Cookies

barte384
barte384
Sep 5, 2018 · 6 min read

Final Idea + Recipe: My final idea had grown into the fully complete Dino Egg Cookie. After two test bakes and alterations to the recipe, and form, of the cookie, I am pleased with how the dessert had turned out.

Idea Generation: After my interviews, I took all the data I had collected and related it to me, after all this is my cookie. So I wrote a few things down, doodled, slept on it, then came back to it. Ideas just hit me. Still not sure how they’ll turnout. Livin’ on a Prayer, word to Bon Jovi. I decided that my base recipe was going to model that of a sugar cookie. This way whatever I came up with, I’d have a blank canvas/ cookie to work on. I began brainstorming crazy and very weird ideas, that I would love to see in a cookie. The thing is, not a lot can be done with a cookie. It still has to maintain all the characteristics of a cookie, without becoming something of a mess in the process. My first idea was the topic of being unhealthy. I scribbled down my intitial thought of a healthier cookie. I then turned my attention to the pros of a cookie. The nostalgic experience that everyone has when they take their first bite, their amazing tastes, and the variety of flavors that they come in. With these topics and points on my mind I let my imagination take me.

Idea Test 1: The TruGreen Cookie. This cookie was a thought of a healthier cookie. Now I know there are like sugar-free cookies, eggless cookies, and vegan cookies. But I wanted something that still tasted relatively like a cookie. Everyone has had their mom make them eat greens and healthy foods, so I decided that this cookie was going to embrace that. Using only green healthy foods, specifically kale, pistachios, and golden raisins, which looked a lot greener and less golden on the box. After tasting the cookie, I was really underwhelmed by the blending of the ingredients, and I was very overwhelmed by the taste of the pistachios. There just wasn’t enough for me to want to keep building onto the recipe, or change the cookie. It was just a bad cookie.

Idea Test 2: The Dino Egg cookie. Yes it does look like a mess, however this idea is something that I know I can build off of. Based of the childhood of yours truly, this cookie is literally shaped like a dinosaur egg, before I took it off the pan. To pull this off, I put 4 fruit snacks in the middle of a, sugar cookie, cookie dough ball. It looked great when it came out of the oven, but due to the lack of baking utensils found in the dorm kitchens, it ended up as one big mess. The cookie itself was very plain, however the sections that had the fruit snacks in it were amazing. Still there are aspects of the cookie that I need to work on. And by that I mean most.

Iteration: My biggest improvement that I needed to make was how simple it was. I can’t have a plain sugar cookie for a project. A dinosaur egg in all the TV shows and movies are textured in some way. Wether they’re rough, colorful, bumpy, or all of them, they all have a unique image. So what I decided to do was change the recipe and add more texture to the base of the cookie. I did this by grinding down 1 cup of Cap’n Crunch cereal into a coarse powder. I then added that to the bowl of dough, and began mixing. Also another issue was that the fruit snacks didn’t melt and stick together the way I wished they had. To fix this, I had to take 4 individual pieces of fruit snacks and mash them together into a patty. That way the middle stayed uniform, while the cookie baked. I also added black icing at the crest of every cookie to make the egg look like it was cracking. I need to practice that.

Timeline:

  • 9/5 : Interview roommate and other dorm residents. What makes a cookie a cookie? What is you favorite part about a cookie? Least favorite? What is your favorite cookie flavor? Sleep on data collected.
  • 9/6 : Brainstorm. What have you seen? Reflect to your life.
  • 9/7: Two ideas. Now I have to figure out a way to blend it all together majestically. You’d think this would be easy but the ideas just seem gross.
  • 9/8: Deep thinking hours. Came up with recipes just before the game so that worked out well.
  • 9/9: Took a stroll to the nearest grocery store. When I saw my total I nearly cried. I wish I had my parents card. Enjoyed the walk back. I forgot PAM. I don’t know if I should go back or not. Don’t want to set off a smoke alarm. I did make the dough for each recipe. They’re both just sitting in my fridge.
  • 9/10: I got PAM, so I started baking immediately. I didn’t know if the oven worked, it sat at 100 degrees for like 20 minutes before it started heating up. They came out looking great. I probably should've let them cool for a bit longer. Taste tests are fun with more people, also it’s easier to find out which cookie is a winner.
  • 9/11: Today I edited my recipe and worked on the blog. Need to put this new recipe into action.
  • 9/12: Finish my blog post and bake all my cookies.
  • 9/13: Bring cookies to the class, and be prepared to be disappointed in myself while looking at everyone else's cookies.
    barte384

    Written by

    barte384

    Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
    Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
    Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade