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I have a friend who has tree-nut allergy so he isn't able to eat any kinds of nuts, because of this every single time I bake something for my class he can't eat it because of his allergy. When I searched up recipes that are nut-free, I can't be 100% sure that it will be safe for him to eat it, I understand if he eats something with nuts in it can cause a deadly reaction and I don't want him to risk his life eating my cookies. What are some recipes for baking cookies that I can guarantee that it will be safe for him to eat?

Jeff Axelrod
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Cookie Baker
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    A nice loaf of French bread should be safe - flour, water, yeast (salt optional.) Nuts is easy; gluten is more of a challenge. And not all nuts are nuts, so Stephie's advice to ask "EXACTLY WHAT" is spot-on. Peanuts and tree nuts are different (someone may be allergic to one, the other, or both.) Meringues might be a better fit your your handle - egg whites, sugar (optional flavorings, choose non-nut-related in this case) – Ecnerwal Apr 25 '16 at 03:17
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    I was thinking more along the lines of shortbread - flour, butter, sugar. But yes, the fewer ingredients the better for most heavily allergic people. – Stephie Apr 25 '16 at 04:40
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    I would make sure your friend feels safe eating food from your kitchen before you spend the time and energy making something. Food allergies can be a really sensitive subject and it is beyond terrifying eating food from a kitchen you don't know that much about (speaking from personal experience). Try not to be offended and don't take it personally if your friend doesn't want the snacks you make. – lspare Aug 22 '17 at 01:52

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Step 1 should always be to ask which ingredients exactly you need to stay clear of, just in case it's more than nuts.

My - possibly naïve - assumption would be that basic recipes that stick to flour, sugar, eggs, butter and possibly dairy should probably be ok. Chocolate could be dangerous as the factories often use nuts as well, so there is a risk of cross-contamination, but cocoa should be safe. Note that some oils can be made (partly) from peanuts, so read the label or use butter.

Once you have verified the extent of allergies, you will have a "safe ingredients list".

From there, choose the type of baked product and search for basic recipes - the no-frills, few-ingredients recipes are a good place to start.

Unless you choose a recipe that uses nuts as main ingredient (sorry, no macarons for your friend) the options are almost endless, in my experience.

Jolenealaska
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Stephie
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    Asking the friend also lets you find out how *they* handle it; it's not necessarily just which ingredients but how careful they are about them. Some people have to pay attention to all potential cross-contamination warnings, some don't. – Cascabel Apr 24 '16 at 20:36
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I have a friend who's fatally allergic to nuts (along with many other things), but she loves making chocolate chip cookies (and eats them). There must be a specific brand of chocolate chips that are nut-free, but it is good to watch out for that as well on the labels.

I echo all the advice here from everyone else: ask your friend which exact ingredients he cannot eat, and go from there. Keep everything that has been confirmed as safe in a separate sealed container, and then everything in there is safe!

Also note: make sure to wash everything thoroughly before you make anything for your friend; there may be cross-contamination there, too.

Lei Fan
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