Substituting Eggs in Cake/Cupcake Recipes

Many of my friends have asked me how I make cakes/cupcakes without any eggs.  I wanted to take a moment and share 2 different ways that I use when baking.

The first way I use a lot when baking vanilla cupcakes since I don't want to lose the cake flavor:
Add 2 tsp. vinegar, 3/4 cup applesauce, 2 tsp. vanilla and 2 cups of water to the cake mix.  Bake according to the directions on the box.  I usaually refrigerate the cake/cupcakes after they cool.

The 2nd way I use A LOT when baking with chocolate or richer flavors since the pumpkin flavor does not come through and change the actual taste of the cake.
Add 15 oz. can of pumkin, 1 Tbsp of vanilla and to the mix and bake according to the directions on the box.....however with this recipe, you only get about 16 cupcakes instead of the traditional 24.

I hope these help with your egg-free baking.  Please feel free to share with others.

Thanksgiving Dessert......when you can't eat eggs.

One of the most traditional desserts at Thanksgiving is the Pumpkin Pie.  However, pumpkin pie has eggs in it.  I wanted to share another simple cupcake recipe that would satisfy the "pumpkin craving" at Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

1 box of Betty Crocker Spice Cake Mix
1 15oz. can of pumpkin
1/2 tbsp. of vanilla

Mix the ingredients and fill 16 muffin liners
Bake at 350 for 20 mins

Frost with your favorite frosting....I prefer either the Betty Crocker vanilla frosting or the Betty Crocker Cream Cheese frosting (both are egg and nut free).

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Halloween Treats!

Halloween is here and for those who deal with allergies, it can be a very hard time for your children.  There are so many treats that they want to eat, but can't.  However, there are some great ones out there for them!!!  I wanted to share a list of some nut/peanut free candy that the kids can eat.  I have taken the time to tell my boys what treats to look for when Trick O' Treating in the neighborhood.  It makes it a lot more fun for them if they can come home with things that they can eat!!!

Skittles
Starburts
Nerds
Plain Hershey Bars
Twizzlers
Tootsie Rolls
Tootsie Pops
Dum-Dum Pops
Smarties
Sweet Tarts
Hershey Kisses - original
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks
Kellogg's Fruit Snacks
Hershey Milk Chocolate Whoppers
Jolly Ranchers
Jolly Rancher Soft and Chewy Candy
Hershey Rolo's in Milk Chocolate

I hope this list helps and you have a wonderful Halloween!!!

Apples, Apples, Apples....

It's that wonderful time of the year when apples are in season!!!  Yesterday, my youngest son and I took a ride to the local orchard to get some apples....for eating and baking!!!  One of my favorite things to make this time of year is homemade apple crisp.  I wanted to share this egg-free recipe with you.  Enjoy!

5 large apples, peeled and sliced
2 tsp of cinnamon
3/4 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp of baking powder
1/3 cup of softened butter
1/4 cup water

In a 8x8 baking dish, layer the sliced apples, sprinkle with water and cinnamon.
In a small bowl, blend the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter...(you want a crumbly mixture). 
Top the apples with this mixture, sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and bake for 40 minutes at
350 degrees.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on top.  (makes about 6 servings)

Traveling with allergies........

NY City here we come!!!!  It is time for a weekend trip to NYC....so where do you eat when you have 3 children who all have allergies????  The best answer...search the internet!!!  I have been doing a lot of research and found a great website called allergyeats.com  You are able to pick the city that you are traveling to and check off any of the top 8 allergies to see where the best places are to eat.  You can also read personal reviews letting you know how the food was, how helpful the staff was, and if people were likely to return.  After searching, I found a few great places to eat and even personally called the restaurants and talked to the managers in advance. 
Check out the Shake Shack in NYC (there are multiple locations).  ALL the hot food is perpared in a different kitchen area from the cold food (the cold food area contains icecream that could have nuts), and the fries are cooked in soy bean oil!!!
Also, check out John's Pizzeria at Time Square.  It is ranked one of the top 10 pizza places in the United States.  The restaurant is in an old 1888 church that sits over 500 people.  There is no egg in the pizza dough and the only item on the entire menu with nuts is the spinach salad.
For those of you with girls, the American Girl Store is also very accomodating to those with allergies as well as Out Back Steak House...they prepare all their food fersh daily, so call in advance and let them know you are coming.  They can make a chocolate lava cake espcially nut free for you!!!

Hope this info helps!!!  I'll be sure to let you know how the trip goes and how the food was!!!

Birthday Treats

Today is Landon's 6th birthday!!!  Can't believe how fast time has gone by.  So, of course he wanted a special treat to share with his friends in school today......the easiest and best treats are Rice Krispie Treats!!!!  3simple ingredients and a classroom full of happy kids!!!

3 TBSP of butter
4 cups of mini marshmallows
6 cups rice krispies

Melt butter over medium heat, mix in 4 cups of  mini marshmallows and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and mix in the rice krispies.  Pour into a 9x13 baking dish (I spray the dish with Pam cooking spray).  Let sit for about a 1/2 hour and cut into squares!!!

The wonderful smells of autumn!!!

This week has brought us cooler temps and a taste of fall...my favorite time of year!!!  One of my favorite things about fall is apple picking and lots of home-made baking!!!  I wanted to share with you a very easy apple cinnamon muffin recipe which is egg free!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix dry ingredients together and set aside

1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Mix all the wet ingredients together well and then add to the dry.

Dice one large apple and mix into the batter

Fill 12 muffin cups, sprinkle a little sugar/cinnamon on top and bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins.  Let them sit for 2 mins in the tray before removing to a cooling rack.  Great muffins for the fall (or anytime of year)!!!

Lunches....what to pack tonight???

I am sure many of you ask yourself  "What do I pack for them to eat"???
Wether you are dealing with allergies, or packing lunches/snacks for an allergy free classroom, it can be a struggle.

I wanted to share a list of some great egg free/nut free ideas for snacks.....

Pretzel Goldfish
Cheese Goldfish
Yoplait Whips
Lucky Charms Cereal Bars
Coco Puffs Cereal Bars
Strawberry Poptarts
Poptart Mini Crisps
Applesauce
Fruit Cups
Fresh Fruit
Triscuits
Ritz Crackers......make sure to buy only the orignal style!!!
Town House Crackers
Oreo Cookies...only the original kind!!!  Some of the funky flavor ones contain peanut flour!
Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies
Chips A'hoy Original style cookies
Rold Gold Pretzles....again, some of the store brand ones may contain traces of nuts
Lay's chips
Jello-Pudding
Rice Krispy treats- original
Go-Gurts
Lender's Bagels---original are egg free!

I hope this gives you some new ideas...again it is always important to READ LABELS!!!

CUPCAKES!!!

Yesterday we had our son Landon's 6th birthday party and it was a success!!!  3 dozen nut free and egg free chocolate cupcakes were made!!!   Baking with allergies is always a challenge, but these cupcakes are simple and delicious!!!  I found this recipe online about a year ago and want to share it with you.

1 box of Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 15oz. can of Libby's pumpkin
1TBSP of Vanilla extract
1/2 cup of Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients together and fill 16 muffin cups. Sprinkle with a few more chocolate chips and bake for 20 mins at 350 degrees.

These are the most moist and delicious cupcakes...and for those of you watching your weight, they are only 2 weight watchers points!!!

Welcome!!!

Welcome!  My name is Patty and I am a mom to 3 boys who all have egg, treenut and peanut allergies.  Unfortunately, I myself, have those allergies as well (my husband has none).  It can be a very difficult thing to deal with...from finding recipes, to peanut/treenut free school classrooms, going out to restaurants, and just reading food labels.  I want this blog to be a place to help people discuss these issues and share stories, recipes and any concerens.  I hope you enjoy reading my posts!!!