Time for new holiday favourites

Wow, time sure does fly! I just realized weeks have passed since my last blog entry while I've been busy hustling to get ready for the holidays.

When we first learned about DJ's peanut/tree nut allergy, I never thought about how much our holiday celebrations would change, but now that I'm knee deep in preparations, I am realizing just how many adjustments will be necessary.

Like my Christmas baking for example. Nearly every treat I made last year contained nuts. The only exception was sugar cookies made from a Robin Hood pre-packaged mix.

So I guess it's out with the old nutty holiday baking traditions and in with the new nut-free ones.

I'm looking for recipes my family will enjoy that are nut free and also trying to adapt a couple traditional favourites. I'm sure there will be plenty, including this great recipe for warm white chocolate cookie bits. While the recipe calls for toasted pecans, I'm going to substitute dried cranberries or cherries. I'll be sure to blog on how they turn out.

At the same time, I'm wondering about the potential for substituting sunbutter for peanut butter in peanut butter marshmallow squares. Has anybody tried this substitution with any success? If so, I'd love to hear about it.