Coffee & Cakes

Guess My Secret Ingredient for Free Cookies!

My name is Ally. I’m 17, almost 18 and I bake vegan, dairy free goodies. I’ve only been baking for a year and it has become my creative outlet. A couple years ago, I found out I was allergic to dairy products. It was a complete bummer because I couldn’t eat anything! Milk is in everything and just a bit of it makes me sick. I decided to make myself a peanut butter cookie, completely dairy free, with plant based ingredients. They were a hit with my family and friends. Then I wanted to try cupcakes. I’ve always had this admiration for beautiful cupcakes but to be honest, I didn’t like to eat them because they were always too sweet for me. I’m not a big fan of sugar. (I know, strange coming from a baker.) So I started experimenting with cupcakes and I failed--- a lot. Hard. My frosting fell off the cupcakes, the cupcakes were dry and crumbly. It was not good. My family hung in there with me and kept trying all my experiments. Then I made Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Frosting for my Mom’s surprise birthday party in September. Pumpkin is her thing. They were a huge hit and a vegan friend of my Mom’s suggested that I could sell them. So on November 16th, at Maximus Nutrition in Surprise, Arizona, I had my first showing and event. I made my first $1 selling my recipes to athletes who care as much about nutrition as I do. I actually made my first $100 that day. It is kind of overwhelming how much everyone likes my baking. I never saw this coming and I’m just grateful to everyone for giving me a chance to share my creativity. Sweet things don’t have to be so sweet they are painful and they can even be healthy. I’m proving that. (And vegan baked goods can be better than traditional baking!)

Bonus: If you can guess my secret ingredient, I’ll give you a dozen cookies!