I'm often asked about food allergies or intolerances, and I asked a friend to give us some insight into living with the challenge of overhauling a diet. Dixie Stanforth, a lecturer in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Texas at Austin, was diagnosed with celiac disease last year. In addition, she is allergic to casein, a protein found in dairy foods. At first, the challenge of knowing what to eat was overwhelming, but soon she was navigating the grocery store shelves and restaurant menus and learning what she needed to do to stay symptom-free. Here is her recipe for gluten-free cookies. -- Chris Rosenbloom, for the Journal-Constitution

Guittard doesn't claim its dark chocolate chips are dairy-free because they are processed with the same equipment used to make milk chocolate, but Stanforth uses a small amount without any negative effects.

Nutritional bonus points: She suggests replacing the chocolate chips with dried cherries or nuts for a twist on this gluten-free cookie.