So, my daughter's school is not Peanut free but there are two kids in her class with allergies to peanuts and/or tree nuts (what are tree nuts anyway?). We are allowed to bring in cupcakes or snacks for our kid's birthday and we are allowed to bake them. My daughter picked out what cupcakes she wanted (the confettie style cake mix and icing). It does not contain peanuts or tree nuts. Now that I have it home, I realized it states that it is made on the same equipment that processes treenuts. What would be a good substitute for the two w/ the allergies? Is there a store bought cupcake or something similiar that I could send especially for them?
I know they are ok w/ doing this because at their Thanksgiving Feast, there were slightly different snacks for them for the very same reason. Thanks for any ideas you may have. Whatever it is, I have to have ready by Thursday night for Friday.
*I already have supplies for the cupcakes, I am just looking for a good alternative for the two that have the alleriges. Not looking to waste what I have bought and it is what the birthday girl wants.
**I have emailed the teacher to see if "processed on the same equipment" is ok for these kids or not and if not, what a good alternative would be. I NEVER want to be the cause of a child having a reaction. I'm the parent that always asks about allergies if a kid is left in my care.
I had two cake mixes...one that my daughter wanted for her class and another than I am using for her party tomorrow. I made the second mix early and used two of them for the two classmates w/ allergies. I put the ingredient list for both (and the icing) on the top of the box that I sent the cupcakes to school in and put the special two in a separate container. My daughter said she heard both of them say "YUMMMMMM!".
Why not just make cupcakes from scratch? It's not much harder than then the stuff out of the box, and you know what's in it.
Why don't you just make them from scratch?
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
mix it all together and bake at 350 F until toothpick comes out clean (about 20-30 minutes for cupcakes)
Add nonpareils for the confetti effect.
For the icing:
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons warm water
1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar
Just beat together until fluffy... add food coloring of your choice if you want.
Good luck.
I would ask the parents if "made on the same equipment" is ok. For my son, that's fine, but for some kids it isn't. The parents can tell you for sure.
Tree Nuts are basically any nut other than a peanut (which is technically a legume), such as cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc.
Your best bet is to ask the parents what baked treats they normally get and then just do the same.
As a parent of a child with allergies, I just want to say thank you for taking the time and effort to find a good alternative for these kids!
I would agree with finding out how bad the allergy is. There is one little boy in my daughter's class who has a very mild peanut allergy. No snacks are allowed that contain peanuts or peanut butter but he's fine with foods made with the same equipment and/or in the same facilities as peanuts. Or like others have suggested, you can try making them from scratch. Or try shopping at a whole-foods market that may have more peanut-free options if the peanut allergy is severe.
Is there a way that you could do a different type of cupcakes and not use the confetti icing? That would probably be the easiest solution or make them from scratch.
I would also ask the parents if you know which children they are. My daughter's school tries to keep that information under wraps pretty well.
Good luck and I am sure that the parents would be relieved that the other parents are concerned.
Email the mom.. Oreos were ok for the girl that has a tree nut allergy in my dd class.
L
My daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. They are 2 different allergies because peanuts are technically a legume, but many people with one allergy have both. Coconuts are a fruit and not actually a nut, so that should be safe for a nut allergic kid.
Most mixes are made on shared equipment so I always baked from scratch. When my daughters were in school (the other one is allergic to milk and wheat), I would send a treat to school when I knew there would be cupcakes or something they couldn't eat. This way I knew it would be safe. You might try contacting the moms of the allergic kids for suggestions on what you could bring. Whole Foods has some packaged cookies that specifically state that they are manufactured in a nut free facility.
What about some type of fruit dessert? A parfait, or something along those lines, maybe?
There is a brand called Cherrybrook Kitchen, and they are nut free. They have cake mixes and frosting. I buy ours at Kroger, and any natural food type store will have them. I would not recommend buying anything from a bakery department, or independent bakery. It's a rare thing to find any place, that cooks in nut free kitchens. And, they are always advertised when nut free. It's really hard to even find chocolate that's not been manufactured in a facility with nuts.
**Coconuts are NOT nuts. Coconuts are seeds.
Enjoy Life products are allergen free. They can be purchased at Whole Foods and similar stores.
I would ask how allergic the kids are. I have one friend that is so allergic that if her mom has eaten anything with tree nuts and then kisses her on the cheek a day later she reacts. Infact she reacts if the dishwasher washed a spoon with pb on it. All those dished are "contaminated" to her, while another friend has to just not eat nuts, but can touch them.
Tree nuts are coconuts, walnuts, hazelnuts and any other nuts that... Grow on trees.... Chestnuts, walnuts and almonds count too....
I know some people are not allergic to peanuts but are allergic to hazelnuts. It makes peanut butter cookies ok for them to eat but they have to avoid nutella cookies.
