Sriracha Oatmeal Cookies? OK...

January 18, 2013 8:30 AM

The internet has failed me in a search for sriracha oatmeal cookie recipes.

I broke my leg. And have called every favor in/gone into favor debt at work. Once this stupid cast is gone and I can stand in the kitchen, my office will be in thank you cookie overload. [I am the office charity bake-off winner, you know ;)] One specific employee who's gone out of his way mentioned desiring a sriracha oatmeal cookie, in the vein of sriracha oatmeal served at some our local pho places.
OK.
The internet has failed me in the search for such recipes.
I have some good oatmeal cookie recipes, and I'm familiar with making spicy desserts, but always using spices/chili powders. How will liquidy sriracha affect the batter? And how much? Any awesomesauce bakers out there want to provide some guidance?

posted by atomicstone to food & drink (12 answers total)

Generally when I'm trying to add liquids to baked goods, I'll do something like- oh, it needs a cup of milk? Squirt some sriracha into the cup measure, then top up with milk. Keeps the proportions of liquid the same.

Honestly, I'd just make your normal recipe with some sriracha, taste it, and see what it needs. (One thought- you might consider using palm sugar, to keep it more in line with southeast asian cuisine.)
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:33 AM on January 18 [4 favorites]

I would also consider just putting the sriracha on top - a little swirl even if it goes brown.
posted by mce at 8:42 AM on January 18

I'd start with 2 tbs to the batch. that might not be enough because the oatmeal may just absorb/dampen it, but I think it is a good starting point. Judge the dough consistency and may want to add a little extra oatmeal to keep the consistency close to the same.
posted by edgeways at 8:48 AM on January 18

I would also consider just putting the sriracha on top - a little swirl even if it goes brown.

Ooo, or make glazed oatmeal cookies but add sriracha to the glaze. They'll be pink!
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:59 AM on January 18 [4 favorites]

This is maybe a little out there, but if you find that the liquid messes up the ratio of wet/dry/whatever too much before adding enough flavor, you could perhaps try spreading a thin layer of sriracha on a silpat or something, letting it desiccate (maybe oven-drying?), then scraping the dried sriracha, then using sriracha flakes in your cookies.
posted by loulou718 at 8:59 AM on January 18 [2 favorites]

Oh, also: If you just google 'sriracha cookie' without oatmeal, you get a lot of recipes for peanut butter sriracha cookies. If your coworker likes peanuts, I think a sriracha/peanut butter/oatmeal cookie sounds way tastier than just a regular oatmeal cookie with sriracha.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:09 AM on January 18 [3 favorites]

Here are peanut butter sriracha cookies. Try substituting a half cup of the flour with oats.
posted by knile at 9:09 AM on January 18 [2 favorites]

Another thing to consider would be to add chopped peanuts to the sriracha and oatmeal cookies. Here's the recipe for Sriracha Oatmeal, and it uses cashews.
posted by LN at 9:27 AM on January 18

How about a nice sandwich cookie, using Thin Oatmeal cookies filled with Sriracha Marshmallow filling?
posted by Marky at 10:06 AM on January 18 [1 favorite]

In addition to chile, the primary flavors in sriracha are garlic, vinegar, and sugar. I'd look for cookies that somehow use chile and garlic.

It's not sriracha, but my guess is oatmeal cookies flavored with cayenne pepper and tamarind (for the sour/Asian thing) would be pretty good.
posted by Nelson at 11:33 AM on January 18 [1 favorite]

What showbiz_liz said about keeping the balance of liquid to dry by replacing some quantity of the liquid already specified in the recipe is right on, but remember that sriracha is mostly vinegar, so adding it directly to milk isn't ideal. Also, the acid in the sriracha will react with the base of the baking powder or baking soda in the recipe, so you may need to adjust that as well.

I would try a lemon oatmeal cookie recipe (in which the leavener is presumably adjusted for acid levels already) and just subbing sriracha for lemon.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:27 PM on January 18 [1 favorite]

Lots of great answers! I'm guessing I'll go in Sidhedevil's lemon oatmeal cookie modification direction. On the bright side, practice cookies! Thanks for any more ideas. I'll try to post the successful recipe at the end of all of this so that the internet no longer fails the search for "sriracha oatmeal cookie recipe".
posted by atomicstone at 1:54 PM on January 18 [3 favorites]