they might be helpful!
Well, I guess with a butter allergy in the group, even Rice Krispy treats are out.
Did you ever make the reindeer out of candy canes? Brown pipe cleaners for antlers and google glue on eyes? Simple and cute!
ok not exactly what you asked for but maybe you could use it instead--- Reindeer food. I think if you google it you could find an actual recipe that you could then tweak. But if i remember right, it's oatmeal and something else with glitter mixed in and the kids could measure and stir. It's not for the kids to eat, although i doubt it would hurt them, but they could bag it up cutely with a poem to take home and sprinkle on the front lawn for Santa's reindeer.
ok and i just found this one tonight and thought i'd throw it out there. I'm not sure about the wheat allergy.
Snowflake Tortillas, warm them slightly so they are bendy,fold them like you would to make a paper snowflake, use clean kitchen shears to snip out the snowflake parts, then you might toast them slightly and right before eating dust with powdered sugar.
We also have made tons of hot cocoa mix, as a jarred gift and the kids like to mix and measure that as well. Not sure exactly how that works iwth your allergies.
TO be honest your best bet might be to approach each of these parents individually and privately and just ask them for suggestions or recipies that fit your criteria, you might find some of them aren't as strict as they want you to be, and then ones that really are and really need to be probably have recipies or would be willing to get special ingredients.
Good Luck
Here is one recipe I found on a website I use www.enjoylifefoods.com. This website is by a company that makes products free of the top 8 allergens, my son likes some of the cookies that they make. If you want to look for more recipes go to their site and click on "Enjoying Life" at the top of the page, then click on "Recipes". Here is the recipe:
No Bake Trail Mix Cookies
Contains NO: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish or shellfish.
ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Sunbutter sunflower seed butter
1 6oz bag of Enjoy Life ® Not Nuts!™ trail mix
1 1/4 cup Perky's Nutty Rice cereal
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp tapioca flour
directions:
Pour brown rice syrup and sugar into a pan. Warm over medium heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and Sunbutter. Once blended, mix in remaining ingredients. Dough will be stiff. Form dough into 1oz balls (2 tablespoons) or as desired, and flatten with palm of hand. Let sit for 5 minutes and then enjoy! Yield: approx 3 dozen.
Just make sure with the parents of the food allergic child that the above ingredients are ok for their child. Hope this helps.
Hey there.... there is a great vegan website that has alot of baking ideas. you might find something on that
good luck!
How about a non-edible cooking project instead?
As a mom of a child with Celiac Disease, I have become very aware of all the food related projects in the classroom. During the last two and a half years, I have noticed that so much of celebrations and activities revolve around food. Since my daughter (or anyone in our family) can not have any wheat, rye, barley or oats (or anything made from or that has touched it), she is often left out of the activity.
Recently I helped make Christmas ornaments out of cinnamon, applesauce and white glue. I don't remember the exact recipe, but I'm sure it could be found on the internet. The three ingredients were mixed into the consistency of clay, then rolled and cut like cookies. After drying, we hung them on the tree and they smelled wonderful.
Good luck with your curriculum!
Instead of cookies, what if you sliced up some apples in fun shapes? Or some other fruits? Since its around the holidays, I'm sure the kids will be running into cookies everywhere, so its not like you'd be depriving them.
My 18 mo old doesn't have any allergies, but some activities she goes to they hand out cookies. Since its "only" once a week, I suppose its fine... on the otherhand, I really wish they would hand out something more healthy!
Hi, you could make marshmallow snowman. "glue" the marshmallow together with icing, use pretzels for the arms, fruit rollup for scarf, chocolate chips for eyes and buttons ( check label of chips for nut). They can sit on a graham cracker like a smore.
Have fun and good luck.
Hi N., try to prebake at home and have children add coconut, almond extract, egg whites, rice flour and mae when you get home. Have prebaked cookies on hand for them...or use microwave for the batter. take batter home for you..Happy Holidays, I miss working with preschoolers, I taught at Kings Daughters Day Nursey in Plainfield, NJ for several years...Love to You. J.
5 c coconut 1 c rice flour 1T almond extract
4 beaten egg whites Mix and mold into round 2" size
Bake at 350 for 25 min in greased cookie sheet.."Angel clouds"
I don't think I would even try making anything to eat...you have WAY too many limitations and in my opinion its not worth it if its not going to be fun to eat. There are some cool things that you can do that don't need baking but they are definitely out of your allergy restrictions. Maybe you could try some kind of trail mix. But then again....anything that you will be able to put in that is pretty much processed. (I can see if a child has allergies but dancing around a "no processed food" request for a special Christmas treat is crazy to me!)
Why don't you ornaments out of clay. You can use cookie cutters and the kids could have much the same experience as making cookies. When they dried you could paint them and they would have a keepsake.
Well, good luck. You are SO busy...and such a nice person to want to make something special for the kids and to worry about it in your spare time no less!
I don't have a recipe off hand to share, except I can offer that I have taken my toaster oven to school before and used it to bake cookies with classes when I was teaching before having my munchkins. It may open your possibilies since you've got quite a few limitations. I know there is a premade cookie mix that is allergy-free. It's in the organic section at my grocery store. You might be able to use it and have the kids add the ingredients to put them together.
I have made wreaths with Special K (or you can use Rice Krispies) for years. Follow the Rice Krispie recipe, add a few drops of green food coloring to the marshmallows. Form the mixture into little wreaths (at that age they will probably come out more like a circle) and then put 2-3 "red hots" on for berries. You can sub an olive-oil based margarine for the butter to avoid the dairy, soy, etc. allergies. My daughter's best friend has all kinds of food alleriges and we have made something similar for her (using Fruity Pebbles). Good luck! :)
found this on http://www.cookies-in-motion.com/No-Bake-Cookie-Recipes.html
Obviously don't use liqueur, maybe mint extract instead for flavor. Omit the walnuts, substitute with something else crunchy like rice cereal...
Who doesn't like wafer cookies? Maybe buy cookies and decorate them...
maybe look for vegan recipes...
Mint Liqueur Balls 1
These no bake liqueur balls are potent and for adults only. They are contagiously delicious, especially when you use high quality liqueur.
Vanilla wafer crumbs 1 cup
Walnuts, finely chopped ¾ cup
Confectioners’ sugar ¾ cup
Light corn syrup 1 Tbsp
Green-color mint liqueur 1/2 cup
Mix wafer crumbs, walnuts, ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, and mint liqueur together to form a stiff dough.
Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts, and coat with the remaining confectioners’ sugar.
This no bake cookie recipe makes about 25 mint liqueur balls. Store them in airtight container for up to 5 days.
What about glutten free products?
