Earth Day Cookies Recipe - Sweet and simple sugar cookies made to resemble the Earth in a tasty, bite-sized form.
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With Earth Day right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to enjoy these delicious Earth Day cookies. Not only are they super simple to make, but they are absolutely adorable and the perfect way to celebrate the Earth - just like this Oreo dirt cake and dirt cake trifle!
What is Earth Day?
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide on April 22nd to promote environmental awareness and conservation efforts.
These cookies are soft and chewy, like typical sugar cookies, but with a fun Earth Day twist. It’s a great opportunity to get the kids involved in the kitchen and teach them about the environment while making a fun treat that they can enjoy afterwards.
With only a few basic ingredients and a little bit of creativity, you’ll be able to enjoy these sweet Earth-themed treats in no time!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Basic ingredients - You will most likely already have the majority of these ingredients on hand, which makes this recipe super easy and less time consuming.
- Fun and easy - This recipe is super simple and is ideal for getting the whole family involved!
- No chilling required - Adding to the simplicity of this recipe, there’s no need to chill your cookie dough in between making it and baking it! It’s super convenient and quick.
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Ingredients
Grab the ingredients below to make this Earth Day cookies recipe from scratch!
White Cake Mix - Makes the cookies soft and chewy and gives the cookies a rich, sweet flavor.
Gel Food Coloring - Gives the cookies bright colors and mixes super easily with the dough.
Egg Whites - Helps hold the dough together and gives the cookies a light and airy texture. Also have lower fat and calorie content as compared to regular eggs.
Vanilla - Adds amazing flavor and enhances the sweetness of the cookies.
Heart Sprinkles - Serve as a symbolic gesture to convey our love for planet Earth!
Substitutions & Variations
- If you have a certain sugar cookie recipe you prefer, feel free to change up ingredients to your liking! Just keep in mind different baking times and ingredient amounts.
- This recipe is super versatile and you can change up the food coloring for any holiday.
- As opposed to using large heart sprinkles on these cookies, you can also use red icing to add hearts or other designs.
- You can also cut some of the cookies into heart shapes rather than having all round cookies if you want some more variety.
How to Make Earth Cookies
Once you’ve gathered all your ingredients, preheat the oven to 350ºF and follow the steps below for a delicious Earth Day treat!
- Step 1: Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy.
- Step 2: Add egg whites and vanilla, then beat again until uniform.
- Step 3: Add white cake mix and flour, then beat again.
- Step 4: Split dough into two bowls. Add blue food coloring to one bowl and green to the other.
- Step 5: To create an “Earth” look, grab 5 small pieces of dough, alternating the colors.
- Step 6: Gently roll the dough into a ball and place the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown.
- Step 7: Remove from the oven and quickly press a heart into each cookie.
- Step 8: Allow cookies to cool completely.
Helpful Tips
- Gel food coloring is used in this recipe instead of liquid food coloring to give the cookies more vibrant colors!
- Be sure to space the cookies properly on the cookie sheet. You can aim to space them around 2 inches apart. I love these baking mats with the spacers!
- Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature before adding it to the mixture. This will make the mixing process easier and ensure that the butter is completely mixed into the dough.
Recipe FAQs
While white cake mix is best to showcase the bright food coloring, lighter alternatives like lemon or yellow cake mix can also be used. It's important to note that the yellow hue of these mixes may subtly influence the appearance of the blue and green colors in the final cookies.
To ensure that your cookies have that “Earth” look and the colors don't blend together too much, do your best to not overwork the dough when rolling it into a ball. Work the dough carefully, and remember that it’s alright to not have them all be perfect.
If you find that your cookies are becoming too flattened or spread out during baking, be sure that your oven is at the correct temperature and that you are not over mixing the dough. You could also chill the dough before baking, even though this recipe does not require it.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
Storage Instructions
Once the cookies are completely cooled, you can place them into an airtight container layered in between parchment paper and store them at room temperature for around 5-7 days.
Freezing Instructions
To freeze cookie dough for later use, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container in the freezer. Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
More Fun Springtime Treats You'll Love
Looking for other springtime recipes? Try these:
Earth Day Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz butter (softened)
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 15.5 ounce box white cake mix
- ½ cup flour
- Blue and green gel food coloring
- 30 large heart sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until creamy.
- Add egg whites and vanilla. Beat again until uniform.
- Add white cake mix and flour. Beat until dough forms.
- Split dough into two bowls. Add blue food coloring to one bowl and green to the other. The amount of food coloring will depend on the potency you are using. Add small amounts until you reach your desired colors of dough.
- To create an “Earth” look, grab 5 small pieces of dough, alternating the colors. Gently roll dough into a ball. Don’t work too much. This will can the lines between colors to blur.
- Place dough balls on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown.
- Remove from oven and quickly press a heart into each cookie. Allow cookies to cool completely.
Notes
- Gel food coloring is used in this recipe instead of liquid food coloring to give the cookies more vibrant colors!
- Be sure to space the cookies properly on the cookie sheet. You can aim to space them around 2 inches apart. I love these baking mats with the spacers!
- Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature before adding it to the mixture. This will make the mixing process easier and ensure that the butter is completely mixed into the dough.
Nutrition
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