Baking, frosting and decorating delicious treats are all part of the fun of the holidays, especially for kids.  And just because a child has food allergies, that doesn't mean he or she shouldn't enjoy the simple pleasure of creating yummy holiday treats with mom or other loved ones in the kitchen. “Some of our most cherished childhood memories are of baking with our moms, grandparents, or other loved ones around the holidays,” says Nancy Curby, Marketing Director for Enjoy Life Foods, the country's leading allergy-friendly and gluten-free food company.  “There’s no reason a child with food allergies should miss out on those precious moments that have such warm, lasting memories,” she adds. That’s why Enjoy Life Foods’ recipe development “elves” created three new, delicious and festive treats that kids with food allergies can easily and safely create with adult supervision this holiday season, including Fudgy Swirly Bars, Cocoa Loco Peppermint Pleasers and Crunchy Chocolate Dipper Sticks (recipes below) ...

Fudgy Swirly Bars, made with Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and Sunbutter® sunflower seed butter, is a rich, creamy fudge-like candy that is certain to become a holiday family tradition.  

Cocoa Loco Peppermint Pleasers, Enjoy Life Cocoa Loco snack bars dipped in its melted Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and covered with crushed peppermint candy cane, is a sweet, chocolately treat certain to disappear long before company arrives. 

Crunchy Chocolate Dipper Sticks, Enjoy Life’s Sunbutter Crunch snack bars dipped in its melted Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and rolled in sunflower seeds, are simply mouth-watering, sunbuttery, chocolate-crunch bliss.

Each of Enjoy Life’s new holiday treats would make festive additions to any holiday dessert tray or cookie exchange, and make great classroom treats that all of the kids can enjoy.

Additionally, Enjoy Life has compiled a suggested list of items for stocking your holiday pantry with a variety of allergy-friendly items for holiday baking including flours, grains, sweeteners, starches, fats, gums, leavening agents, egg substitutes, milk substitutes, dried fruits and decorations (see Suggestions for Stocking Your Holiday Pantry below). 

Enjoy Life Foods offers 24 different products under the Enjoy Life brand name that are all free of the eight most common allergens (NO wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish or shellfish) AND gluten-free.  Enjoy Life products are sold in natural food and conventional grocery stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.enjoylifefoods.com.

Festive Holiday Recipes 

Fudgy Swirly Bars

Yields:  Approximately 20 Bars

¼ cup Sunbutter® Sunflower Seed Butter
½ tbsp Vegetable Oil (Candy Swirl)
½-1 tsp Vegetable Oil (Chocolate Layer)
½ tsp Brown Rice Syrup
2 10-oz bags (3 cups) Enjoy Life® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
½-1 tbsp Sunflower Seeds (optional)

Candy Swirl

Mix Sunbutter with brown rice syrup; mixture will get thick.  Add ½ tbsp vegetable oil and mix until well combined; mixture will thin.  Set aside.

Chocolate Layer

Grease an 8”x8” pan.  Set aside.  Place chocolate chips and ½-1 tsp vegetable oil in a microwavable container.   Heat for 1 minute and stir.  Heat for 30 seconds and stir again. Continue process until all chocolate chips are melted.  Be careful not to overheat; chocolate may scorch.  Pour chocolate mixture into the well-greased pan and spread evenly.  

Using a tablespoon, place dollops of the candy swirl mixture on top of the chocolate mixture.  Using a fork, swirl the tines gently through the candy swirl mixture dollops. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds if desired. Set aside to cool until firm. Once firm, cut into bars.  Cover extra. Enjoy Life, and the holidays, with our Fudgy Swirly Bars!

Cook’s Note:  To cool faster, place in refrigerator until firm. Cover. Once removed from refrigerator, keep covered until Fudgy Swirly Bars reach room temperature.  Enjoy.

Crunchy Chocolate Dipper Sticks

Yields:  10 Bars

1 pkg Enjoy Life® Sunbutter Crunch Snack Bars
1 10-oz bag (1½ cups) Enjoy Life Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
½ tsp Vegetable Oil
½ cup Sunflower Seeds, crushed (optional)

Line a tray with parchment or wax paper. Set aside.  Cut Enjoy Life Sunbutter Crunch Snack Bars in half lengthwise.  Set aside.  To melt chocolate, place chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwavable container.  Heat for 1 minute, and stir. Heat for 30 additional seconds, and stir.  Continue process until chips are melted.  Be careful not to overheat; chocolate may scorch.

Dip 1/2 of the Enjoy Life Sunbutter Crunch Snack Bar into chocolate.  Gently tap dipped bar to remove excess chocolate. Dip into crushed sunflower seeds (optional).  Set cut side down on tray.  Set aside to cool until firm. Enjoy Life, and the holidays, with our Crunchy Chocolate Dipper Sticks!

Cocoa Loco Peppermint Pleasers

Yields:  10 Bars

1 pkg Enjoy Life® Cocoa Loco Snack Bars
1/2 cup Peppermint Candy Canes, crushed
1 10-oz bag (1½ cups) Enjoy Life Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
½ tsp Vegetable Oil

Line a tray with parchment or wax paper. Set aside. Cut Enjoy Life Cocoa Loco Snack Bars in half lengthwise.  Set aside. To melt chocolate, place chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwavable container.  Heat for 1 minute, and stir. Heat for 30 additional seconds, and stir.  Continue process until chips are melted.  Be careful not to overheat; chocolate may scorch.  Dip 1/2 of the Enjoy Life Cocoa Loco Snack Bar into chocolate.  Gently tap dipped bar to remove excess chocolate. Dip into or sprinkle on crushed peppermint candy cane.  Set cut side down on tray.  Set aside to cool until firm. Enjoy Life, and the holidays, with our Cocoa Loco Peppermint Pleasers!

Suggestions for Stocking your Holiday Pantry  

Flours *
• Sorghum
• Rice
 Brown
 White rice
 Sweet rice
• Oat flour (Certified Gluten Free)
• Bean
 Garbanzo (Chickpea)
 Fava
 Garfava™
• Montina™
• Millet Flour
• Tapioca
• Quinoa
• Amaranth
• Teff

Grains
• Quinoa flakes
• Brown rice flakes
• Rolled oats (Certified Gluten Free)

Sweeteners
• Brown sugar
• Brown rice syrup
• Evaporated cane juice crystals
• Agave
• Honey
• Pure Maple Sugar

Starches
• Tapioca starch
• Arrow root starch

Fats (replace 1 cup butter with 1 cup of the following) **
• Vegetable oil (Canola, Safflower, Sunflower, Palm)
• Trans fat-free shortening (Spectrum® Organic)
• Olive oil

Gums
• Xanthan
• Guar

Leavening Agents
• Gluten-free baking powder
• Baking soda

Egg Substitutes (replace 1 large egg with one of the following)
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (or other fruit puree like banana and prune)
• Mix 3 tbsp hot water with 1 tbsp flax meal.  Let stand, stirring occasionally for about 5-10 minutes or until mixture is thick

Milk Substitutes
• Rice milk

Dried Fruits
• Cranberries
• Pineapple
• Apples
• Raisins

Decorations (Allergy-Friendly)
• Sprinkles
• Jams or Jellies
• Perky’s Nutty Rice® or Nutty Flax™
• Enjoy Life® Not Nuts! ™ Mountain Mambo™ Trail Mix
• Enjoy Life Not Nuts! Beach Bash™ Trail Mix
• Enjoy Life Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
• Enjoy Life boom CHOCO boom™ chocolate bars

* Add ingredients that provide structure and elasticity when using gluten-free flours. Add Xanthan or Guar Gum at 1 tsp per cup of flour for breads, pizza crust and yeast-containing products; add ½ tsp per 1 cup of flour for pastries.

** May affect taste.

About Enjoy Life Foods
Enjoy Life Natural Brands, LLC (d/b/a Enjoy Life Foods, LLC (ELF)) was founded in 2001 with the mission of making great-tasting allergy-friendly foods that most everyone can eat freely.  The company launched the Enjoy Life brand in 2002 with a broad product line that is free of the eight most common allergens and gluten-free. To meet the needs of a rapidly growing consumer base, in 2004 the company acquired Perky’s™, a line of gluten- and nut-free cereals. Today, ELF offers 29 different Enjoy Life and Perky’s products that are sold in natural food and select grocery stores throughout the United States and Canada.  Visit www.enjoylifefoods.com and www.perkysnaturalfoods.com for store locations and more.  In September 2008, Enjoy Life Foods was named to Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held businesses in the U.S. for a second consecutive year. In November 2008, CEO, President and Founder Scott Mandell was named to Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40 list.  For more information, visit www.enjoylifenb.com.