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Do you have a dinosaur loving kid? Or maybe a dinosaur themed party coming up? These dinosaur fossil cookies are guaranteed to be a hit!
We recently did a geology lesson in our homeschooling pod, so I made these dinosaur fossil cookies for dessert. Our kids are dinosaur fanatics, so needless to say, they were SO excited about these! Not only do they taste amazing, but they look just like dinosaur fossils!
What kind of dinosaurs are best to use in these fossils?
You can use any kind of small dinosaur toys you’d like! In fact, you can also make fossils of other things like plants, shells or other animals.
I chose to use these dinosaur skeletons to make the fossils a little more realistic.
Can I use a different cookie recipe to make these?
Absolutely! I’ve included my favorite sugar cookie recipe at the bottom of this post, but if you already have a recipe that you love, go ahead and use that! You can even use store bought cookie dough to save time. All you need to do is follow the steps after the cookies come out of the oven.
Dinosaur books for kids:
These are some great dinosaur books for kids. The first book is my son’s FAVORITE dinosaur book!
The third title in National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book series, this book is for kids 4- to 8-years-old who LOVE dinos! Bursting with fun facts and age appropriate information, each spread features a different dinosaur, along with simple text in big type that is perfect for little kids. Young dino fans will love the interactivity included in every chapter, and parents will appreciate tips to help carry readers’ experience beyond the page.
Curious about Fossils explains why and where fossils form and looks at the colorful lives and important discoveries of some of the great early fossil hunters and collectors, including Mary Anning who unearthed the first ichthyosaur skeleton; Richard Owen who coined the word dinosaur; and Barnum Brown, who discovered the first remains of a T-rex.
A must read for every kid who’s ever collected a shark tooth or trilobite!
How do you make dinosaur fossil cookies?
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 3 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- cinnamon + sugar mixture
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Add the butter and sugar to a stand mixer and beat for 3 minutes, or until it becomes light and fluffy.
Step 2: Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Then, add it to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix until it forms a loose dough.
Step 4: Place the dough onto a clean surface and knead it until it forms a ball. If the dough is sticky, you can lightly flour the surface and your hands (I didn’t use any flour). Then, take a small piece of dough and form a rough ball. Flatten it with your hands until it’s 1/4″ thick. (Keep the edges rough looking to make the fossil look more realistic.) Place it onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat, and repeat until all the dough is used up. Make sure to place the cookies at least an inch apart.
Step 5: Bake for 6-8 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, use your dinosaurs to make fossil imprints. Make sure to press the dinosaur down firmly (but gentle enough to not break the cookie), and roll it around a bit to capture all of the details.
Step 6: Mix a little bit of cinnamon and sugar together. Then, brush the mixture into the fossil imprints to make them “pop.” Once the cookies are firm enough to move, transfer them to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container after that have completely cooled. Enjoy!
Try these other dinosaur activities!
Dinosaur Fossil Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- cinnamon + sugar mixture
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Add the butter and sugar to a stand mixer and beat for 3 minutes, or until it becomes light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Then, add it to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix until it forms a loose dough.
- Place the dough onto a clean surface and knead it until it forms a ball. If the dough is sticky, you can lightly flour the surface and your hands (I didn’t use any flour). Then, take a small piece of dough and form a rough ball. Flatten it with your hands until it’s 1/4″ thick. (Keep the edges rough looking to make the fossil look more realistic.) Place it onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat, and repeat until all the dough is used up. Make sure to place the cookies at least an inch apart.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, use your dinosaurs to make fossil imprints. Make sure to press the dinosaur down firmly (but gentle enough to not break the cookie), and roll it around a bit to capture all of the details.
- Mix a little bit of cinnamon and sugar together. Then, brush the mixture into the fossil imprints to make them “pop.” Once the cookies are firm enough to move, transfer them to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container after that have completely cooled. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- This sugar cookie recipe is adapted from In Katrina’s Kitchen and it is the BEST sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever made.
- If you want to save time, use your favorite store-bought cookie dough instead.
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