Cookie Experiments for Middle School

48-hour Experiment

• Have your middle-schooler perform an experiment on whether letting cookie dough sit in the refrigerator for 48 hours makes the cookie better. This experiment is based on the process that occurs in cookie dough over time: the dry ingredients are absorbed by the wet ingredients in the dough, making the dough more uniform, and thus allowing it to cook more evenly. Prepare two separate batches: one that is prepared and baked normally, and another with the dough stored for 48 hours. Perform a blind taste test with classmates and other adults and document which batch of cookies gets the best results.

Leavening Effects

• Your child can experiment on the effects that leavening products -- baking soda and baking powder -- have on a batch of cookies in terms of taste and texture. Have one batch with the normal amounts of leavening, and two other batches: one with double the leavening, the other with half the leavening. Observe and document the texture and taste.

Flour Preference

• Have your child determine the effect that different kinds of flour have on taste in a cookie. Use white, whole wheat and whole spelt flour. Have your child hypothesize which one of the three types of flour people might prefer. Make three batches, one with each kind of flour in them. Perform a blind taste test with different age groups to determine the flour preference.

Oreos

• Have your child use Oreo cookies in an experiment. Oreo is a cookie with a white filling encased by chocolate wafers. Determine what percentage of people will take apart the wafer first to lick the white filling first, saving the wafers for last. Compare different groups, separated by different age ranges, and observe and document how they go about eating an Oreo cookie.