Cookies
Final Idea
Glazed Teriyaki Gingerbread Cookies

Recipe

Idea Generation
I like to cook so I wanted to make something based on one of my favorite meals. Most of these recipes are savory so I wanted to consider ways to make them sweet enough for a cookie while still making the flavor recognizable.
Idea 1 Test
The first concept was based on a sugar cookie and a recipe for sweet and sour sauce. The amount of soy sauce was reduced by half, but the consistency was off and they were too sticky to roll into balls. I increased the amount of flour to compensate. The cookies were baked, and the result did not have a strong sweet and sour flavor.


Idea 2 Test
The second cookie was inspired by a recipe for teriyaki chicken. Teriyaki has a lot of ginger, so the base recipe was a gingerbread cookie. The cinnamon and cloves were replaced by garlic and hot peppers. The molasses was also reduced. The resulting cookie had a much stronger flavor than the previous recipe but the molasses was slightly overpowering and it was extremely salty.


Iteration
I decided on improving the second idea since that had a much more distinct flavor. To iterate on the recipe, I reduced the amount of molasses further and replaced the liquid with corn syrup. I also removed the salt from the original gingerbread recipe and I used low sodium soy sauce. In addition, I made a glaze which would sweeten the overall taste of the cookie. I started with a simple cream cheese-based glaze and then I added chilled white rice and sesame oil to compliment the flavors of the cookie. I tested two different garnishes along with the glaze. Chopped carrots which I thought would add a slightly refreshing flavor. I also tried pieces of ginger candy which thought would strengthen the ginger flavor. The candies were too chewy and made the cookies more difficult to eat while the carrots complimented the cookie better and added some color.


Timeline

