Name: Kids Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: Vegetable oil spray; 1 cup (8 ounces/227 grams) whole milk; 1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces/113 grams); 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (2 ounces/57 grams); ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 large eggs; 1 teaspoon table salt; 2 cups (8 ounces/227 grams) tapioca starch

Why This Recipe Works

Pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) are small rolls with crunchy exteriors and deliciously chewy, stretchy centers. Instead of using all-purpose flour, which is made from wheat, pão de queijo use tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour), which is made from cassava root (a plant native to South America) that has been ground up into a powder. When combined with a liquid, tapioca starch makes a gooey paste that can trap air and make baked goods rise in the oven. Bonus: It’s naturally gluten-free! To make this pão de queijo recipe simpler for kid chefs, we mix up the batter in a blender and then pour it into a muffin tin, rather than shaping a sticky dough into individual rolls. If you’ve got some extra tapioca starch on hand, have kids mix it with a small amount of water while their rolls bake to observe the sticky, gooey texture. They can compare it to what happens when you mix all-purpose flour with water, if you have that on hand.

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Before You Begin

Tapioca starch is often labeled tapioca flour.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray (making sure to get inside each cup).

Add milk, cheddar, Pecorino, oil, eggs, and salt to blender. Add tapioca starch. (Make sure to add the tapioca starch last, or the mixture will turn to glue in the blender.) Place lid on top of blender and hold lid firmly in place with folded dish towel (see “Step-by-Step: Blender Safety”). Process on high speed for 30 seconds. Stop blender.

Use rubber spatula to scrape down sides of blender jar. Replace lid and process on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour batter evenly into greased muffin tin cups, filling each cup about three-quarters full.

Place muffin tin in oven and bake until rolls are golden and puffed, 25 to 30 minutes.

Use oven mitts to remove muffin tin from oven and place on cooling rack (ask an adult for help). Let rolls cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes.

Run butter knife around edges of rolls to loosen from muffin tin (ask an adult for help—muffin tin will be very hot). Using your fingertips, gently wiggle rolls to remove from muffin tin and transfer directly to cooling rack. Serve warm.