Totally Awesome Atomic Sugar Cookies

In the summer, we shared our Simple Pokemon Sugar Cookies and today I’m excited to bring you some totally awesome atomic sugar cookies, perfect for any scientist (or a science party)!

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My daughter and I recently hosted a kids’ science party for some friends featuring some simple science experiments and science-inspired treats, including these atom-inspired sugar cookies.

These cookies are super easy to make and can even be decorated during the party by guests. I love simple party foods that make a big impact and help carry the theme without sacrificing flavor – and these sugar cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

How to Make Atom Cookies

First, gather your ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Black frosting
White chocolate chips or M&Ms

For the buttercream frosting:

1/2 cup butter
2-3 cups icing sugar
1 Tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer for two minutes until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs and vanilla until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder and then slowly add it to the sugar-butter mixture.

Once all of the flour is incorporated into the dough, form the sugar cookie dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cutting into circles.

Bake on a lined baking sheet at 350F for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden.

They will almost look under cooked but still remove them from the oven to prevent burning. Remove to a cooling rack after two minutes.

Whip up the frosting up by combining the butter, 2 cups of powdered sugar, cream and vanilla.

Add more sugar or cream to achieve your desired consistency.

Use an offset spatula to apply a generous coating of the frosting onto the cookies.

Using your black gel frosting, make “orbit lines.” I prefer to do this once the buttercream frosting has set a bit to prevent the black dye from bleeding.

Strategically place the Mini M&Ms on your atom’s orbit lines to suggest electrons (a cluster of M&Ms in the center would be neutrons and protons). I had the kids do this as part of the party and with older kids you can try to get them to create accurate representations of real atoms (for example a carbon atom would have 6 electrons on the orbit lines, and a cluster of 6 protons and 6 neutrons in the center).

And there you have it! These atom sugar cookies make a cute addition to a science-themed lunch or any science-themed occasion and kept in a sealed container in the fridge they last up to a week.