If you’re baking with children for someone with coeliac disease, choose biscuits or ingredients labelled gluten-free, and prepare them separately from products containing gluten. Ready-made biscuits are handy for decorating; baking from scratch gives you more freedom over shapes and ingredients, but requires extra care with clean hands, work surfaces and utensils. Also check each child’s needs and the current packaging for other allergens or any concerns about oats.
If a child has coeliac disease, it’s not just the choice of biscuit or ingredient that matters. The Dutch Coeliac Society advises taking care to prevent crumbs, flour or kitchen utensils from introducing gluten into gluten-free baking.
At school, childcare or a playdate, treats containing gluten may be served alongside gluten-free ones. Agree in advance which products are for which child and how you’ll keep preparation and serving separate.
If a child needs to avoid ingredients besides gluten, assess each biscuit, baking mix and decoration individually. A gluten-free label alone doesn’t tell you whether a product contains, for example, milk, egg, soya or nuts.
Choose this option: if the children will mainly be decorating biscuits or you want to keep preparation to a minimum.
The trade-off: the shape, ingredients and allergens present are largely determined by the product you choose.
Choose this option: if mixing, rolling and cutting out dough are part of the activity and you want to choose the ingredients yourself.
The trade-off: the extra preparation steps require more care to prevent contact with products containing gluten.
For someone with coeliac disease, both options start with checking the gluten-free label. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, this claim may be used when the gluten content of a food sold to the final consumer is no more than 20 mg/kg. Keep the product separate from ingredients containing gluten during baking and decorating, too.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free preparation | Check the gluten-free label and use clean utensils and a separate work surface if you’re also handling products containing gluten. | When I’m baking for a child with coeliac disease, I want to make sure a suitable product doesn’t come into contact with crumbs or flour. For around 50% of consumers, gluten-free preparation comes first. |
| Other allergens | Read the current ingredients and allergen information, including any warnings about possible traces. Do this for baking mixes and decorations, too. | If a child also needs to avoid other ingredients, I want to know that everything going on the biscuit meets their requirements. Around 30% of consumers give this additional check top priority. |
| Type of baking activity | Choose biscuits to decorate or ingredients to bake from scratch, taking the desired shape, texture and quantity into account. | If the children mainly want to decorate, I’ll choose differently than if they want to make and cut out dough. For around 20% of consumers, the type of activity is the main factor in their choice. |
A gluten-free biscuit may still contain ingredients such as egg, milk, soya or nuts. This could make it unsuitable for a child with an additional allergy.
Check the current allergen information for each biscuit, ingredient and decoration separately; don’t rely solely on the brand name or gluten-free label.
The Dutch Coeliac Society warns that crumbs and flour containing gluten can contaminate gluten-free baking. Hands and shared kitchen utensils also need attention.
Start with clean hands, a clean work surface and clean utensils. Keep products containing gluten away from the gluten-free workspace.
The packaging you’re using may differ from product information you’ve looked at before. Albert Heijn therefore advises customers to read the packaging before using its biscuits.
Check the pack you have in front of you just before baking, paying particular attention to the ingredients and allergen information.
A gluten-free label and whether oats meet an individual child’s requirements are two separate things to check. For Gv Oaties, Verkade states that a small group of people with coeliac disease may be sensitive to avenin in oats.
Check the label on the exact product and, if the child has specific advice about oats, discuss your choice with their parent or carer.
These ranges include several types of gluten-free biscuits. The features of one product don’t automatically apply to every variety from the same brand.
Albert Heijn offers gluten-free almond biscuits and cheese biscuits, among other products, which can be served ready-made.
This range includes different types of biscuits, including speculaas, syrup waffles and milk chocolate digestives.
The chocolate biscuits reviewed are labelled gluten-free and lactose-free, according to the product information.
Schär offers a range of gluten-free biscuits and cakes, including butter biscuits, chocolate cookies and digestives.
Gv Oaties Milk Chocolate is a biscuit made with gluten-free oats that may be suitable for serving or decorating.
Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, the claim ‘gluten-free’ is permitted when the gluten content of a food sold to the final consumer is no more than 20 mg/kg. When buying, check the label on the exact product and keep the biscuit separate from ingredients containing gluten during the activity.
Yes. This can happen, for example, with a product labelled gluten-free that contains gluten-free wheat starch, as Albert Heijn states for its almond biscuits. A gluten-free label doesn’t answer the separate question of whether the product is suitable for someone with a wheat allergy; check the current label and the child’s requirements.
Use clean hands, a clean work surface and clean kitchen utensils, and keep ingredients containing gluten separate. The Dutch Coeliac Society also warns about contamination from crumbs and airborne flour containing gluten. Avoid shared jars or decorations that have already been dipped into products containing gluten.
You can’t assume they are suitable for every child. First check that the exact oat biscuit is labelled gluten-free, and ask whether there are any individual requirements regarding oats. For Gv Oaties, Verkade states that a small group of people with coeliac disease may be sensitive to avenin in oats.
