Lockdown Day 7 – Cinnamon Snails
* IT’S A SNAIL KIND OF DAY *
Snails are a fascinating topic for young children. Its eyes are on stalks (imagine that!), its body is called a foot, and depending on where it lives, it has either lungs or gills!
Today, however, we are going to make use of the playdough skills we have from Lockdown Tip 2 to make snails of a different kind… the Cinnamon Snail kind! 
INGREDIENTS
- 3 1/4 cups (815ml) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (30ml) ground cinnamon, divided
- 2 tsp (10ml) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (2.5ml) ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp (2.5ml) ground nutmeg
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup (175ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla essence
- 1 3/4 cups (440ml) granulated sugar, divided
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
RECIPE
1. Prepare the workspace. Make sure that the child is able to reach the workspace so that s/he can be fully involved in the experience.
2. Collect all the necessary ingredients, the measuring cups and spoons, and a couple of small and big bowls. Set these out at the workspace.
3. Wash your hands.
4. Time now for the Maths lesson. Prepare all the required ingredients (think Masterchef Masterclass) by telling the child how much of each is needed and engaging the child in identifying which cup/spoon to use, and how much of each ingredient to prepare. Remember to use lots of descriptive number language here.
5. Preheat oven to 190°C.
6. Ask the child to place a medium-sized bowl on the workplace in front of her/him. Now invite the child to carefully pour the following pre-measured ingredients into the bowl: the flour, 2 tsp (10 mL) of the cinnamon, the baking powder, the ginger and the nutmeg. Stir the ingredients together until they are well combined. Move this bowl aside.
7. Get another medium-sized bowl. Carefully crack the three eggs into the bowl. Set the egg shells aside – we will need them a bit later!
8. Add the oil, vanilla essence and 1 cup (250ml) of the sugar and whisk well. This is good exercise for the arms!
9. Spoon the dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir to form soft dough.
10. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or plate.
11. Dust a kitchen board with flour.
12. Roll spoonfuls (about 1 tbsp) of the dough into 12.5 cm sausages on the flour-dusted surface.
13. Now roll each sausage in the cinnamon sugar so that it is well-coated.
14. Roll up the sausages into a spiral shape to form a snail, leaving about a 4cm straight section for the neck and head.
15. Place on baking-paper-lined baking sheets, at least 4cm apart.
16. Bake at 190°C, one sheet at a time, for 12 to 14 minutes. The mixture should make about 36 snails.
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Whilst the snails are baking…
1. Set up a washing and drying station for all the utensils that have been used! This will keep the child busy for at least as long as it takes the first tray to bake!
2. Whilst the snails are cooling down, introduce the child to your mortar and pestle. Place the eggs shells into the mortar and use the pestle to rough crush them. Spoon the crushed egg shells into a bowl and take them into the garden to sprinkle at the base of plants. Why? Well.. to stop the snails from eating them!
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With thanks and acknowledgment to Get Cracking for the recipe: https://www.eggs.ca/