Arts Quincy Magazine

24 artsquincy.org
Presents:
Ideas for you and your family to incorporate science,
technology, engineering, arts & math in your home!
This week’s STEAM star is Logan Mulch, an eighth
grader at Nauvoo-Colusa Junior High School. He is an
avid baker and challenged himself to make cake that
depicts the geographical layers of the earth.
This week’s STEAM star is Logan Mulch, an 8th grader at Nauvoo-
Colusa Junior High School in Niota.
Be the next STEAM Star!
Email office@artsquincy.org to show your interest. Go to
artsquincy.org for more Full STEAM Ahead activities!
LAYERS OF THE EARTH
CUPCAKES
Ingredients & Supplies
• 1 box white or French vanilla cake mix
• 1 package sugar cookie dough mix
• 25 Oreos or chocolate sandwich cookies
• 12 Tbsp butter
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 tub of whipped milk chocolate frosting
• Red & yellow food coloring
• Blue & green gel food coloring
• 24 white cupcake wrappers
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line
two cupcake pans with the white
wrappers/liners and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, prepare the
sugar cookie dough according to
package instructions. It includes
the package contents, 1 egg, and
½ cup (8 Tbsp.) of butter). Once
it is mixed completely, divide the
dough between two bowl and
use the colored gel to dye one
portion of dough blue and one
portion of dough green. Place
the bowls of dough in the fridge
to cool and stiffen so that it is less
sticky to form into cookies.
3. While the cookie dough is
cooling … In a large bowl, mix
together the cake mix, 3 eggs,
1 cup water, and ½ cup oil until
smooth. Divide the batter into
two bowls. Add a few drops of
yellow food coloring to one bowl
and red food coloring to the other
bowl. Mix each bowl until the
color is fully combined.
4. Cush or grind the Oreos. Pour
them into a bowl and add 4
Tbsp. melted butter. Stir together
until well mixed. Take about a
teaspoon of Oreo mixture and
press into the bottom of each
cupcake wrapper (just enough for
a layer covering the entire bottom
of the cupcake). If you have
some of the mixture left over after
making a crust in all 24 cupcakes,
you can add a little more to each
one.
5. Add a spoonful of red batter
to each cupcake. Then add a
spoonful of yellow batter to each
cupcake. Each cupcake should
now have three layers; the crust,
a red layer, and a yellow layer.
Bake for
18 to 20
minutes
or until a
toothpick
inserted in
the middle
comes out
clean. Remove from oven and
allow to cool completely.
6. While the cupcakes are
baking … Remove the chilled
cookie dough from the fridge. To
shape the cookie, grab a small
amount of blue dough and a
small amount of green dough
and roll both into one ball so you
end up with a swirled pattern.
The total ball will be about a
tablespoon of dough. (I usually
make all 24 dough balls before
I bake any so I can make sure
they all end up being a similar
size.) Place on a baking sheet
lined with parchment paper and
bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove
from oven and allow to cool
completely.
7. Once cupcakes and cookies
are completely cool, frost each
cupcake with the whipped
chocolate frosting and top each
one with a cookie.
8. Enjoy!