DIY: Mini round unicorn challah
Make mini round challahs for a day filled with extra sweetness and sprinkles
We’re right in the middle of summer. Some days have been feeling a little monotonous and could use a little excitement and a sprinkle of happiness. If this feels like your family right now, we’d like to introduce you to our friend, unicorn challah!
Hi, friend!
These mini unicorn challahs were baked in a muffin tin. They look so adorable and are just the right size for little hands. They’re meant to be sweet and colorful, so we topped them with lots of sprinkles, frosting and even more sprinkles! They’re the perfect baking activity to do with your little to chase the summer doldrums away!
With Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, right around the corner, we decided to make our unicorn challahs round, unlike traditional braided challah! This special shape is made especially for Rosh Hashanah to remind us that seasons of the year go round and round! Also since it’s a tradition to eat challah (and apples) dipped in honey for a sweet New Year, we used rich golden honey to glazed our unicorn challah.
So whether you need a summer pick-me-up, or you are excited to get ready for the Jewish New Year or even for a special Shabbat, our mini round unicorn challahs are sure to bring some extra sweetness. And the best part, they’re made with frozen bread roll dough, so you can skip the prep and get right to the rolling, twisting, baking and decorating fun with your little. So let’s go make unicorn challah!
Mini Round Unicorn Challah
Here’s what you’ll need to make one dozen:
12 frozen bread dough rolls (we used Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls)
Honey
Sprinkles
Frosting
More sprinkles :)
Here’s how we made them:
1. Spray a plate with cooking spray. Take 12 rolls from the package and put them on the plate and let them defrost on your kitchen counter. Cover with plastic wrap until they become pliable, about 30 - 45 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
This one is nice and squishy.
2. When they’re soft, dust your surface with a little flour, and roll into a log, about 8 inches long. Littles are great at this step!
3. Bend the log into a loop bringing one side up and around like in the photo below.
4. Bring that same end through the center, and stretch to tuck both ends under the little round challah. That’s it! Repeat 11 times.
5. Place each challah round into a lightly dusted muffin tin (littles are good at dusting). Cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise on the kitchen counter until it has doubled or even tripled in size, about 2 hours. While you’re waiting, your little can make some unicorn decorations!
6. When your challah rounds have puffed, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix a little water with honey, and glaze the top of each challah round. It’s nice for a little to gently “paint” the honey on top. I didn’t have a pastry brush, and a little spoon worked too!
7. Now it’s time to top with sprinkles! Whoever you’re baking with who loves sprinkles should have a turn!
8. Place your challah rolls in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are a lovely light golden color.
They’re the perfect size and an adorable shape when baked in a muffin tin!
Our unicorn challahs are already colorful and adorable, but we wanted to add a little extra magic and fun. So set out more sprinkles, frosting…
and start decorating.
Don’t forget your unicorn decorations!
These were made from puffy stickers, washi tape and toothpicks!
Here’s one unicorn challah is ready for it’s decoration!
Oh, so cute!
If you’d like, you can say a blessing before eating your unicorn challah. In Judaism, there are blessings you can say for almost every moment: when you see a rainbow, when you see something beautiful in nature or when you eat food - like a unicorn challah!
Ba-Ruch A-tah A-do-noi, Elo-hai-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lam, Ha-motzi Leh-chem Min Ha-aretz.
If you’d like to make unicorn challah, and skip ALL the baking, we have a wonderful easy-peasy tutorial right here!
For more Shabbat fun, you can make :
Traditional mini challah with littles
Celebrate Havdalah with DIY spice bags!
We have a complete Round-up of all our Shabbat activities, and if you just can’t wait to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, here’s a round-up of family activities especially for the Jewish New Year!
We hope these mini round unicorn challahs bring some extra magic to your summer day, Shabbat and Jewish New Year!
~Jennifer
