These clever clover-shaped rolls came to us from Family Fun magazine, the perfect baking project just before St. Patrick’s Day!

Recipes like these are fantastic for engaging multiple ages of kids in the kitchen. The biggest kids will want to help with every step, from mixing ingredients to kneading the dough to shaping the rolls. Meanwhile, toddlers and babies need not be excluded from the fun! Sit them in a high chair with a small portion of dough to play with, and let the games begin. I loved sitting my son in his Oxo Tot Sprout high chair when he was still too little to help with recipe steps, and so I was quite pleased to see it included in a recent review of the best high chairs, which selected winners from among eight of the most highly-rated chairs.

And now that he’s moved on to his big boy table, he’s standing on one of his chairs to help me out right at the kitchen counter!

Ingredients:

• 3 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 packet rapid rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup warm plain non-dairy milk (between 110 and 115 degrees F)
• 10 tablespoons melted Earth Balance butter, divided
• 2 Ener-G eggs

1. Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the milk, 6 tablespoons butter, and Ener-G eggs; add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring to form a dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly foured surface and knead for 10 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise for 1 and 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Punch the dough down and let it rest for 5 minutes. Divide in half. Working with one portion of dough at a time (and keeping the remaining dough covered), roll into a 4×8-inch rectangle. Cut the dough lengthwise into 6 strips. Working with one portion at a time, stretch into a 19-inch rope.
4. Twist the rope into a three-leaf clover (make a figure eight, then loop the dough up for the top leaf, and let the end hang down as the stem.
5. Repeat with the remaining dough to form 12 shamrocks. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.
6. Brush the tops of the dough with the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.