Share the love of gluten free treats

My son's class is having their valentine's party on Friday.  One thing every kid loves about the classroom party - delicious goodies.  And of course, as the parent of a Gluten Free and Proud to be kid, I want to make sure my Valentine has lots of fun choices.

Lucky for us, we are really blessed with awesome parents and kids in my son's class who are really supportive of the boy's GF lifestyle.  Our super-human classroom mom who organizes each of these parties always includes healthy treats that are naturally GF - fresh fruit, cheese and veggies. 

But let's be honest - the sweet stuff is the highlight of the party.  And SHCM (super-human classroom mom) always gives me first dibs on bringing the sweet treats to the party.

HELPFUL GF MAMA HINT:  Always - and I mean always - volunteer to make the cupcakes. 

So for Friday I am making vanilla cupcakes with pink icing decorated with message hearts. Easy, cute and kid approved! 

Here are some of my favorite GF baking mixes that I use frequently:

King Arthur Flour - their chocolate and vanilla cake mixes are superb! Seriously so so good!  You can find them here and I have been finding a nice selection at my local grocery store.  A little on the pricier side but worth it. 

Gotta give some love to Betty Crocker.  The gluten free mixes are very good and pretty affordable. You can see the great selection on their website  http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/glutenfree
Betty also has GF Bisquick - BISQUICK!!!  More on that later.

Williams and Sonoma also has some delish GF baking mixes.  My super-fabulous friend Kris (who is one heck of a baker let me tell you) works there part-time and has gotten me both the chocolate and vanilla cupcake mixes.  Good, good stuff - great texture (which if you are new to GF, you will find can be an issue) and really moist.  Love them.  Love Kris too.

Cool Whip makes awesome frosting and you can find them in your freezer section.  Throw in some red food coloring and wha-lah!  Pink icing! 

My BFF Polly loves my GF cupcakes - in fact I think she secretly ensures our boys are in the same class each year because she knows I'll be bringing the cupcakes. 

What GF love will you be giving for Valentine's day?