Allergy-Friendly Apple Marmalade Cake

Can you smell that cinnamon wafting through your screen? The crust crackles under your teeth and just wait until those warm, gooey apples start melting on your tongue. Grab a cup of tea and a fork. Fall gets no cozier. Trust me on this.

Cupcakes and cake pops are great but when the occasion calls for something slightly more elegant yet still unfussy, this apple marmalade cake is the way to go. It's incredibly allergy-friendly with no nuts, no eggs, no dairy, and no soy but don't worry. You'll never miss them.

I've given this cake as a gift, made it for birthday parties, potlucks, brunches, dessert, Thanksgiving, and yes, we've eaten it for breakfast. Versatility is key. 

To date I've not met a cynic who after trying a single bite, hasn't bought in to my personal philosophy that nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, whatever-free can't be incredibly, decadently, soul-achingly delicious.

Allergy-Friendly Apple Marmalade Cake
adapted from The Divvies Bakery Cookbook

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 & 1/2 cups canola oil
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup pear puree or applesauce (jarred baby food works)
1/3 cup orange marmalade
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced small
1 tbsp powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the oil and sugar, starting at low speed and slowly increasing to high speed for a total time of about 3 minutes. Add the applesauce and marmalade. Beat one minute more.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until well combined. You'll notice the batter start to clump together, almost like dough. Fold in the diced apples.
5. Pour batter into the sprayed bundt pan and bake for 60-75 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cake to sit for 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. When cool, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Serves 12. Or 3 if I'm invited.

25 Kid-Friendly Nut-free Lunchbox Sandwiches

School is in full swing which means I'm spending my evenings packing up bento boxes and washing out Snack Taxi bags. 3 kids times 170 school days equals 510 lunches. That's just this year! But hold onto your whole wheat, people, my kids are finally embracing the sandwich. This opens up an entirely new realm of possibilities for us. And I admit it. Placing a neatly wrapped sandwich in a lunchbox like a normal parent, knowing that in all likelihood it will be (partially) eaten by one of my children, by their own free will, is nothing short of spectacular.

By now you're probably more familiar than you ever wanted to be with our nut-allergy issues, but like it or not, we're not the only ones going peanut and/or completely nut-free at school this year. If you're in need of some nut-free sandwich spread ideas, look no further than my list here. Or if you're staring aimlessly into the fridge wondering what to pack your brood for lunch tomorrow, read on.

#2 Sunbutter and apple on a cinnamon raisin Bagel Thin

First, let's talk bread. There's a whole wide world out there beyond whole wheat. Sometimes jazzing up a boring old turkey and cheese sandwich requires nothing more than a toasted cinnamon raisin Bagel Thin and a few apple slices. How about any one of these?

• Whole wheat "white" bread, sourdough, Italian bread, multigrain, or rye
• Potato bread
• English muffin
• Pita bread
• Bagel, Bagel Thin, or Mini-bagel
• Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Bread
• Pepperidge Farm Party Bread
• Flat bread
• Naan
• Roti
• Croissant
• Baguette
• Buttermilk biscuit
• Graham crackers
• Raisin bread
• Tortillas (flour or corn)
• Matzo
• Foccacia
• Sliced and toasted banana bread, pumpkin bread, blueberry bread, or zucchini bread 
• Or lose the bread entirely and go with lettuce wraps

#1 Cream cheese, strawberry jam, and fresh, sliced strawberries

25 Kid-Friendly Nut-Free Lunchbox Sandwiches

1. Cream cheese, strawberry jam, and fresh sliced strawberries
2. Sunbutter and sliced apple (or for a dessert version, use Biscoff Spread)
3. Sunbutter and banana
4. Roasted Pepita Honey Butter and jelly 
5. Roasted Pepita Honey Butter and pear slices
6. Ham, pineapple slices, and cream cheese
7. Chocolate SoyNut Butter and fresh raspberries (try it on a toasted croissant)
8. Hummus, cucumber, and feta cheese
9. Turkey, goat cheese, and cucumber slaw
10. Turkey, cheese, and apple slices (nice on a cinnamon raisin bagel)
11. Ham, Swiss cheese, and honey mustard
12. Turkey, hummus, feta, and sprouts
13. Tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella
14. Brie, pear slices, and honey
15. Edamame hummus, Havarti, and thinly sliced carrots
16. Turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, and a sprinkle of pepitas
17. Apple butter and cheddar cheese (yummy on raisin bread)
18. Smashed black beans, avocado slices, and Monterey Jack (or keep the black beans intact and mash the avocado)
19. Smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber slices
20. Sliced hard boiled egg, cheddar cheese, and sliced tomato
21. Shredded chicken, Sunbutter mixed with honey and soy sauce, and shredded carrots
22. Pumpkin butter, Sunbutter, and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds for crunch
23. Chocolate cream cheese, banana, and shredded coconut
24. Sliced chicken, avocado, shredded lettuce and queso fresco
25. Turkey bacon, lettuce, and tomato with guacamole spread

I'm using this list as a jumping off point but the combinations are really endless. Mix, match, and experiment and let me know when you hit on a winner. I'd love to keep broadening our sandwich repertoire.

#8 Turkey, goat cheese, and cucumber slaw

Egg-free Sunbutter Cookies

Among the joys I lament Roo missing out on due to his allergies, a tray of peanut butter cookies cooling on the counter ranks near the top, right behind family vacation to Thailand.

It's not just the infatuating aroma of nutty goodness wafting through the fall leaves as he steps off the school bus or the crumbly hunger quelling first bite after swimming lessons, it's the process. I have such fond memories of hovering over a tray while my mom rolled neat balls, poised with my fork, ready to press in the telltale crisscross pattern that proclaims, stop what you're doing, there are homemade peanut butter cookies over here!

We've been using peanut butter substitutes for years on sandwiches, in sauces, on crackers, apples, and much more. To be fair we've all grown quite fond of Sunbutter as a worthy substitute. But, we've already lost eggs in our baking due to, you guessed it, Roo's allergies, and I get nervous when we start over-substituting. Up until now I've avoided making Sunbutter cookies all together for fear of their shortcomings without peanut butter or eggs.

Sometimes someone should shake me. I made these and maybe it's been too long since I tasted real peanut butter, but I could not tell the difference. I kid you not, these are the real deal.

Egg-Free Sunbutter Cookies
adapted from Food.com

1/2 cup sunflower butter (we use Sunbutter)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
1 & 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the sunflower butter, both sugars, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, salt, baking powder and soda and mix again until combined. Stir in chocolate chips, if using.
2. With clean hands, roll the dough into balls, about 1/2-inch diameter. Place on a cookie sheet. Enlist your favorite child or children to gently mark each cookie with a fork in a crisscross pattern.
3. Bake 8-10 minutes until light golden brown. Allow tray to sit for a few minutes then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Roasted Pepita Honey Butter and 25 Nut-Free Alternatives to Peanut Butter

Looly loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which is a problem because, in case you missed the memo, Roo is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. So, sadly, no almond butter or Nutella for us either. For years we've relied on Sunbutter for sandwiches, cookies, and pretty much everything else peanut butter-inspired. Huge props to Sunbutter. I don't know what we would do without you, my friend, and seriously, it is pretty freaking good. We're not tossing our jar of Sunbutter but with the school year looming and roughly 540 lunches to pack (that's 180 days times 3 kids!) perhaps it's time to expand our nut-free horizons.

Yup, that's a a smothering of homemade roasted pepita honey butter, baby. Chunky, salty, sweet, crunchy, nut-free yet nutty in flavor, and loaded with good stuff like amino acids, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Pepitas, by the way, are pumpkin seeds, but "pepitas" is a much snappier way of putting it, am I right?

Bean worked the blender and helped taste test. After giving up one too many spoons to her constant lick stealing, I finally gave her a bowl and a spoon. Roo was intrigued but not ready to actually sample quite yet. And Looly, my usual holdout, she gobbled up half a pepita butter and jelly sandwich then wolfed down another thick slice of bread slathered in pepita butter. Yeah. That was after her lunch.

Roasted Pepita Honey Butter

2 cups pepitas, roasted and salted (I bought our pepitas already roasted and salted but you could easily roast your own pumpkin seeds instead).
3 tbsp. honey
1/4 cup canola oil
salt

Combine pepitas and honey in a food processor or powerful blender and pulse. Slowly drizzle in oil through top of lid and process until you have reached your desired consistency. I left ours just a little chunky and the extra crunch is awesome. Taste and adjust salt and honey to suit your mood.

And just in case you aren't swayed by my recipe, here are 25 more nut-free sandwich spreads to help get you through the school year.

25 Nut-free Sandwich Spreads

1. Sunbutter
2. Wowbutter (soy butter)
3. Nonuts Golden Peabutter
4. Biscoff Spread
5. Guacamole
6. Simple Foods Organic Chocolate Soy Butter
7. Mashed banana
8. Hummus
9. Edamame Hummus
10. Black Bean Hummus
11. Baba Ganoush
12. Roasted Vegetable Spread
13. Lemon Curd
14. Triple Berry Curd
15. Apple Butter
16. Vanilla Pear Butter
17. Pumpkin Butter
18. Mascarpone cheese
19. Goat cheese
20. Ricotta cheese
21. Schuler's Cheese Spread
22. Whipped honey
23. Marshmallow Fluff
24. Nut-free Kale Pesto 
25. Olive Tapenade
26. And of course, Roasted Pepita Honey Butter