“OHH, you didn’t have to — really, you didn’t have to. I’m used to just bringing my own meal.”

I used to hear this all the time from my friends with food allergies or preferences when they’d come over for dinner. They’d sit with their sad little grocery store takeout containers while the rest of us feasted on homemade meals and desserts every Tuesday at our community group gatherings.

And honestly? I hated it.
What kind of hostess invites someone to dinner and then expects them to just watch everyone else eat because the menu isn’t allergy-friendly? Not the kind of hostess I want to be.

Before what one of my favorite YouTubers calls The Great Unpleasantness (you know the one), I cooked and baked constantly for various get-togethers — Tuesday night dinners with gluten-free friends, Wednesday girls’ nights that needed baked goods without eggs or milk. I loved it, but after a while, I got tired of the same three allergy-friendly cookbooks and the endless substitutions.

I wanted Ina Garten’s brownies.
Gesina Prado’s focaccia.
The “real” recipes — but made so that everyone could enjoy them.

So I did what I always do when something doesn’t sit right:
I went to the kitchen.

🍰 Introducing: The Bakeover

That’s when the idea for Bakeovers was born.

A Bakeover is my take on a recipe makeover — taking beloved, traditional recipes and transforming them into inclusive versions that everyone can enjoy. Gluten-free. Dairy-free. Vegan. Friendly for every seat at the table.

At first, I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. I just served the food and waited.
To my friends with allergies, I’d say, “This one’s [insert their name here] friendly.”
They’d smile, dig in, and every time someone said, “Wait… this is gluten-free?” I knew I was onto something.

Bakeovers are my way of saying: no one should have to bring their own dinner.

🍪 Our First Bakeover: Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies

Intriguing title? ✔️
Drool-worthy golden ripples and crisp edges? ✔️

Sarah Keiffer’s Vanilla Bean Blog made these cookies famous — so famous that even Ina Garten included her version in a cookbook. They’re huge, dramatic, buttery, and rippled like the edges of a pie crust. But could I make them gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free without losing that chewy-meets-crisp perfection?

Challenge accepted.

🥄 Bakeover Notes

Sugar is the star.

These cookies get their golden color and crisp edges from sugar — mainly white sugar — which caramelizes as it bakes. That caramelization absorbs moisture and makes the cookies both chewy and crunchy. It’s also the secret behind those famous ripples. When you drop the baking pan mid-bake, the melted sugar pushes the dough outward, forming those iconic waves.

Use chopped chocolate, not chips.

Trust me on this one. Chopping a bar of bittersweet chocolate creates beautiful pools that spread better than chips. Plus, bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are naturally dairy-free — cocoa butter (despite the name) comes from the cocoa bean, not milk.

If you’re navigating allergens, check out brands that label their chocolate as gluten-, nut-, and soy-free. It makes a big difference.

Freeze the dough.

After scooping your dough, pop it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This helps the centers stay gooey instead of flattening out completely while baking.

🌱 Allergy-Friendly Variations

Dairy-Free Butter

The main dairy ingredient here is butter, which is easily replaced.
My favorite brands: Miyoko’s European Style Butter or Earth Balance Vegan Unsalted Butter. I used Earth Balance for the cookies you see here.

Egg-Free Lift

Eggs provide lift and moisture in cookie dough, but this recipe only calls for one — perfect for replacing. My favorite substitute:

1½ tbsp water + 1½ tbsp oil (I use coconut or vegetable) + 1 tsp baking powder
Combine, stir, and add as you would an egg. You’ll see fizzing — that’s lift magic happening.

Gluten-Free Flour

This recipe doesn’t rely on much flour, so it’s a great candidate for a gluten-free swap.
I like to blend my own GF mix for control, but any quality all-purpose gluten-free blend works. Just remember:

• Gluten-free dough spreads a little more

• It may take longer to brown

• And patience is your best friend — let them cool fully before biting in!

✨ The Result

The cookies I photographed here are gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. BELIEVE YOUR EYES, FRIENDS.

They’re crispy on the edges, soft in the middle, and full of rich, bittersweet chocolate ripples. You’d never guess they’re allergen-friendly — and that’s the point.

Bakeovers aren’t about compromise. They’re about inclusion without losing flavor, texture, or joy.

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🖨 Print Recipe

💯 Gluten & Dairy-Free Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies (Bakeover)

Author: Alicia Sturdy | Inspired by: Sarah Keiffer, The Vanilla Bean Blog

Category: Cookies | Dietary: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free

GF Flour Blend

• 84g White Rice Flour
• 84g Brown Rice Flour
• 42g Potato Starch
• 42g Tapioca Starch
• 14g Potato Flour
• 8g Xanthan Gum
• 8g Pectin

Cookie Dough Ingredients

• 12g (1 tsp) baking soda
• 5g (1 tsp) kosher salt
• 225g unsalted vegan butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
• 300g granulated sugar
• 50g light brown sugar
• Equivalent of 1 egg: mix 1.5 tbsp water + 1.5 tbsp oil + 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tablespoons water
• 170g bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Guittard), chopped into ½-inch pieces (about 6 oz)

Materials

• Stand mixer
• Kitchen scale
• Small and medium bowls
• Cutting board & knife
• Spatula
• 2 ¾ oz cookie scoop or ⅓ cup measure
• Foil
• Sheet pan

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and position the rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Line your baking sheet with aluminum foil, dull side facing up.
3. In a small bowl, weigh and combine your dry ingredients: flour(s), baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy.
5. Add both sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle. Add the egg (or replacement), vanilla, and water. Mix on low to combine.
7. Scrape the bowl again, then add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined.
8. Add chopped chocolate and mix on low to incorporate.
9. Using a cookie scoop or ⅓ cup measure, portion dough (about 100g each). Place four dough balls evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet.
10. Freeze the sheet pan for 15 minutes before baking. Continue scooping remaining dough and freezing while the first batch bakes.
11. Bake for 10 minutes, until centers are slightly puffed. Open the oven and lift the pan about 4 inches, then gently drop it to create ripples. Repeat every 2 minutes until cookies bake 16–18 minutes total.
12. Cookies should be golden brown with lighter centers that appear underbaked—this is perfect!
13. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool completely before removing cookies.
14. Note: For gluten-free cookies, carefully transfer the foil (with cookies still on it) to the rack to cool fully and preserve structure.

These gluten-, dairy-, and egg-free cookies have irresistibly crisp edges, gooey centers, and that signature pan-banged ripple. Proof that everyone deserves dessert night. 🍪

I've always subconsciously been in pursuit of that one thing that 'lights me up.' 

"What am I suppose to do with my life? What is my spark?" The minute I'd find something and think I found it, the sizzle would wear off, and I'd be back to square one. I sometimes feel like 22 from the movie Soul - thinking I’d never find my spark.

When we lived in Chicago and Andrew was in Seminary, I would scroll The Kendall College Culinary Arts curriculum pages. Over and over again, I would read through what each class in the curriculum would teach, what I could learn. I figured I missed my chance to do this new something that might hold my spark. I had just gotten a college degree in Art and Graphic Design, but it was the recession, and I felt stuck in my safe and secure job with benefits. This was not a time to find a new career when you hadn't even gotten a chance to start one you just finished the education for.

Enter internet learning. I've been in coaching groups and online courses, masterminds, and masterclasses—all still searching for perfecting the art of 'doing more of what lights me up.' Through my photography business and blogging endeavors, I've always had fun but was I lit up? I was scared to find out if the answer was no.

A few years ago, I met up for dinner and drinks in Chicago with my friend Cathy. I had taken a few of her courses back in the day and kept in touch via Instagram - I considered her an internet friend, and we even got to meet face to face at a conference. After dinner, we decided to do ice cream, and she said something to me that took me off guard.

"You're someone who just loves to learn."

Wow, I had never thought about myself that way. Was it really that simple - that I loved to learn? I figured I was just a course junkie. Seeing myself in this new light, I realized it was true. I love indulging my curiosity in the pursuit of understanding how something works. I love that the journey sparks the idea of creating something new.

The funny thing is, my dad was the exact same way - a natural-born hands-on learner who always could figure out how something worked. He'd take something apart just to put it back together. He restored a 1959 Ford, built our family home, even piecemealed a Harley Davidson by researching how to do it and ordering each piece on eBay. He had made a career out of being curious - immerse himself into each project sometimes for years - and it was the process of learning and doing that 'lit him up.'

Thursday, I'm debuting a new Everybody Baking Company recipe series called Bakeovers. We'll take a well-known recipe, starting with the internet-famous Pan Banging Chocolate Chip Cookie - and tear it apart to understand how it works. Then we'll put it back together and make sure it's Everybody Approved™. Because the recipe uses traditional ingredients, we'll make it vegan, make it gluten-free, and even see if we can make it both.

Tell me in the comments below - what is that spark that lights you up? Do you know, or are you still waiting to find out?

Over my decades of baking, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks here and there to make the process easier. Never did I imagine that I’d stop doing things instead of starting! Here’s a quick list of things I don’t do that help save time when baking!

1. I don't buy premixed gluten-free flour.
I weigh out my gluten-free flour custom for each recipe to have more control over my results.

2. I don't ever assume someone I'm baking for doesn't have a food allergy/intolerance.
It takes no effort to ask if someone has any food preferences or allergies, and if they don't - great! If they do, now I know and can be an even more graceful host when I surprise them with an option they can indulge in, and everyone else can enjoy just as much as an original! Inclusive baking for the win!

3. I don't find recipes on Pinterest.
I will do a quick search to see if I can find what I'm looking for, but if I don't within the first 5 minutes - I crack open a cookbook from a chef or baker I trust. My go-to's are: @inagarten, @gesinebp, @erinmckennasbakery, @cybelepascal, @carlaphall

4. I don't expect one store to have everything I need.
I have a few places in town that I get my ingredients. Check your local health food store, Amazon, grocery store, Aldi, heck, even Walgreens!

5. I don't use measuring cups.
I have abandoned using measuring cups almost all together now that I have switched to weighing my dry ingredients in grams. It creates less dirty dishes (use a spoon or small measuring cup to scoop everything out!) and is extremely accurate (see my first tip, I measure out all my gluten free flours in grams per recipe!)

Have any other ideas of things I should STOP doing in the kitchen? Comment below!

I sat on the cream linoleum floor, curled up next to the cast iron wood stove to warm my frozen toes fresh from my sopping wet boots. I had just come in from an afternoon in the snow, exploring the woods at my grandma's house in northern Michigan. The afternoon of this memory isn't one snowy day in particular. It's an entire season filled with memories of American Girl books, Anne of Avonlea rentals, and this flavor memory I hold so dearly.

Buttered saltine crackers in my grandma's kitchen.

This spring, I enrolled in Christina Tosi's Monthly course on creative baking. I wanted to flex my culinary education muscles and get inspired by someone I admire while creating a collection of baking courses due out over the next year. The goal of the course is to learn Christina’s recipes and then be inspired to write your own. Honestly, the only recipe I’ve ever taken 100% credit for writing from scratch is the Martian Mallow sundae at Scoops, the ice cream shop I worked at in high school. Other than that, my recipes have been minor riffs on other recipes I've known and loved.

While this recipe starts with a riff on a recipe from the class, it digs deep into my own flavor story centered around this memory. Entire sleeves of Saltines, being devoured along with a sidecar of Fleishman's. My cookie goals were as follows. 

1. To mimic the crunchy familiar feeling of the crackers.

2. To fill the flour with the powdery saltiness that is signature to Saltines.

3. Nail the gooeyness of room temperature butter slathered on those perfect little bites.

This recipe, of course, is Everybody approved with variations from traditional to gluten and dairy free. Choose your ingredient list below and get baking!

Please note, I'm going to be writing recipes using grams instead of cups measurements for dry ingredients from now on. I highly recommend you purchase a kitchen scale. I've had this scale for over a decade, bought on a whim from the clearance section at Sur La Table - it has not disappointed!

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🖨 Print Recipe

Buttered Saltine Crunch Cookies

Author: Alicia Sturdy | Category: Cookies | Inclusive Baking: Options for Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free

This cookie recipe is for all bakers — whether you bake traditionally, gluten-free, or dairy-free. Substitutions are clearly noted so everyone can enjoy the same crisp, gooey, brown-butter magic.

Brown Butter Saltine Crunch

• 65 g Schär Gluten-Free Table Crackers (or regular Saltines)
• 15 g soy, coconut, or traditional milk powder (about ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp)
• 2 g kosher salt (¾ tsp)
• 50 g browned butter — for dairy-free, use Miyoko's European-style vegan butter (it’s the only one that will brown properly)

Cookie Dough Ingredients

• 225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
• 300 g granulated sugar
• 100 g light brown sugar
• 1 egg — or substitute: 1.5 tbsp water + 1.5 tbsp oil + 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour or Gluten-Free Flour Blend (see below)
• 65 g mini marshmallows
• 60 g panko bread crumbs (Kikkoman brand recommended)

Gluten-Free Flour Blend

• 40 g White Rice Flour
• 24 g Cornstarch
• 22 g Brown Rice Flour
• 20 g Tapioca Starch
• 18 g Non-Fat Dry Milk
• 4 g Potato Starch
• 3 g Xanthan Gum
• 130 g ground Schär Gluten-Free Table Crackers (or Saltines)
• 3 g baking soda (¼ tsp)
• 5 g kosher salt (1½ tsp)

Materials

• Stand mixer
• Kitchen scale
• Small and medium bowls and containers
• Spatula
• 2¾ oz cookie scoop or ⅓ cup measure
• Parchment paper
• Sheet pan

Instructions

1. Make the Brown Butter Saltine Crunch:
   Preheat oven to 275°F. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, brown the butter until nutty and golden. Set aside.
2. Place crackers in a bowl and crush into half-inch or smaller pieces. Add milk powder and salt; toss to combine.
3. Pour browned butter over crackers and toss to coat. Spread evenly on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake 20 minutes, then cool until golden and crisp.
4. Make the Cookie Dough:
   Preheat oven to 375°F. Pulverize 130 g saltines (or crackers) in a food processor until fine and powdery.
5. Cream butter and sugars together in a stand mixer on medium-high for 3 minutes.
6. Scrape down sides; add egg (or substitute) and beat on high for 7–8 minutes until pale and fluffy.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, pulverized crackers, baking soda, and salt together.
8. With the mixer on low, add dry ingredients and mix until no dry bits remain.
9. Add cooled Brown Butter Cracker Crunch and mini marshmallows. Mix on low until evenly distributed.
10. Scoop 2¾ oz portions (about 78 g each). Roll each in panko breadcrumbs and flatten slightly into puck shapes.
11. Arrange on parchment-lined sheets with 2 inches between cookies. Chill for 10 minutes.
12. Bake 12 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Cool on the pan for 10–15 minutes before transferring — they’ll firm up as they cool.

Tip: These cookies are soft right out of the oven — let them rest fully before moving. The chewy centers and crisp edges make them irresistible for every kind of baker. 🍪

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Today I asked a few questions in my Instagram stories to plan the year ahead and what I hope to Everybody Baking Co to provide. I asked, "do you want me to bring back cooking videos," and the overwhelming response was YES! 🌮

I started making my cooking videos on my stories about 5 years ago now, mostly when I was home alone making dinner or on Saturday mornings making breakfast with Stella. It reflects more of 'me' than anything I probably have shared online at this point. They're spontaneous, unscripted, full of mistakes. On the fly decisions to fix errors or swap ingredients I don't have. As with most things, I got in my head about it way too much, mainly regarding my own self-doubts.

We're on the heels of the Meghan and Harry/Oprah interview this morning. As I sipped my coffee watching the debrief on the morning shows, Oprah shared something that made me go ‘Whaaaat?’.

via GIPHY

It was a conversation she had with Meghan in 2018 where Meghan had been told it would be best if she could be 50% less than she was.

Wow. I've been told that exact thing not once, not twice, but multiple times in my life.

"If you were less (loud/happy/successful/intimidating/the list goes on depending on the scenario and season of my life I was in)...things would be better for you."

So this morning, I'm making a promise to you. To not hide who I am. To be more vulnerable. To inspire you to do the same. 

Whether it be to encourage you to start your own baking adventure.

Or to share more about yourself if you're feeling pressure to edit who you are.

Or just make a little shrimp taco out of leftovers from your fridge and share it on your Instagram.

These shrimp tacos are the kind of thing that got me interested in cooking in the first place. I started cooking because I wanted to cook food at home that reminded me of something I'd had at a restaurant. Yesterday, Andrew and I were missing eating at one of our favorite restaurants - Border Grill in Marquette. We were definitely not going to drive an hour to go through the drive-through to get shrimp tacos, so I decided to try and make some for lunch with two goals. Use leftovers and as little effort as possible.

The hardest part about writing this recipe is...it's not a recipe. It's literally leftovers in my fridge, mixed in with one or two things I made on the fly. Hopefully, you can take my bits and bobs and create something of your very own.

Border Grill Shrimp tacos have a cabbage slaw, a white sauce, shrimp, and you can put salsa of your choice on top. What I had in my fridge was:

1️⃣ White corn street tacos size tortillas

2️⃣ A dozen shredded Brussels Sprouts from a salad (shredded with my food processor)

3️⃣ Diced mango (could use canned pineapple!)

4️⃣ Shrimp (I always buy the raw - aka, gray ones - frozen, deveined, with no tails)

5️⃣ Not even a full tablespoon of Trader Joe's corn salsa (again, this was clean out the fridge time) and homemade salsa I also had in the fridge for chips.

All I had to do was make shrimp and crema, so here is my low effort versions:

• I did not measure anything to make the crema - I simply emptied out the last of the mayo and sour cream I had. I would imagine something like this: about 1/4 cup mayo, 1/4 cup sour cream, lime juice, hot sauce, cilantro, and spiced to taste with salt, garlic powder, and cumin. Then toss that with the shredded Brussels sprouts (or you could use bagged coleslaw mix).

• I boiled the shrimp to thaw and cook them in one step, plus reduce the amount of effort it would take to clean that pan vs. sauteeing thawed shrimp. I melted some butter and added spices I already had out from the slaw (cumin, garlic, salt, and then a little oregano).

Instead of a DIY assembly, I put each taco together on a giant dinner plate. That way, we got to focus on chowing down instead of stopping, assembling, eating, and then doing it all over again.