The average American — even the above-average American — comes across a KitchenAid stand mixer and sees tasty treats, like cakes, cookies, muffins and bread.

Hayley Weir, a cadet who’s set to graduate soon at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, stumbles upon the kitchen appliance and sees something entirely different.

She sees fabric. Stopping bullets. And saving military civilian lives.

It’s probably because she used the kitchen staple (and plastic knives) recently to create her very own bulletproof fabric (weighing less than half a pound, 8 millimeters thick) — material strong enough to stop a 9 mm round and a 44-magnum round.

“It was really kind of like making a cake, as opposed to exact science,” she told 9News in Colorado.

“Really it doesn’t look like much. But when you shoot it, it’s awesome.”

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What sparked Weir’s interest in chemistry and such materials was a lab in one of her courses, where the class was told to see if they could take provided materials and combine them into something that would stop a bullet.

“I thought that was the coolest thing ever,” she said.

Researchers from the Air Force Civil Engineer Center have taken over the development of the material, a news release said. The research team hopes to improve it to where it can withstand rifle rounds and other heavy-duty ballistics.

Weir received a full-ride scholarship to study in a graduate program at Clemson University, after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy at the end of the month. She’ll study material science and engineering.

According to the military branch, the stuff can be classified as type-3 body armor, typically worn by USAF security forces.

“I don’t think it has actually set in how big this can get,” said Weir.