Purim Pastries

Homemade Pop’ems 

These tiny cookies were born a few years ago around Purim time when a friend of mine, Sara Frumet, was making a kiddush, and I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to try these. Sara Frumet gave me the brilliant idea of piping the dough through a ziplock bag. These little cookies are too cute and too easy not to try!

YIELDS 6 CUPS 

• 1¹⁄₂ cups oil
• ³⁄₄ cup light brown sugar
• ³⁄₄ cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2¹⁄₄ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¹⁄₄ tsp salt
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat together oil and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating until thick. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, and gradually add to sugar mixture.

Transfer the batter to a good-quality ziplock bag. Cut a tiny hole in the bottom and squeeze little dots onto the prepared baking sheet, the smaller the better. Add mini chocolate chips to the top of each mini cookie. Bake for 7–10 minutes.

More Crumbs Than Cake Mini Muffins 

Who doesn’t feel like crumbs are a hot commodity on crumb-topped anything and wishes there were more?? We’re all in the same boat, and the recipients of your mishloach manos will blissfully thank you if you send them these!

YIELDS 60 MINI MUFFINS CRUMB TOPPING

• ⅔ cup light brown sugar
• ⅔ cup white sugar
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• ¹⁄₂ cup (1 stick) margarine, melted
• ¹⁄₂ cup oil
• 2⅔ cups flour

CAKE BATTER

• ¹⁄₄ cup oil
• ³⁄₄ cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• ¹⁄₂ cup pareve milk (I used almond, but you might want to avoid disguised nut products for mishloach manos)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ tsp baking soda
• ¹⁄₂ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¹⁄₂ tsp nutmeg
• ¹⁄₂ tsp vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray and sprinkle with flour. Gently combine crumb ingredients with your fingertips. If the crumbs are not so large, slowly add bits of oil until the mixture reaches the desired crumb texture. Set aside.

To prepare the cake batter, beat oil, sugar, eggs, and pareve milk until smooth. Add in dry ingredients, taking care to combine the baking powder and baking soda with the flour with a fork before combining them with the wet ingredients. Do not overmix.

Using a meatball baller, drop three quarters- full scoops into the muffin pan. Add about 1 tablespoon of crumbs to the top of each cup. Bake for 10–12 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and transfer cupcakes to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 681)