Low Fodmap Dessert Recipes

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may have noticed that some of my recipes are low in fodmaps including this week’s low fodmap Christmas cookies.

Let’s talk a little about what low fodmap foods mean. For instance, fodmaps are certain carbohydrates in food that may contribute to undesirable GI symptoms in many people with IBS. This post shares tips on making an IBS dessert recipe that your family and friends will love!

Why balance the fodmaps throughout the day during the holidays?

No one wants to have IBS symptoms on Christmas Day or any other holiday.

Low Fodmap Christmas Cookie Recipe Baking Ingredients

One of the challenges people often have when starting to follow the low-fodmap diet is learning that not all gluten-free products are low-fodmap friendly. This is especially true when it comes to low fodmap sweets.

1. Low Fodmap Flours

Rice, millet, sorghum, tapioca, teff, cornstarch, cornmeal, and potato flour are low-fodmap flours that can be used. Oat and soy flour can be used in small amounts for some people. Flours that are gluten-free but not fodmap are almond, coconut, garbanzo, and amaranth. If they are used in large amounts in a product, they can cause great “pain and/or a very uncomfortable feeling.”

In many cases, a fodmap Christmas cookie recipe will also be a gluten-free Christmas cookie recipe, but this is not always the case, so look at the ingredients carefully.

2. Low Fodmap Dessert Recipe Sweeteners

Another challenge to making a dessert low in fodmaps is the type of sweetener used. Maple syrup and sugar work best, while honey, agave syrup, fructose, and molasses are fodmap ingredients. Therefore, they are not for everyone with IBS.

3. Types of Fruits and Fruit Portions in Low Fodmap Christmas Cookies

Finally, something else to consider when making fruit desserts is using the appropriate portion size for fodmap fruits. If you are in the elimination phase working with your dietitian, limit the higher fodmap fruits when following the elimination phase of the low fodmap diet. Dried fruit is more concentrated and can be a significant source of fodmaps.

One of the best ways to check whether foods are low or high in fodmaps is to download Monash University Low Fodmap App.

4. Lactose-Free Dairy and Low Fodmap Plant Milk

For some people with IBS, lactose is one of their trigger foods. This may make it important to make to make some low-fodmap swaps.

5. Balance High Fodmap Foods Throughout the Entire Day

The more fodmaps that someone eats throughout the entire day, the more likely that they are to cause issues for people with IBS. This may make it essential to balance high fodmap foods for Christmas Dinner and side dishes.

One great tip is to substitute the green parts of spring onions for white, yellow, or red onions, which also provide great flavor.

Low Fodmap Dessert Recipe

I am so excited to share this recipe with you! It was inspired by a restaurant that used to be in town called Dough. They had the most incredible raspberry bars, which were made a lot like lemon bars. Still, instead of lemon, they were made with raspberry puree, so they were smooth, not full of seeds like another favorite oatmeal raspberry bar cookie that I often make. Check out this recipe!

Low Fodmap Raspberry Bars

Move over lemon bars. There is a new sweet and slightly tart bar that everyone will love for the holidays. It comes already dressed up in a lovely holiday red and has a fresh new taste that family and friends will love! Too many raspberries can become a high-fodmap food, but no more than 30 berries are considered a low-fodmap fruit, and this recipe has even fewer!

This fodmap, gluten-free Christmas cookie recipe also makes a great dairy-free Christmas cookie!

Makes 16 servings

1 cup raspberry puree (see recipe below)

Two large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

One tablespoon of Earth Balance

One tablespoon of cornstarch

One tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar (to sprinkle on top of the bars after they are baked and cooled)

Low fodmap cookie crust (see recipe below)

Raspberry puree recipe:

12 ounces frozen raspberries

Thaw the berries and add them to a food processor to make the raspberry puree. Process them until they are blended well. Place a sieve above a large bowl and use a spatula to scrape the puree free from the seeds into the bowl. You will get a little over a cup. Use this puree to make the topping for the raspberry bars.

After making the puree, it is time to thicken the raspberry topping that will go over the cookie crust. Carefully whisk the cornstarch into the raspberry puree. In a saucepan, melt the butter and carefully whisk in the raspberry puree, allowing it to thicken slightly.

Remove the burner, add the two eggs, and place them back on the stove. Allow to thicken. The topping is ready to add to the cookie crust (see below) and bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Refrigerate at least one hour before cutting the raspberries into 16 squares.

Low fodmap cookie crust

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour

1/3 cup pecan meal (made by adding pecans in a food processor)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

One teaspoon vanilla extract

Five tablespoons melted Earth Balance

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, add gluten-free flour, 1/3 cup pecan meal, powdered sugar, salt, extra vanilla, and melted margarine and mix well.

In the baking pan, carefully press the crust. (I used wax paper to press it down evenly without sticking it to my hand. Bake for 15 minutes, and cool slightly before adding the raspberry topping.

Low Fodmap Christmas Cookie Recipes

If you are still looking for other delicious recipes and menu ideas low in Fodmap, here are some other resources for low Fodmap gluten-free Christmas cookies! I will also put together some make-ahead menu ideas to make those excellent holiday meals come together more smoothly, so stay tuned!

Additional Low Fodmap Christmas Cookie Recipes

Here are two additional low fodmap gluten-free Christmas Cookie Recipes from another post here at Vine Ripe Nutrition.

Blueberry Lemon Cookies

Here are some additional Gluten-free Christmas Recipes:

Pumpkin Pecan with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

Celebration Sugar Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

3 Low Fodmap Holiday Cookie Recipes

I recently brought these bars to my friend’s home for a holiday party. As I often do, I did not mention that I changed the recipe, and no one knew that it was gluten-free or low fodmap. If you don’t want to make two desserts for your special event, everyone can enjoy this recipe without making it.

Make These Low Fodmap Christmas Cookies

I hope that you love these raspberry bars and that they will be one of your favorite low-fat Christmas cookie recipes. Check out some of the other gluten-free and low-fat sweet recipes on my blog!

As an Asheville registered dietitian nutritionist, I love sharing tried-and-true recipes from my kitchen that make it easier for family, friends, and clients to follow a special diet and eat healthy while eating delicious food.

If you are looking for a supportive community to help you maintain your health over the holidays, you might want to check out the Growing Vine Community!

Come back and visit! And have a wonderful holiday season!

Denise