Gluten-Free Essentials ?Speedy Bakes? for Kids

We used Earth Balance Non-Dairy Buttery Spread to keep our end product dairy-free. The website also says that you can use Egg Replacer in these mixes. If you have an apple allergy/intolerance in your family, try pear sauce, it works just as well!

I am very excited about this product. So much so, I just may have to go buy myself an Easy Bake Oven! Seriously, I bought the Girl Gourmet Cake Bakery as a gift to myself for my birthday!

It was actually after my review of the Girl Gourmet Cake Bakery that I was asked if I was interested in reviewing a gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free, kid-friendly baking mix that can be used in a toy oven as well as the regular oven. How cool is that?! It actually makes me misty eyed. I LOVED my Easy Bake Oven when I was a little girl. When Sam was diagnosed with CD, I couldn’t help but think of all the things I would have had to miss out on as a child (had I been diagnosed much earlier), and one of those things would have been my toy oven. I really believe my love and passion for cooking started way back then. Had I not been able to have my Easy Bake Oven, who is to say I would be sitting here today writing this gluten-free food blog??

This is the model of Easy Bake Oven that I had back in the early 80's. Brings back so many memories!

Anyway, I received two complimentary mixes by Gluten-Free Essentials to sample and review on my blog. I baked these in a regular oven since I no longer own an Easy Bake Oven. The Girl Gourmet Cake Bakery was out because it “bakes” the cake in the microwave and not with a light bulb. I actually thought I would try these out in Sam’s Star Wars Creepy Crawler Oven since it uses the same principle of “baking by light bulb,” but unfortunately, it uses molds and I do not have a baking pan small enough to fit in the oven! The good thing though is that an Easy Bake Oven is not required to bake these mixes, so they are great for kids of all ages, even older kids who want to get in the kitchen.

So, we assembled the ingredients, made a huge mess along the way and before you knew it, we were pulling Sam and Luke’s Fudge Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies out of the oven. They were so proud of their baked goods that Sam exclaimed, “Move over mom, it’s time for Adventures of a Gluten Free Sam!”

“Oh yeah? You know that means you will have to do all of the clean up too.”

Sam’s response? Pretty much the very same look that was captured in the boy’s photo with Santa Claus this year:

Sam has mastered this "look" for when he is not thrilled about having to do something, and cleaning is one of those things!

So it seems, for now anyway, I still get to be “Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom.” LOL!

Anyway, we gave the Gluten Free Essentials Speedy Bakes mixes for kids 2 thumbs up. 1 thumb just for the fact that they are making the Easy Bake Oven a possibility for a lot of children with dietary restrictions. They even have the CSA’s Seal of Approval. Check out their allergen statement (taken directly from the Gluten Free Essentials website):

GLUTEN FREE ALLERGY STATEMENT

Gluten Free Essentials is dedicated to manufacture products that are safe for

consumers with Celiac Disease as well as some of the major food allergies.

Our products are manufactured in a completely dedicated gluten free facility

and are totally free of wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Our facility is also Egg,

Casein, Lactose, Dairy, nut (peanut & tree) as well as soy free. (The one

exception is that products made with chocolate chips do contain Soy Lecithin.)

We are inspected and registered in the State of Kansas, and do follow HACCP

(Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) procedures. These include

identifying critical points in production operations and food safety issues. This is

not a requirement for this type of business, but we feel that by following these

guidelines there will be no risk of cross contamination or any other issue

involving food safety.

P.O. Box 362, Clyde, Ks 66938           785-446-3639

Web: www.gfessentials.com    Email: glutenfreeessentials@yahoo.com

The other thumb is for the overall quality and taste of the products. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix had a lot more chocolate chips in it than I would have expected, especially for the price of only $2.99 per package. They actually cost less than the gluten-containing Easy Bake Oven refill mixes and you get a lot more mix! The brownies tasted great too, although I would probably say they were more cake-like in texture than actual brownies, but that did not matter one bit to the boys!

Luke had so much fun stirring the Fudge Brownie Mix. Although I can see in this photo that he is already plotting something...

Sam took his stirring very seriously and Luke is looking very guilty!

Admiring their handiwork...

Ahhh yes, I KNEW IT! Luke sets the bar for Chocoholic!

Brownies

Lots of chocolate chips in the Chocolate Chip Cookie mix.

A full dozen cookies from one mix!

There is still some time left to go get an Easy Bake Oven before December 25th! Just remove the mixes that are included with the oven and order some Gluten-Free Essentials Speedy Bakes, there are 6 different mixes to choose from. The Easy Bake oven directions are on the back of the package as well as on the website: click here. WOO HOO!