The Baking Of Science!

By: Amanda Doonan

EDU 214 Saldano
Problem: Why did my cookies turn GREEN?
I felt like making some peanut butter
cookies but, I didn’t have enough
peanut butter. I knew I had some
sunflower seed butter and I thought it
would be a great substitute. I baked
the cookies and they turned GREEN!! I
had to try other butters to see if the
same thing happened!
Hypothesis: The type of “nut” butter in a cookie will
cause the batter to turn green
To test this hypothesis, I will be using three types of “nut”
butters: Kroger Smooth Peanut Butter, SunButter, and Justin’s
Almond Butter. I will be keeping the recipe the same except
for the type of “nut” butter.
 Recipe:

Materials: 1 cup “Nut Butter”

½ cup Maple Syrup
1 Egg
Materials needed: ¼ tsp Salt
● 3 Types of “Nut” Butters 6 T. Coconut Flour
● Ingredients Listed in Recipe 1 tsp Baking Soda
● 1 & ½ Measuring Cups
● 1 Tablespoon
● 1 & ¼ teaspoons
● Mixing Bowl
● Rubber Spatula
● 1 T size cookie scoop (or use Tablespoon if
unavailable)
● Baking Sheet
● Parchment Paper fit to size of baking sheet
● Oven Mitt
● Timer
● Oven
● Cooling Rack
● Metal Spatula
Procedure:
For the procedure, we follow the recipe exactly for each of the nut butters.

Instructions:
1. Mix together in a mixing bowl the “nut” butter, maple
syrup, and egg with a rubber spatula until well
incorporated
2. Add salt, coconut flour, and baking soda. Mix until well
incorporated.
3. Chill the dough for 1 hour up to 8 hours
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
5. On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, scoop 1
Tablespoon sized dough balls onto the sheet spaced out
by 1.5 inches
6. Flatten slightly with your fingers
7. Bake for 8 minutes
8. Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes
9. Using a metal spatula, transfer cookies to cooling rack
10. Allow the cookie to completely cool
Last batch going in!
Results!

The only “nut” butter that

turned the cookies green
was the SunButter.
Conclusion:
Upon further research, sunflower seeds
contain chlorogenic acid (or better
known as chlorophyll). When the
SunButter is mixed with Baking Soda, the
reaction between the chlorogenic acid
and the baking soda turns the dough
green! This is a harmless reaction
because it is completely natural.

Source: SunButter FAQ

These cookies are great for St.

Patrick’s Day, parties, or just to
confuse your coworkers!