But what products that are out so far are worth trying this Christmas? Compared to other years personally I don't think there is a great lot on offer this year. Co-op seem to be down to just mince pies, Asdas seem to be reduced down and as I already mentioned Morrisons is so far none existent. Maybe I have just grown used to having a wide variety and supermarkets seem to be lessening the amount of gluten free offerings in favour of vegan.
Anywho...there is some delicious products out there so far that you definitely need to get your claws on this year and surprisingly one of them isn't in the main four supermarkets but more on that later!
1. Schar Speculatius
If you miss Lotus biscuits then stock up on Schar Speculatius they are the nearest you are going to get. Speculaas or Speculatius are traditionally a Christmas thing so it is really no surprise they only come out at this time of year and so far I think I have seem them in all the major supermarkets! Schar also do gluten free lebkuchen if you fancy giving that one a try too!
You can also make these style biscuits yourself if you fancy giving them a go, we have a recipe that is super simple to make!
Again Panettone seems to be one of those musts at Christmas, that gently spiced sweet fruit loaf that is so addictive. Usually the only one available is a chocolate chip one in Sainsburys which strangely isn't available this year for the first time in forever. Instead they are stocking this Schar one along with Tesco and Asda. Last year Schar also did panettone but it was a single serving one, this one is a share one, so we are guessing the one last year must have been a success!
It would be nice so see some of the obscure flavours of panettone like M&S do but I am happy with a traditional one...for now at least! Who'd love a salted caramel one? I know I would!
So Schar have been doing normal chocolate fingers for years now but this year they have released chocolate orange ones! They do have Christmas packaging so it looks like they are only a Christmas special but they are so good! They aren't overly orange like some chocolate orange things but it is enough to keep your chocolate orange tooth satisfied!
I wonder if next year they will do the white chocolate covered ones Cadbury do, I would absolutely love to see these on the shelves, Christmas or not!
Keeping on the lines of chocolate oranges, it is always disappointing that proper Terrys chocolate oranges aren't safe for Coeliacs (if you weren't Coeliac when you were younger I bet you got a chocolate orange at Christmas!) This year though Terrys have released Crispy Balls and they don't include gluten in the ingredients nor carry a may contain so are all good. If you need a Terrys hit, they are one to give a shot. Maybe if you miss Malteasers too they maybe a worthy replacement!
There has been some argument on Facebook groups whether they are safe as there is "corn semolina" in the ingredients, this is perfectly fine, it isn't the same as regular semolina which contains gluten, corn semolina, as it says, comes from corn which is naturally gluten free.
This year Tesco have a few nice goodies but their tortilla chips took my eye. Turkey and stuffing flavour! Not just plain old...plain! Something different to put on the buffet table at Christmas, they are with the gluten free/free from products but I have no doubt if you check regular crisps you may find some other different flavours which are naturally gluten free too.
They do have some pigs in blanket popped crisps too which could be nice to have but these struck me as being more different, again though you might find there are regular crisps in pigs in blanket flavours which are naturally gluten free.
Sticking with the tortilla things Sainsburys also have honey roast gammon flavour curls, again something a bit different to munch on, maybe save these for boxing day to go with the traditional gammon joint! The sweet flavour is probably going to be something a bit different with these one, imagine bacon flavour crisps with a sweetness of honey, that sure has me drooling!
Like with Tesco, it is worth checking in Sainsburys if there is any special crisps which are naturally gluten free, we find things like bacon rashers are gluten free in Sainsburys where they aren't elsewhere so always worth checking as they tend to be cheaper if they aren't a dedicated free from product.
Ok, I sense a chocolate orange theme going on! These are definitely one to go in Asdas festive products covered in chocolate, deliciously crispy and with orange bits they sure do tickle the taste buds. They do have a few other festive biscuits too, amaretto and almond and cranberry and clementine, so if you are a biscuit fiend then Asda is the place to go. I do love finding some different flavour biscuits rather than the usual ones, Asda are usually pretty good on this front!
This one is a definite must try, we have NEVER had breaded cheese before unless you include Tesco Mozzarella sticks which on last inspection tasted more like plastic. These ones you are going to have to head to Iceland for, yes Iceland, they are exclusive to there and turns out the coating has been made naturally gluten free so we are in luck!
These ones can be found in the freezer, not fresh and beware my local store have said they are struggling to keep them in stock, they just keep flying out. We think this might be down to all the countless blogs, Facebook groups and other social media sharing it to every Coeliac in existence! So if you want some go and raid them, they are worth it!
If you are also curious about mince pies this year, pretty much everywhere except Morrisons has their gluten free ones in, as usual I believe M&S made without ones are the best available but who knows...maybe we will do a tasting session and find for sure the best gluten free one on sale.
Have you found any other exciting Coeliac safe Christmas goodies? Let us know!