. . . play with your food: math

Cookie geometry

There are few things in life that aren't made a little bit better with a cookie, and math is certainly one of them. A tricky subject for many a sweet kiddo, math can be a tough one to crack sometimes because it can seem like work for no reason. History is full of fun stories to be heard. English involves more great tales and the skills to write your own. Social studies let you travel the world right from your seat in the classroom. Chemistry is full of cool experiments. But math? It can get the short end. . .

Cookie.sticks

. . . of the stick. Sure we use it for pretty much everything, but in the early stages of memorization and practice, it can seem disconnected from its use value. Math needs . . .

Frosting

. . . projects. . .

Rules

. . . to come. . .

Colors

. . . alive.

These simple cookie sticks are a perfect place to start. The baking involves fractions, they're great for playing around with geometry and roman numerals, or even as "poker chips" in a game of Math Scrabble. Check out the "With the Kids" section below for a list of ways to play with your food. . . and not get in trouble :)

Brown Butter Cookie Sticks

Cookies:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (plus a bit more for sprinkling

Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Natural food dyes or food coloring

In a pan over low heat, melt the butter and swirl it around until it begins to brown. Remove from heat when it reaches a nice golden color and transfer it to a bowl. Chill until it becomes solid (but not hard).

When your butter is ready, cream it with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and then the flour. making sure not to over mix. When the flour is incorporated, press your dough into a long rectangle that is 4"-5" on the short side and about 1/4" thick. Chill until it becomes firm. When it becomes firm, slice the log into 1/2"-3/4" strips and place on a parchment lined sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until they become a bit more golden around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so (or until they can be lifted without crumbling. Using a spatula, move to a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine all the ingredients (apart from the food dye) and whisk until smooth. Separate into separate bowls and mix your different colors. Spoon a small line onto each cookie using the back of the spoon to smooth out the puddle of icing. Allow the icing to dry and harden.

With the Kids:

Ask the kids to help you mix up the ingredients for the cookie sticks. Play with the measuring cups and flour, dividing up the cup in to quarters and thirds etc. Do the same thing with the teaspoons.

Decide how many colors you would like and divide your frosting into that many bowls. How may tablespoons are in each bowl. What fraction of all the frosting is green etc.?

Once the cookie sticks are ready to use, try making geometrical shapes out of them. How many sides are in each? If your kids would like to go further you can talk about all the angles and how many degrees are in each shape or angle.

Use the cookies to make Roman numerals and learn their values.

Use the cookie sticks as "poker chips" in a game of Math Scrabble and assign each color a point value. Practice addition and subtraction skills by adding up and subtracting the points.