Here is an alternative to the timely recipe that you can throw together in a matter of minutes.  They are delicious, too.

Last week I gave the demo for these lovely rolls and this group of students do amaze me!  I love my job because my students are so attentive and hang onto every word I say.  They really appreciate what I do and actually tell me.  How lucky am I?

I left the door wide open for this lab.  So don’t be surprised at what you see.  A few years back I would have never let them be so creative.  It is their experiment in the kitchen and who knows maybe the next top chef will emerge.

The recipe and photographs for the cinnamon rolls are found here.  Remember that if you get the urge for some hot tasty rolls with a cup of joe and you just have about twenty minutes, then this recipe will work for you.  Now take a look at what my classes created last Friday.  I was very pleased and they were, too.  By the way this is our last Hooray for quick breads.  We are moving on to another unit next week.

Happy Cooking,

The Teacher Cooks

1st Block Kitchen 1

1st Block Kitchen 2

1st Block Kitchen 3

1st Block Kitchen 4

1st Block Kitchen 5

1st Block Kitchen 6

2nd Block Kitchen 1

2nd Block Kitchen 2

2nd Block Kitchen 3

2nd Block Kitchen 4

2nd Block Kitchen 5

2nd Block Kitchen 6

Omit 2 tablespoons of melted butter .  Stir 1/2 cup golden raisins, 1/3 cup chopped pecans, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon into the chilled flour mixture before adding buttermilk. Proceed with recipe as directed.  Stir together 1 cup of powdered sugar and 2 -3 tablespoons buttermilk until smooth.  Drizzle over warm biscuits.  Makes about 2 dozen.

Today my classes made cinnamon rolls using this recipe.   First making this biscuit dough. You be the judge of the appearance.  I was very pleased with the results.  Of course, there is always room for improvement for some groups.  They are all novice cooks.  Several of them still try to measure flour in a liquid measuring cup.  One group forgot to preheat their oven.  Another handled the dough a little too much.  

Those of us that cook know what it feels like when  compliments come our way, but for high school students working on their self-esteem this is a big morale booster.   At least 5 students this week shared  photos they preepared and ate  with their families.  They were proud of their accomplishment!   That makes me smile!  Have a great weekend after voting for your favorite group.

1st Block Kitchen 4

1st Block Kitchen 1

1st Block Kitchen 2

1st Block Kitchen 5

1st Block Kitchen 6

2nd Block Kitchen 6

2nd Block Kitchen 5

2nd Block Kitchen 4

2nd Block Kitchen 3

2nd Block Kitchen 2

2nd Block Kitchen 1

This was the second day of the new semester and I decided to mix it up a little bit.  Why not have a demo right off the bat?  Make it more interesting .  We don’t have to do the same old stuff.   Show the students what the class is really about.  Have some fun.  Eat some food.  And that is what we did! 

It was a great day in the classroom.  I felt like a move star.  All  eyes were on me.  You could hear a pin drop.  I am serious!!!  You could tell that they were soaking in every word that I was saying.  That is what I live for as a teacher.  You just know at that moment that you are doing the right thing.  Now mind you it may not happen this way for a long time, but today it did.    I could feel the excitement.  The comments that the students made about the class– it was music to my ears.  

I did not make anything spectacular.  I just used a can of refrigerated biscuits and made something a little different.  The recipe came out of a textbook we used a few years ago.  It is not that healthy, but it is quick and good.   I made two variations.  One savory Pull-apart Parmesan Dill Bread and the other sweet Pull-apart cinnamon and sugar bread.  They both are very good.  

So here is what we cooked up today in my class.  I hope that you will try these and enjoy! 

12 oz. can of refrigerated biscuits cut into quarters

 Using a pair of kitchen shears cut 12 oz. of refrigerated biscuits into quarters. 

Mix 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese and 1/2 teaspoon of dill

2 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

 Or if you are making the sweet side of the bread mix together 2 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. 

Melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter and coat the biscuits

 Melt about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine in a small bowl.  Coat the quartered biscuits in the butter.  I found that you can only put a few in at the time. The butter will help the cheese or sugar to stick to the biscuits. 

Put seasonings in a bag and coat the biscuits

This is another thing that I love about teaching.  Students see things that teachers don’t see at the time.  When I am giving a demo I am really concentrating on following the recipe, cleaning up and being ready for the next class.   In other words my thinking is really one tracked.  Thank goodness for students that think outside of all of that. 

That is what happened this morning.  The recipe did not call for you to put the seasonings in a bag and shake to cover, but to put them in a small bowl .  WRONG!  Putting them in a bag was much more efficient.  So thanks to a young gentleman in my first block we changed the recipe to be much more efficient. 

Grease an 8 inch cake pan

Parmesan and dill bread ready to cook

Cinnamon and sugar bread ready to cook

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.  Turn upside down on a serving plate.  Pull apart to serve, or cook for 5 minutes before cutting into 8 wedges. 

Bake for 12- 14 minutes at 400 degrees

This is the  Parmesan Dill  pull apart bread! 

Here is the Cinnamon sugar Pull apart Bread

 I feel good about today.  Here’s hoping that you had a great day,too!  Here you go with the recipe.  Enjoy! 

Pull-Apart Parmesan Dill Bread 

• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 package (12oz) refrigerated biscuits
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Margarine or butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease 8-in round cake pan.  In a small bowl, stir cheese and dill until combined.  Cut biscuits in quarters.  Add a few biscuits at a time to margarine, separating pieces with fingers.  Add cheese mixture and toss with fingers untill all pieces ar coated.  (  I put everything in a bag and shook until all the biscuits were coated.)  Arrange in one layer in prepared pan.  Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.  

Bad News:  70 calories per serving, 2 g. protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat, 215 mg sodium, 0 g fiber 

Happy Cooking, 

The Teacher Cooks

Awesome Group Work!

The smell of warm cinnamon rolls permeated the halls of our school today.  You can imagine how many visitors I had popping their heads or their bodies into my classroom to find out what we were cooking that smelled so delicious.  This was the second time for my chicklets to use biscuit dough.   They did very well.   You can try these for yourself if you are in the mood for cinnamon rolls and do not have the time to make the yeast roll variety.  These can be rolled out and cut in less than 15 minutes.  Can’t you just taste  them now along with a hot cup of coffee for breakfast?    Come on, if you can make biscuit dough you can make these easily.

How do you make these wonderful rolls?  Well, if you have mastered my post “Making Biscuits From Scratch“  you can do this.  After rolling out the dough into a rectangle a little smaller than a 9 x 13 inch pan, spread 1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.  Here is a photo.

Rolled dough with cinnamon and sugar

• Starting on the long side of the dough roll the dough up tightly. 
•  Pinch the dough together when you get to the end. 
• This dough is very forgiving.  If it sticks to the wax paper just take a straight edge spatula and push the dough toward the roll.  Pinch holes that you might make together.   
• The diameter of the roll should be the same from end to end. Push the ends toward the middle to shorten the roll.  This should help with the diameter.

Roll dough jellyroll style

Now here is a trick I learned from some cookbook.  Use dental floss to cut the dough.  Pull off about 10 inches and hold the floss the same way you would when flossing teeth.  Place the floss under the dough and pull together quickly to cut.  This will keep your rolls nice and round.  See the photo.

Place floss under the dough and pull to middle

Cutting through the dough

Place in a 9×13 inch lightly greased pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Place in pan to bake

When you take them out of the oven ice them with a heaping cup of powdered sugar mixed with just enough milk for the correct consistency.  Usually it takes about 1-2 tablespoons.  You can flavor with vanilla, lemon, orange, or almond flavoring.  Serve hot.

Here is what we cooked up today.  You take a look while I head to the gym after tasting 12 of these wonderful little things!!

These were very good!

You are all sweethearts!

These are bakery style!

I love your group effort!

Very Good!

Strawberry icing was fantastic!!!!

Excellent work!

Tasted very good!

Great! Where is the bacon?

Picture Perfect!

What a pan of rolls!!!

Happy cooking,

The Teacher Cooks