🍪 Feeling hungry? Well, despite its name, the chocolate chip sea star (Protoreaster nodosus) probably wouldn’t taste very good. To start, those “chips” aren't chocolate at all… they’re tubercles, or knobs, and they’re unique to each sea star. No two individuals have the same arrangement of tubercles!
Like many other sea stars, this marine invertebrate eats by pushing its stomach out of its mouth, covering its meal, and then digesting it externally. This critter inhabits the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, where it might be spotted around coral reefs or seagrass beds. It can grow up to 12 inches (30 cm) across.
2024 has been a tough year so far, so I wanted a simple and fun project to start with. If your idea of fun is separating sprinkles by colour, then do I have the bake for you! 😆
We used the NYT Cooking rainbow rave cookie recipe by Sohl El-Waylly, plus inside out chocolate chip cookies by Sally’s Baking Addition for the shiny, and both are absolutely delicious! Then it was just a matter of adding some chocolate details, and we had our meteor Pokemon!