Baklava Cups — The Sweetness We Carry Forward

Rosh Hashanah was beautiful and incomplete — beautiful because the food was right and the table was set and the family was there, incomplete because Marvin was not. His place was set: the plate, the glass, the Haggadah. Nobody sat in his place. Ethan asked the four questions — his third year, confident now, the Hebrew flowing — and when he asked, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" I thought, as I always think: because Grandpa is not here. But also: because you are asking. Because the asking continues. Because the chain of boys asking the four questions stretches back three thousand years and tonight the link is Ethan, nine years old, in a dining room in Oceanside, asking.

I brought Marvin a plate of brisket and challah and honey cake the next day. I sat beside him and I said, "L'shanah tovah, Marv. Happy New Year." He ate the brisket. He ate the honey cake. He said, "This is good." I said, "5784." He said, "That's a big number." It is. It is a very big number. Five thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four years of making challah and saying prayers and dipping apples in honey. Marvin doesn't know what the number represents. But he knows it's big. And big is correct. Big is sufficient. Big is the right word for five thousand years of survival.

The honey cake I brought Marvin was store-bought that year — there wasn’t enough of me left after the seder to bake from scratch — but watching him eat it, watching him say “this is good” with such simple certainty, I promised myself I’d make something honeyed and real with my own hands before the holiday season was over. These Baklava Cups are what came of that promise: small, golden, sticky with honey, layered like the years themselves. They don’t replace the honey cake, but they carry the same intention — sweetness offered with love, across whatever distance separates us.

Baklava Cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 15 cups

Ingredients

• 1 package (1.9 oz) mini phyllo pastry shells (15 shells)
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pistachios, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. Arrange the frozen mini phyllo shells on an ungreased baking sheet in a single layer.
2. Make the nut filling. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped walnuts, pistachios, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Drizzle in the melted butter and stir until the mixture is evenly coated and fragrant.
3. Fill the shells. Spoon roughly 1 heaping teaspoon of the nut mixture into each phyllo shell, pressing gently so the filling is level with the rim.
4. Bake. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the shells are deep golden and the filling is lightly toasted. Remove and let cool on the pan for 5 minutes.
5. Make the honey syrup. While the cups bake, combine the honey, water, vanilla extract, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir and bring just to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Drizzle and finish. Using a small spoon, drizzle the warm honey syrup generously over each filled cup. Allow the syrup to soak in for at least 10 minutes before serving. The cups can be served warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 112 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 35mg