Cookies

Final Idea
My final idea was a “Vitamin cookie.” They are gluten-free and super healthy! Rather than using traditional flour, I substituted a mix of finely-ground rice and finely-ground oats. This concept is creative because it combines all of the most vital nutrients and vitamins in a small package while still staying sweet and tasty. However, these cookies are low in sugar and are instead sweetened with dates and dried cherries. This recipe is also unique because it utilizes trendy ingredients like chia seeds that are typically only found in far less appealing snacks.
This recipe contains all of the most essential nutrients for a healthy diet:
- Calcium (oatmeal)
- Potassium (bananas, cherries)
- Fiber (dates, coconut)
- Magnesium (brown rice, chia seeds)
- Vitamins A, C, D, and E (fruit)
Recipe: (makes 14–18 cookies)
- 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 tablespoon milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/8 cup rice (or rice flour)
- 3/8 cup oats (or oat flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup toasted coconut (optional)
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
- 1/4 cup dates
- 1/2 cup dried bananas
Combine the rice and oats and finely grind them in a blender or flour mill. Whisk together the flour mixture, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set this aside for now.

If you wish to brown the butter (this step is optional), melt it in a sauce pan on low heat. Continuously whisk the butter as it browns. Remove the butter from the heat when it produces a nutty aroma and moves from a yellow color to a light brown. Immediately move it to a mixing bowl to prevent burning.
Add the milk, brown sugar and white sugar to the bowl containing the butter. Whisk thoroughly. Add the egg and vanilla and continuing whisking.
Combine the two bowls and thoroughly mix in the coconut, chia seeds, dates, apricots, and bananas.

Cover the bowl and move it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill. Preheat the oven to 350F. After you take the dough out, scoop the dough into balls (mine were about 2 tablespoons). Bake for about 8–10 minutes until the edges begin to turn brown.
Let cool for at least 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Idea Generation

My process to generate ideas started with thinking of ways that my cookies could solve a problem or accomplish a specific goal (beyond simply tasting good). For instance, through several of my ideas, I attempted to create unique ways for gluten intolerant people to bake delicious cookies that aren’t dry and grainy as many gluten-free cookies are. I also generated ideas that made use of interesting methods for elevating simple ingredients (like browning butter to achieve a sweet, toffee-like taste). After I developed a new idea, I would take some notes and sketch several basic pictures of what the cookie might look like. This sketching process produced even more ides about how the design could be improved.
Some of my ideas were as follows:

Idea 1 Test
I first tested the potato chip cookie concept. I wanted to make them gluten free so I used peanut butter as the base rather than flour. After baking the initial version, I decided that the peanut butter was far too dominant and the potato chips seemed like an after-thought.

Idea 2 Test
The second idea I tested was the vitamin cookie. I looked online to find some basic proportions for flour, eggs, and baking soda. After baking the first batch, I found that the cookies were too sweet with both sugar and dates. I also found that they weren’t rising very well and were quite flat. Lastly, I found that the cookies looked somewhat boring since very little of the fruit was visible after baking.


Iteration
I chose the vitamin cookie as my final choice. For the second iteration I cut down on the sugar and relied more on the dates for natural sweetness. I also added additional baking soda for volume and toasted coconut as a complimentary flavor. I added more chia seeds and reduced the overall cookie size. I embedded individual pieces of fruit in the dough balls before baking so that they would be more visible. I browned the butter for the final batch to achieve a nutty, almond like flavor.


Timeline:
- Develop 2 unique cookie concepts. Document the process. Sketch concepts and additional iterations (by Friday, September 7)
- Make initial test batches of cookies and draft recipes. Judge each on appearance, taste, form, etc. Take pictures of both options and choose the best one (by Saturday, September 8)
- Make final batch of cookies. Ensure that the cookies meet requirements(by Sunday, September 10)
- Write final recipe draft (by Tuesday, September 11)
- Take pictures and write blog post (by Tuesday, September 11)
