Cookies
Final Idea + Recipe

Recipe:
3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn baking soda
2 tspn ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tspn cardamom
1 tspn vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp ginger beer
3/4 cup dried shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 1/6 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp canned chunky coconut milk
1 egg
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup pealed and grated carrots
Note: I think this cookie is creative in the sense that it combines some pretty unique nontraditional cookie ingredients, i.e. ginger beer, and carrots. This unique cookie incorporates the zesty mildly warming flavors of ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom with the natural sweetness of carrot and the nuttiness of of coconut and pecans.
Idea Generation:
My parents’ business as I was growing up was based solely in the food and beverage industry (they owned a self-startup and operated Chinese Restaurant). I consulted with them primarily for my flavor research and then bounced off cookie ingredient combinations and ideations off a select group of my friends who were adept at baking. A flavor spider web chart helped enormously. There are also innumerous great online resources for flavor compounding and crossing, of which I utilized extensively as well.


Idea 1 Test: Gingered/Carrot cookies


Note: Iteration 1’s cookies rose more than a traditional flat cookie and were much more cakey in texture, almost more like a scone (I was going after a more chewy and flatter cookies). Iteration 2’s cookies contained a couple teaspoons of olive oil in addition to butter, they were also rolled slightly into more uniform balls instead of craggy lumps.
Idea 2 Test

Note: These turkish dark chocolate mocha cookies contained some of the ingredients already in turkish coffee, i.e. coffee grounds, cardamom, and cinnamon. The addition of shredded coconut flakes added an element of nuttyness while the semi-sweet dark chocolate amplified the bitter tones of espresso. Iteration 2 had the dark chocolate chunks already in the batter before inserting in the oven for a more dispersed “melt” and chew.
*image file for iteration #2 was corrupted while and cookies devoured before file corruption was noticed ): .
Final Iteration


As seen from the figure above, Iteration #2 was significantly more cookie shaped and cookie textured than Iteration #1, which resembled more of a pan-fried crab cake than an actual cookie. . . This was a pretty easy fix and only took one additional iteration to alter; cookies were rounded more before entering the oven and more fat was introduced into the batter (olive oil). Additionally, the craggy texture of iteration #1 was fixed simply by decreasing the amount of shredded carrot and coconut by approximately 1/5 cup.
Timeline
9/4/18: Create Medium account and draft outline/timeline for “Cookies” project. (check)
9/5/18: Brainstorm session 1 with roommates and friends who are actually competent in baking. (check)
9/6/18: Brainstorm session 2. Narrow down cookie ideations to two unique cookie designs. (check)
9/7/18: Gather necessary supplies and ingredients for both cookie recipes.
9/8/18: Initial cookie prototyping commencement. Starting with small batch iterations of three cookies per unique cookie recipe, alter and change prototypes as deemed fit through iterative critiquing. (put aside some significant time for this part). Document the process as both cookies come to light — post results and various iterations to blog w/ pictures.
9/9/18: Two final iterations of both cookie recipes. Cookie taste panel amongst friends to determine more favorable product; judging determined on scale of 1–10 in categories of: flavor, texture, and form. Remember to document the process and post to blog w/ pictures.
9/10/18: Draft final cookie recipe and ensure that there are sufficient ingredients left over for final batch.
9/11/18: Conclude “Cookies” Blogpost.
9/13/18: Bake a dozen acceptable cookies before class. Six to be distributed in class and six to be photographed, bagged, and sold at bake sale.
