A gluten-free Christmas doesn't have to be a boring one. Make it easy by choosing recipes that don't call for flour.

One of our daughters has recently been diagnosed gluten-intolerant so I decided that we would make gluten-free baking for Christmas that all of us can enjoy. By choosing recipes that simply don’t call for flour we’ve got some very tasty treats. One of my favourite so far is Sugar Plums. They taste like a great fruitcake minus the cake. J The fruitcake I enjoy most doesn’t have much cake anyways. This is a great recipe to have your kids make with you.

Sugar Plums – inspired by Alton Brown
6 oz (about 1 ¼ cups) nuts (we used pecans)
12 oz (about 2 cups) dried fruit (we used dried sour cherries, apricots and plums)
1 oz (¼ cup) icing sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
3 oz (¼ cup) honey or golden syrup
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
In a food processor pulse together nuts and dried fruit 20 – 25 times until everything is chopped into small pieces but stop before it becomes a paste.
In a medium bowl whisk together icing sugar, spices and salt. Add chopped mixture and honey. Stir together until well mixed. You will probably need to use your clean hands.
Shape into balls about 1” in diameter and roll in coconut. Place on a rack to dry for up to a week and then store airtight at room temperature for up to a month. They are quite soft to start but firm up as they dry out.