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The Creative Cookie Exchange blog theme for this month is decorated cookies. Originally I was thinking of making holiday cookies, but then I saw these adorable Chemistry cookie cutters, and I just decided to forget the holidays and go for a science theme.
These Chemistry Cookies are a simple shortbread cutout cookie made to look like Erlenmeyer flasks, beakers and atoms. I teach high school chemistry at a local homeschool co-op, so I love these perfect chemical treats. After all a lot of cooking is just chemistry in action.
I used a simple shortbread recipe from food.com for the cookies. I prefer shortbread cutout cookies to sugar cookies because they aren’t as sweet. With the addition of sugary icing and sprinkles the cookies don’t need to be overly sweet.
I made icing out of powdered sugar and water, using a thicker icing to draw outlines on the cookies and then a thinner colored icing to flood the cookies. I used plastic squeeze bottles to apply the icing, which worked really well and made it easy to add detail to the cookies.
Then I decorated them with sprinkles to make some mysterious chemical solutions, and added candy to the atoms for protons and electrons. I somehow forgot to take any finished pictures of the beaker cookies, but they were cute too!
Chemistry Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 Tablespoon lemon extract
- 2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Thick Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoon water
Thin Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoon water
- food coloring
Instructions
- Mix butter and powdered sugar until well combined.1 cup butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- Add vanilla and lemon extract and mix well.1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 1/2 Tablespoon lemon extract
- Combine baking powder with flour and add to mixture until just combined.1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 cup flour
- Refrigerate batter for a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Roll out dough, half at a time on a well floured surface, until about 1/8" thick.
- Cut cookies with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8 minutes until edges start to brown.
- Cool completely.
- To ice the cookies first mix the Thick icing and place in a plastic squeeze bottle. Use the bottle to pipe edging and other details onto the cookies.
- Let the edging harden for a few minutes, then make the thinner icing and use squeeze bottles to fill in the cookies with frosting.
- Use sprinkles and candy to decorate the cookies.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
What an adorable cookie idea! I am thinking of using this idea to send cookies to my daughter’s chemistry class!
How cute are these ! Need to get my hands on a chemistry cookie cutter set soon!
What a fun idea, and the perfect gift for a science teacher! Love the colors you used!
These are hilarious and awesome! So many creative ideas this month!
Baking is indeed science, especially these fabulous cookies! I love the colors you chose and the little sprinkle “bubbles” in the solutions. Bet you were teacher of the day when you brought these in!
How cute are these! And certainly appropriate for the teacher in you. Great job decorating too!
The sprinkles in the beakers are spot-on! Great job with these decorated cookies!
Such fun cookies! Makes me wish my daughters were still at the age where I can send cookies to school with them.