Crescent Roll Pizza Roll-Ups (My Kids in the Kitchen)

In my 2012 Recap post the other day, I mentioned that I'd be introducing a new "Kids' Korner" feature here on Joyously Domestic in 2013.  Well, this would just happen to be the first installment.  I have previously featured a "My Kids in the Kitchen" post when they made Pepperoni Pizza Puffs all on their own.  (We've made that recipe several times since and it's always a huge hit!)

We plan to make "Kids' Korner" a regular feature with them putting the meal together on their own (with a little supervision from mom).  Part of the post will include their "verdict" on the recipe!

For those of you new to the blog, let me introduce my kids!  We have five total, but two of them are "grown-ups" now and live out in the real world on their own.  Here are our three - the "contributors" of Kids' Korner - who still reside at home with mom and dad:

Allanah is thirteen.  Ayvah is five.  Zayne is ten.  (They are beautiful kids if I do say so myself!)

My goal with Kids' Korner is to not only give my kids an opportunity to learn by my side in the kitchen, but to provide you - my readers - a place to come for kid-friendly and kid-tested recipes that will encourage and inspire you to get your kids in the kitchen, too!

Yields 8 roll-ups

Ingredients:

1 tube crescent roll dough (seamless works best)
1/2 cup tomato or pizza sauce
12 slices pepperoni
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning (optional)
Non-stick spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the pepperoni slices into four equal triangles.  (Clean kitchen scissors work great for this!)  Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Grease with a little non-stick spray.

Spray clean counter or work surface lightly with some non-stick spray.

Remove crescent dough from tube, unroll onto work surface and cut into half to create two long rectangles.

Spread a 1/4 of a cup of sauce evenly onto each dough rectangle.  Sprinkle on 1 1/2 tablespoons of Parmesan.  Sprinkle a 1/2 of a cup of mozzarella cheese onto each rectangle.  Top each rectangle with half of the cut pepperoni.

Then, with the short side of the rectangle facing you, tightly roll up each rectangle into a tube. You will have two tubes/rolls.  Cut each tube/roll in half and then cut each of the halves in half again so that you end up with 4 slices from each tube/roll.

Carefully place each slice onto prepared baking sheet.  You will have 8 slices total (we doubled the recipe, so the photos show more than eight slices).  If any of them start to unroll, tighten them up on the baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes until puffed and golden. Let cool briefly on baking sheet, then sprinkle with seasoning if desired. Serve immediately.

Kids' Korner:

They all agreed that the "funnest" part of making the recipe was rolling up and cutting the dough into slices.  Zayne didn't think that the roll-ups were "saucy" enough, so we talked about maybe serving extra sauce on the side next time.  They thought that using crescent dough made the roll-ups a little "too buttery" and we discussed maybe trying this recipe with actual pizza dough next time.  However, they did agree that they'd eat this again.  Little five-year old Ayvah loved cutting the pepperoni into triangles and declared it "super fun" to make pizza that "looks like cinnamon rolls."


Recipe adapted from Vittles and Bits