When you pull out your favorite cookie recipe, you probably won't find plastic as one of the ingredients — but scientists have found a way to transform your trash into treats that could help solve problems from Earth to outer space.

Researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale began working on this as part of a NASA-led project interested in producing food for astronauts who wouldn't have access to many resources. Unfortunately, DoorDash doesn't deliver to deep space.

The first step was making a vital but simple connection: Plastic is carbon and food is carbon.

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So, how does this work?

It all starts with one of the most common forms of plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (try saying that three times fast). This material, also known as PET, is often used to make soda and water bottles.

PET contains carbon-rich molecules that can be broken down and repurposed into useful compounds.

And while this seems like a process that could be energy-intensive and not exactly eco-friendly, these scientists were one step ahead.

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The answer? Outsourcing, but maybe not to who you would think, or rather what: microbes.

"Microbes are very clever. So, we are using their traits to solve the problems we created,” said associate professor Lahiru Jayakody.

Microbes, like yeast, have long been used by researchers as "mini factories" to make molecules.

So, essentially, the plastic is broken down and the molecules are fed to the yeast which will then form them into ingredients that can be used in food — like proteins, fats and acids.

Add in some fiber, starch and sweetener, put it through a 3D printer and boom, you've got a protein-rich cookie, dubbed a microbite.

Are they actually edible?

This was naturally my first question too.

And while data suggests they are indeed edible, the team is still waiting for institutional approval for this scientific taste test. For now, the cookies have gotten rave reviews when it comes to aroma.

If reading this has made you hungry for a science experiment turned sweet treat, you may not have to wait too long to see them on your grocery store shelf.

The team is already working on ways to make the cookies attractive and available to the public in a few years. So, in the not too far future, you could potentially be eating the same food as astronauts.

The bigger impact

Outside of fascinating space implications and consumer enjoyment, this project is helping tackle two major global challenges: plastic pollution and food insecurity.

With millions of tons of plastic produced each year and a chunk of the population struggling with hunger, these are incredibly complex and daunting problems.

But these tiny cookies help kill two birds with one stone by reducing plastic pollution as it is transformed into food that parts of the world so desperately need.

A sweet treat that helps the health of our Earth and the people on it — now that sounds like my kind of solution!

Caitlin Kaiser graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences before starting her career as a digital meteorologist with weather.com.