Edible Science: Make color changing Sugar Cookies

Color Changing Sugar Cookies are not only a fun science project but yummy to eat. It was so cool seeing the dough change colors right before our eyes. I have to honest here, they are no the best cookies I have ever had but keep in mind we are adding cabbage juice to the mixture. Please feel free to adjust this recipe to your taste buds. I started with a sugar cookie recipe and edited it for the cabbage juice.

Color Changing Cookies

Recipe Type: STEAM

Cuisine: Edible Science

Ingredients

Make cabbage juice
Half head of Red or purple cabbage
4 cups water
pot
Make cookies
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cups butter
3 TBPS egg whites
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP baking soda
Bowl 1
2 TSP cabbage juice
4 TSP vanilla
4 TSP lemon juice
Bowl 2
3 TSP cabbage juice
3 TSP maple syrup

Instructions

Make the color-changing part or cabbage juice first
Have your helper cut up half the head of cabbage into small chunks
Bring water to boil, add the cabbage, and boil for 5 minutes
Use a slotted spoon to remove the cabbage chunks – let the water boil down to about 1/2 cup, the liquid should be a dark purple
Now make the Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Make cookies dough by combining sugar, the butter, and egg whites and mixing together with a blender
In a sifter add flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a sifter and sift into the mixture
mix with a blender
the mixture should be like small chunks
separate cookie mixture into 2 bowls
in clear bowl 1 – add 3 tsp cabbage juice, 3 tsp maple syrup – add to bowl 1 cookie mixture
bowl 2 – add 2 tsp cabbage juice, 4 tsp lemon juice, 3 tsp vanilla – add to bowl 2 cookie mixture
fun add sprinkles to bowl 1 and a little sugar to bowl 2
cook cookies for 10-12 minutes

What we discovered:

We found that sugar cookie works the best for texture and taste. I had to taste the batch of cookies because the cabbage really does taste awful, but please be cautious it does have raw eggs in the mixture.

Extra Fun – we made two batches of cabbage juice and ended up with about 1 1/2 cups of cabbage juice. With the leftover cabbage juice, we put 2 TBSP cabbage juice in several clear cups. Then added egg white, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and water. We added a paper towel to each mixture and let it soak up the mixture. After a few minutes, we took out the paper towel and let it dry on a table outside. Then we could see if the mixture was a base or acid.

The science behind it:

These cookies will not taste like cabbage but be colored by the cabbage juice. The pigment of the cabbage juice reflects purple because of its shape. When the mixture is mixed with an acid like lemon or vanilla a chemical reaction happens and changes the shape of the pigment molecule. The new shape reflects pink light.