Allergy Friendly Copycat Candy Bars

Or, how I came to make two of my least favorite candies

When I was a child, I loved Butterfingers, one of my absolute favorites. I must have overindulged (a King sized bar was to blame I believe) and I had a nightmare. I ate a Butterfinger and ended up blowing an oil bubble as a result. It's pretty tame as nightmares go, but I was done with butterfingers. 

As an adult, I would have an occasional snack-sized bar, but I never regained my love. However, for the past couple years, I have been seeing easy homemade Butterfinger recipes and finally decided to give it a try.

Peanut Free Butterfingers

Free of: peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, fish, shellfish, milk       

Contains: Soy and Egg

*The soy means that James will not be able to eat them. It is in the form of soy protein in the candy corn. Luckily, I caught this before offering a taste.

Ingredients:

2 cups candy corn

2 cups Sunbutter

Chocolate coating (I used Vermont Nut Free dark chocolate melts)

Sprinkles (I used Target Dollar Spot sprinkles)

Directions

1. Melt the candy corn in the microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth.

2. Add the sunbutter and stir. This will not be easy and I recommend a mixer.

3. Press into an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan which has parchment paper in it.

4. Put in the freezer for at least 30 min.

5. Cut the Butterfingers into pieces.

6. Using the directions here, melt your chocolate for dipping.

7. Cover with chocolate and quickly add the sprinkles on top.

Note:  Keep in mind that the smaller you cut the butterfingers, the more dipping you will have to do. This step may have gotten old for me.

And Mounds

I have never liked Mounds, not even as a child. They were only good for trading candy as far as I was concerned. However, I was not paying attention to our Amazon Subscribe and Save subscriptions and currently am buried in coconut. This was an attempt to use it up.

Free of: peanuts, tree nuts (except coconut), wheat fish, shellfish, and soy (yay!)

Contains: Egg and dairy (can be adapted to be dairy free)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup coconut flakes

2/3 c sugar

1/4 c cornstarch

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c coconut milk (in the carton not can)

2 egg yolks

2 T butter

Dipping chocolate and sprinkles

Note: To make dairy free, replace the 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 c coconut milk with 1 cup full fat coconut milk from the can. Also replace the 2 T butter with coconut oil.

Directions:

1. Put the coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan.

2. heat over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Add the heavy cream, cornstarch, and butter and stir until combined.

4. Add about 1/3 c of the hot liquid to the egg yolks, stirring continuously. This will help to keep the egg yolks from scrambling.

4. While stirring continuously, add the egg yolk mixture to the pan.

5. Add the coconut flakes to the pan and stir until the mixture thickens.

6. Allow to cool in the refrigerator. Then place in the food processor and pulse until you have a smooth mixture. This step might not be necessary depending on the thickness of your coconut flakes.

7. Roll into balls (or flat ovals to copy Mounds more exactly).

8. Again, melt the dipping chocolate and use to cover each one. Add the sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.

 

Chocolate Dipped, Wheat Free (Gluten Free) Graham Crackers

Why Not out of a Box?

James is avoiding legumes, and so far, I have yet to find a wheat free graham cracker that does not have pea protein as an ingredient. I am open to suggestions! However, these are not that difficult and tasty to boot.

Free of: Peanuts, wheat/gluten, eggs, fish, shellfish, legumes (soy-see below)

Depending on comfort level/variation: tree nuts (contains coconut), milk (type of chocolate/shortening you use), soy (lecithin depending on type of chocolate)

Ingredients

1 c GF all purpose mix

1/4 c. seed meal*

1/4 c coconut flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c butter*, cold, cut into chunks

3 T water

2 T molasses*

1 T honey*

1 t vanilla

*Ingredient notes:  I get seed meal from Gerbs Seeds but it can also be made by chopping your seeds to a powder in your food processor. If leave the processor on too long, you will end up with butter, so pulse the processor until the texture is a coarse powder.

To make this dairy free, use whatever safe solid shortening replacement you prefer.

To vary the taste of the end product, change the amount of the honey and molasses. The way it is written here, they will taste similar to a spice cookie. With all honey and no molasses, they will taste quite sweet, more like a traditional honey graham cracker. Use your preference are your guide.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°.

2. Line 1 or 2 cookie sheets with silicone baking sheets or parchment paper, depending on how thick your final crackers will be rolled out. If you want the crackers to be crisp (good for s'mores), you will need 2 cookie sheets. If you want a softer cracker (more cookie like and also, I think, good for ice cream sandwiches), you will only need 1. 

3.  In a food processor, add from flour mix through salt. Pulse once or twice to combine.

4. Add the butter (or shortening) and pulse until blended and resembles cornmeal.

5. Add the water, molasses, honey, and vanilla. Pulse until combine and a soft dough forms. 

6. Sprinkle powdered sugar on the silicone baking sheets (or parchment).

7. If you are using 1 cookie sheet, roll out the dough to about 1/4", using powdered sugar as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. If you are using 2 cookie sheets, divide the dough and roll each out to about 1/8" thick.

8. Use a pizza cutter to score the crackers into whatever shape you want. Then, poke with a fork in a regular pattern.

9. Bake for 15-20 min, depending on thickness, until edges begin to brown.

10. Remove from oven.

11. While still warm and on pan, use a sharp knife to cut along the scored lines. Allow to cool for 10 min. Then cool completely on a cooling rack.

12. Using the directions from this post, melt the chocolate of your choice.

13. Use a pastry brush to apply the chocolate and place in the refrigerator for approximately 4 min or until set.

Safe for Us Homemade Easter Treats

What is Safe for Us?

James is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy. He can eat soy lecithin and soybean oil. He has oral allergy syndrome (OAS) to tomatoes and melon. He avoids legumes.

I avoid dairy, as I've recently discovered it affects my sinuses.

Disclaimer:

When I mention a brand, it is because I am comfortable with the allergen policy and with using that brand for my family. It is not an endorsement or a suggestion that you use the same brand without doing your own research. Everyone's allergies and comfort levels vary. That said, I have no sponsors and all my opinions are flatly my own. 

Molded Chocolate Eggs

Made from Chocoley Bada Bing Bada Boom Modeling Chocolate

Free of: peanuts, tree nuts, wheat/gluten, eggs, sesame, fish, crustaceans

Contains: Soy lecithin and dairy

You can find the allergen statement here.

I have one failed attempt at making a chocolate bunny when James was a toddler (it bloomed). Darren was interested in trying to make chocolates again and, while I was a competent aide, he was definitely the chocolatier.

Since I had a bad experience, we chose the chocolate which required no tempering. We did order samples of the gourmet couverture chocolate (free with order) to sample. Darren followed the directions on their website and, easily enough, we had chocolate eggs.

Sunbutter Eggs

Chocoley Version: Same allergy information as above

Enjoy Life Version: Free from wheat, dairy, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, fish, and shellfish. 

Cross Contamination: Sunbutter is made on the same equipment as soy.

I love(d) peanut butter cups. And since I avoid dairy, we decided to temper Enjoy Life chocolate chips so I could have my own version. We also made a chocoley version for the dairy eaters.

We used the following method to temper the chips:

1. Heat the chips in a double boiler to 108°, stirring constantly.
2. Remove from heat and add a small handful of chips as seed crystals.
3. Continue to stir until the temperature reaches 88°.

We used the following recipe for the filling:

1/2 c Sunbutter

2 T softened Butter (Spectrum Palm Shortening for dairy free)

1/4 c + 2 T confectionery sugar

1/4 tsp salt

We were actually out of confectionery sugar and ground our own using regular sugar and cornstarch. You may need to adjust the ratios a little to get the right consistency because our sugar was coarser than usual.

We made 20 cups and used 10 ounces of chocolate for the bottom and 15 ounces for the tops. There was leftovers of the Sunbutter filling and I'm already thinking about thinning it out and using it for a chocolate Sunbutter Ice Cream (Yum).

 The Enjoy Life were definitely a darker chocolate (not that I mind at all). Both batches set up really well.

A No Fuss, Easy Treat

Free of: Peanuts, tree nuts, wheat/gluten, fish, shellfish

Cross Contamination: Soy

If you are a baker, than these are for you. I made them for James to take to a party. More confessions, it's Betty Crocker Gluten Free cake mix. The frosting (and reason why we had no confectionery sugar) is a simple buttercream:

1/3 c butter, softened

1 lb confectionery sugar

1 tsp vanilla

You may notice the yellow looks more crisp than the green . They are made with different tips but, I added milk to the green frosting, but it was hot here and so, the frosting was slightly too soft. Since I live in a warm area, I've found it works better to leave the milk out altogether and add it if needed later.

And Peeps are large decorations that cover a variety of frosting woes.