For a guest with coeliac disease, ordinary spritz biscuits made with wheat flour are not suitable. Choose a packaged biscuit labelled gluten-free, or bake your own using ingredients that are confirmed to be gluten-free. A packaged biscuit saves preparation time, but it will usually be a different type of biscuit. If you bake your own, you’ll also need to take care with the work surface and utensils. In either case, check the current allergen information and prevent crumbs from ordinary biscuits coming into contact with the gluten-free option when serving.
You want to offer a biscuit without it coming into contact with ordinary spritz biscuits or other foods containing gluten. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre points out that even a crumb can matter for someone with coeliac disease. The Dutch Coeliac Society advises keeping gluten-free products packaged for as long as possible.
You’re looking for the familiar shape and crisp texture of a spritz biscuit. A gluten-free digestive, chocolate chip cookie or coconut macaroon is a different type of biscuit. Baking your own gives you the option to make piped biscuits, as long as you use suitable ingredients and prevent contact with gluten during preparation.
You want to put out a ready-made biscuit, but gluten-free alone won’t answer every allergen question. Ask your guests in advance what they need to avoid, and read the full allergen information on the chosen packaging.
For a guest with coeliac disease, choosing a suitable gluten-free product is essential. After that, the choice between a packaged biscuit and baking your own mainly comes down to the type of biscuit you want, the preparation involved and keeping it separate when serving.
Choose this when: You want to offer a biscuit without baking and be able to check its label.
Trade-off: The supermarket examples listed are different types of biscuit from classic spritz biscuits.
Choose this when: You want to choose the shape and ingredients yourself.
Trade-off: Baking takes time and requires ingredients, a work surface and utensils that haven’t come into contact with gluten.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Suitable for someone with coeliac disease | Check the gluten-free label and ingredients on the current packaging. Also consider how you’ll serve the biscuit separately. | If my guest has coeliac disease, I don’t want an ordinary spritz biscuit or a stray crumb ending up on their plate. Around 42% of consumers put this gluten-free requirement first. |
| Spritz-like taste and texture | Decide whether a different type of biscuit will do, or whether you’d prefer to bake piped biscuits yourself using gluten-free ingredients. | For me, it’s the shape and crisp texture that make a spritz biscuit distinctive; a digestive or coconut macaroon doesn’t meet that need in the same way. Around 25% of consumers prioritise that spritz experience, provided the biscuit is suitable for their guest. |
| Easy to serve | Check the pack contents and whether the biscuit can stay packaged until it’s time to serve. | When I have little time to prepare, I want to be able to buy a biscuit and set it aside for my guest. For around 17% of consumers, convenience is the deciding factor after checking that it’s gluten-free. |
| Other allergens and availability | Read the full allergen information for the guests concerned and check what’s available at the shop where you’re buying your food. | As well as coeliac disease, I may need to consider another allergy, or I may want to know whether my chosen biscuit is available. Around 16% of consumers say these additional requirements are their top priority. |
Verkade lists wheat flour in NoboSprits Melk. A biscuit’s name or shape doesn’t tell you whether it’s suitable for someone with coeliac disease.
For the guest concerned, choose a product labelled gluten-free on its current packaging and check the ingredients.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says that even a crumb can matter for someone with coeliac disease. Sharing a plate or serving tongs makes it harder to keep the biscuits separate.
Follow the Dutch Coeliac Society’s advice to keep gluten-free products packaged for as long as possible. Once opened, use clean, separate serving utensils.
A gluten-free biscuit may contain ingredients that aren’t suitable for another guest. A gluten-free label doesn’t replace the rest of the allergen information.
Ask about any other allergies in advance and check the chosen packaging for each guest concerned.
An online product range doesn’t guarantee that a specific biscuit will be available when you do your shopping. Lidl describes its additional gluten-free range as changing over time.
Check what your shop has shortly before the garden party, and read the packaging again when you buy the product.
These examples help you distinguish between different types of biscuit. Their inclusion here doesn’t mean that a specific product is suitable for every guest or currently available.
Verkade NoboSprits Melk is included here as an example of an ordinary spritz biscuit.
Albert Heijn lists packaged biscuits in its gluten-free range, including AH Glutenvrij Koekjes amandel.
Jumbo describes Lekker Vrij van Gluten Digestives Melkchocolade as gluten-free biscuit cookies.
PLUS offers packaged alternatives such as gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
Lidl has a product range page for additional gluten-free products.
ALDI lists Heerlijck Banket Kokosmakronen as gluten-free biscuits, with ordinary spritz biscuits as a separate product type.
This packaged oat biscuit is for anyone who wants to offer a different type of biscuit from a spritz at their garden party. For a guest with coeliac disease, check that the current packaging says gluten-free and keep the biscuit separate from ordinary biscuits when serving.
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A packaged biscuit alternative if an oat biscuit with milk chocolate will do instead of spritz biscuits for your guests. Check the current packaging for a gluten-free label and any allergens relevant to your guests, and use clean, separate serving utensils.
Not as a gluten-free biscuit. Verkade lists wheat flour in NoboSprits Melk. Choose a separate biscuit for the guest concerned, with gluten-free clearly stated on the current packaging.
Check the gluten-free label, ingredients and allergens on the current packaging. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority explains how allergens are listed in ingredient information. Also read the details of any other allergens that matter to your guests.
If possible, keep them packaged for as long as you can and use clean, separate utensils when serving. This follows the Dutch Coeliac Society’s advice to prevent contact with crumbs from food containing gluten.
No. The gluten-free label doesn’t tell you anything about all the other ingredients. Ask which allergens the guest needs to avoid and check the full information for the specific biscuit.
Use it to explore your options, but check the packaging before serving the biscuit. Albert Heijn itself says that ingredients and allergen information can change.
