At Shavuot, we celebrate the receiving of the Ten Commandments atop Mt. Sinai. Here’s a fun and yummy tribute–the perfect Shavuot treat to make with your child.
The basic design is a muffin or cupcake turned upside down, frosted or glazed, with an edible version of the tablets poked into the top (formerly the bottom) of the mountain. You can customize the basics any way you wish, going homemade-organic-whole-grain-healthy or straight-from-the-bag-Hostess-mini-muffin. I’ve listed some suggested variations below using my favorite ingredients.
Many of us don’t have time to do tons of baking with our kids, so let the holiday give you an excuse to pull out the mixer and the cookbooks. Basic muffins with a classic buttercream frosting (just butter, confectioner’s sugar, and a smidge of milk and salt) are kid-pleasers and very easy to make.
The edible stone tablets can be sized in proportion to the mountain; from big Milano cookies to teeny jelly beans. I’ve given you a variety of options below.
Concerned about too much sugar? Remember, the Torah is supposed to be sweet!
Variations
Mountain: Regular or miniature muffin or cupcake
Mountain topping:
Snowy (marshmallow fluff or frosting)
Rocky (cookies ‘n’ cream frosting)
Earthy (chocolate frosting or sauce with sprinkles or thin slices of Twizzler as flowers)
Verdant (green-tinted cream cheese with flowers as above, green coconut at base)
Tablets: Use two pieces of one of the following: white Jordan almonds, blanched almonds, graham cracker rectangles, Milano cookies, trimmed bread sticks, rectangles from a Hershey bar (or two fun-size Hershey bars), cut pieces of jicama or carrot, mini-Fig Newtons, jelly beans, or marshmallows.
Basic Muffin Recipe
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar (white or natural cane)
1 egg
1 cup milk (cow, soy, or rice)
1/4 cup canola oil
(optional) 1 cup of raisins, dates, berries, chocolate chips, nuts, etc. Raisins (grapes) and dates are two traditional Shavuot fruits.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1. Grease muffin pan or use liners or silicone pans. (Or, try mini-bundt cupcake tins for bumpy mountains. There will be no need to invert these, just let them cool completely and fill the center with frosting.)
2. Stir dry ingredients together.
3. In a separate bowl, stir wet ingredients together.
4. Add wet to dry and stir quickly with fork just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy.
5. Fill cups 2/3 full and quickly put into oven.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.
7. Remove from pan immediately.
8. Cool completely before frosting or decorating.
If you’re on a cooking kick, here’s a recipe for fruity blintzes, a traditional Shavuot treat,
and be sure to check out our Shavuot activities page for books, music, and more.
