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For 5- 7-year-olds: Cheesy Fraction Biscuits

At this age, most kids aren't necessarily working with fractions in school, but the concepts of half and quarter transcend math and play important roles in telling time and counting money. This Cheesy Biscuit recipe offers multiple ways to make halves and fourths real.

Lesson 1: Measuring. The recipe calls for 2 cups of flour—an ample amount for showing that two quarter cuts fill one half cup and two half cups a whole. You can do the same with the teaspoon of baking soda and the 5 teaspoons of baking powder (that's one tablespoon plus two teaspoons, if you prefer).

Lesson 2: Fractions and Science. Use the half and quarters concept again when cutting the sticks of butter. This is where the science comes in: (big kids like this too) we cut the butter and cheese into the fat so that the fat will coat some of the flour molecules and keep them from absorbing the liquid too fast. If we do it right, our biscuit will be light and fluffy.

Lesson 3: Follow directions! Stir these too much and you'll break the structure created by the fat coated flour, leaving you with flat pancakes instead of fluffy biscuits. Cooking is an art; baking a science. Master biscuits and one day you'll master chemistry.

Kitchen lessons for your 8-10-year-old: bakery science

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