If you’d like to bake a spritz-style biscuit yourself, choose a flour mix labelled gluten-free and suitable for patisserie, and follow a recipe for dough that can be piped. Take care to avoid contact with ordinary flour. If you’d simply like a biscuit without baking, a packaged gluten-free alternative may be more convenient, but it won’t necessarily be a spritz biscuit, and you’ll need to check separately for other allergens.
You want to make a spritz-style biscuit yourself, so you check that every ingredient is labelled gluten-free and make sure there’s no ordinary flour residue in the kitchen. The Voedingscentrum identifies the ‘gluten-free’ label and the Crossed Grain symbol as useful things to look for on packaging.
The shape and crumbly texture matter to you. Rutger Bakt highlights the importance of using a flour mix suitable for patisserie when making gluten-free biscuits. Ikeetvrij’s spritz recipe uses a sturdy piping bag with a large star nozzle.
You’d rather not pipe and bake the dough yourself. A biscuit clearly labelled gluten-free could be a good option, even if it isn’t a spritz. As well as checking the label, read the ingredients and allergen information on the current packaging.
Choose this option if: the piped shape and baking them yourself are part of what makes a spritz biscuit special to you.
The trade-off: you’ll need time to make, pipe and bake the dough. A gluten-free mix won’t automatically give you the same texture as wheat flour.
Choose this option if: you want a gluten-free biscuit alternative without baking, and the exact spritz shape matters less to you.
The trade-off: a gluten-free biscuit may differ from a spritz in both shape and ingredients.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free status and cross-contamination | Check the current gluten-free label on every ingredient or biscuit. Make sure your worktop, baking equipment and food storage are free from ordinary flour residue. | If I bake in a kitchen where ordinary flour is also used, I want my ingredients and equipment to be suitable for my gluten-free choice. This check is the top priority for around 42% of consumers. |
| Ease of piping and texture | Check whether the gluten-free mix is suitable for patisserie or biscuits, and whether the recipe makes dough that can be piped. Ikeetvrij uses a large star nozzle for its spritz biscuits. | I want to create the familiar piped shape and avoid dough that’s difficult to squeeze through a piping bag. Around 33% of consumers give shape and texture top priority. |
| Convenience of an alternative | Check whether the packaged product is labelled gluten-free, which other allergens it contains, and whether it’s actually a spritz or a different type of biscuit. | I want a biscuit to have with my coffee without baking first, so I’m happy with a different shape. Convenience matters most to around 25% of consumers. |
Verkade lists wheat flour in Nobo Sprits Melk. A biscuit’s shape, or leaving off a topping, doesn’t change the ingredients in the biscuit itself.
If you have coeliac disease, choose a biscuit explicitly labelled gluten-free, or bake with ingredients whose gluten-free status you’ve checked individually.
A different flour mix can change the texture, and spritz dough also needs to pass through a piping nozzle. Rutger Bakt recommends using a mix suitable for patisserie when making gluten-free biscuits.
Where possible, use a gluten-free spritz recipe. Make a small test batch first and check whether you can pipe the dough using a sturdy piping bag and a large star nozzle.
‘Gluten-free’ doesn’t mean a biscuit is free from egg, soya or nuts. For example, Albert Heijn lists these allergens for AH Glutenvrij Koekjes amandel.
If you also need to avoid other allergens, read the full ingredients and allergen information on the current packaging.
Extra gluten-free products aren’t available all the time. Lidl noted that its extra range was out of stock at the time.
Check the current range before basing a recipe on one particular mix, and consider which other ingredients labelled gluten-free could work in your recipe.
A packaged gluten-free biscuit alternative to consider, rather than a ready-made spritz biscuit.
A range to consider for gluten-free biscuits and possible baking ingredients.
A reference point for regular spritz biscuits, but not a gluten-free purchase for this situation.
A possible place to look for gluten-free products, depending on the current range.
This flour is a baking ingredient, not a ready-made spritz biscuit. Before buying, check whether the current packaging carries a gluten-free label and whether the flour is suitable for the spritz recipe you plan to use.
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A flour option to consider if you want to bake biscuits yourself; that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s suitable for pipeable spritz dough.
Self-raising almond flour in a 200 g pack. Check the current gluten-free label and allergen information before using it for someone with coeliac disease.
Not if the biscuit itself contains ingredients with gluten. Verkade lists wheat flour in Nobo Sprits Melk; removing a topping won’t change the biscuit base.
Look for ‘gluten-free’ or the Crossed Grain symbol on the current packaging, as recommended by the Voedingscentrum. Also check the ingredients and allergens for the specific product.
Use ingredients confirmed as gluten-free, and make sure your worktop, mixing bowl, baking tray, piping bag, nozzle and other equipment are free from ordinary dough or flour residue. Also take care with storage containers and ingredients used in the same kitchen.
No, the ‘gluten-free’ label alone doesn’t tell you anything about other allergens. For example, Albert Heijn lists egg, soya and almond in AH Glutenvrij Koekjes amandel, so read the full information on the current packaging.
