Friday, January 13, 2012

11 Grain Peanut Butter Blackberry Rolls with Vanilla Honey Glaze




"Be the conquering hero!" I tell myself this every day and when it comes to my kids lunch boxes, I want to make it fun. I want to be "that mom" who does crazy cool lunch box ideas that dazzle second graders. I'm not that mom but if you are...then you know who you are. The ones who look at pinterest for hours and lose sleep thinking of new lunch ideas. I love you. Just so you know.  Don't get me wrong. I do have my moments. In fact, I secretly love it when my boys come home and say, "My friend wants you to make his lunches. His are boring. " Sadly, I have to admit, that I'm not even close to being "that mom" yet. I do pack pretty healthy meals with some fun ideas most of the time. Sometimes, it's just veggie corn dogs and some homemade healthy cookie. Apple. I'm boring myself just typing it. {Blah, blah, blah...} Come on lady! Get to the point.

I asked myself, "Why not be the mom who sent a sweet roll for lunch?!" I mean, it's almost as good as dad giving them chocolate cake for breakfast. Right? Please say I'm right. Okay, it's hard to top cake for breakfast as being excited about a lunch. I promise these are better though. They're made with 11 grain dough, natural peanut butter and freeze dried blackberries. They're drizzled with a vanilla honey when they are still warm and that stuff just melts right into the dough so the buns stay soft and moist. Now that I think about it...It does make me a conquering hero. Please don't think I'm that chick who rocks the lunch boxes and gives the kids sandwiches cut out with cookie cutters to look like sea horses to go with goldfish crackers.  I'm the mom who thinks ahead enough every couple of weeks to make freezer Grab-n-Go Lunchbox Ideas. My kids for now, think it's cool. They may not feel that way as teenagers. Lunch box with napkin note that says, "Mom loves you! Xoxo! (smiley face)".

 So. Lunch box hero, let's get down to business. 
 You will need a half batch of the  11 Grain Molasses Bread dough. When it's ready to be formed into a loaf, simply roll it out on a lightly floured counter top that's been dusted with flour. 
It should be 24 inches by 18 inches. I generally roll the roll the short way so I can make about 24 1 inch slices in the the finished roll. You can do a dozen instead and make them big-honkin' wedges if you want. For kids, this size is just perfect. 
Spread dough with a very thin layer of natural peanut butter. I just want a hint of flavor, not an oozing mess of melting peanut butter. Too much, and it will be funky. I used about 1/2 cup for the whole deal. So...plan accordingly.
I sprinkle the peanut butter with 1/2 cup crystal xylitol (you can use sugar I just wanted it lower sugar today) and then I crumbled 1/2 cup Freeze Dried Blackberries over the peanut butter. You can use blackberry jam but I liked how these baked and added a really pronounced blackberry flavor to the rolls. 
Roll into a large log thing. You know what I mean when I say that right?
Cut into 24 wedges of happiness with a sharp knife and place on 2 parchment lined baking sheets. Lightly spray with oil and cover to raise 1 1/2 hour.
Bake 350 degrees 25-30 minutes until  cooked through. 
To make vanilla honey glaze, combine 1/2 cup honey with  and 1 tsp vanilla. Stir until well combined. When rolls are still warm, spread the glaze using a pastry brush. 

Put each roll in a sandwich bag and place the bags in a gallon size freezer bag. This gives you 24 little self contained peanut butter lunch-rolls from the conquering hero! Waawhhoo. Wow. I just said Waawhhoo. That's pretty cool to feel that way about making lunch! 


There you go. Make some amazing rolls of love for the family...or for yourself. 
Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess




2 comments:

Sassy said...

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh WAH HOO hahaha THAT SOUNDS DE-LISH!!!! I want to get some of those berries....this sounds so dang good!!!! Plus they are pretty and I LOVE PRETTY!

wandering educators said...

Oh YUM. I love anything with peanut butter in it!!