Simple Celebrations :: Cinnamon Toast St. Martin Snacks

Today is the feast of St. Martin and a wonderful day to remember the light of generosity that St. Martin exemplified. It's also a day to remember our veterans and their families and their generous and brave hearts. St. Martin, patron of soldiers and of the poor, once came upon a beggar and having nothing to offer the man, he cut his cloak in half and gave it to the man.

I was asked by a sweet friend what our plans were today. My first thought was horseshoe cookies. But then I remembered that we have a Golden Birthday coming up on Wednesday and tried to think simpler. So, I came up with a super easy treat that my kids thought was kinda clever. I bet you have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now and it's so easy your big kids could do it themselves if you don't have time.

I preferred the version on the left since it was also in my mind that St. Martin met the beggar outside of the city gates as in this story. But Sunshine suggested turning it upside down to make a horseshoe shape. Either way, it works. 

You make a simple piece of cinnamon toast however you want to do it. We prefer the toast then butter then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar version. It makes it crispier and that's how we like it. But you can do the butter, then cinnamon sugar then toast in the oven method too.

Next, I used a very specialized tool to cut out the cloak shape… 

my cheese grater.  Hah!

Really, anything oval shaped will work and if all else fails, just take a knife to it.

You want to cut out a shape like this. This is your cloak and the top part can now be your gate or your horseshoe, you decide. 

Gates and Cloaks Cinnamon Toast 

(or Horseshoes and Cloaks if you like)

Serve it up, let your kids cut the cloak in half (or score it for littler ones and let them rip it in half) and tell them the story of generous St. Martin. Better yet, read them this poem!

Happy Martinmas!
P.S. Don't forget your St. Martin Coloring Page!