Every year around this time, we have created a tradition out of baking
Hamantashen with family friends. Hamantashen are cookies shaped like triangles and typically filled
with mixtures of dried fruits such as apricots, prunes or poppyseeds. To keep things fresh, we try different cookie recipes each year and create unique fillings too. This year we made my mom's recipe with a hint of lemon that goes really well
with fruit fillings. We also tried another recipe that I was curious to test. It was a little disappointing--more reminiscent of a sugar cookie--but the
kids who love to fill cookies with chocolate chips and a chocolate
hazlenut spread were delighted.
The dough has to be chilled and firm enough to roll out easily
without sticking too much. Once the dough is rolled out, we use a
glass or cup that has a 3-inch diameter to cut nice-sized circles from
the dough. Add about 1 teaspoon of filling and then pull up gently and firmly pinch the sides together in 3 places to make a triangle. Leave a little space in the middle so the filling shows to minimize gueesing which flavor you'll be eating! And make sure the pinches are firm enough to keep the cookies from opening up when baking. Take a look.
Some
stories say Hamantashen have three corners to represent the three-cornered hat that Haman
wore. Other stories say Hamantashen represent Haman's
ears. According to the holiday story, Haman, who was in the royal court of the King Ahasuerus held a
lottery to determine the day to do some evil deeds. Horrible guy that
Haman! The story goes on to say that Haman's plans were discovered and ruined by Queen
Esther. We honor the day with celebration and use noisemakers to drown out the villains's name when it is spoken.
No matter what Hamantashen are supposed to represent, they are
just delicious. Happy baking! Here is my mom's recipe:
Hamantashen Dough
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp lemon juice
Finely grated peel (zest) from half a lemon
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add in sugar, oil, lemon juice and zest and blend. Add flour and baking powder and mix well and dough starts to pull away from bowl. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Start with about one-third of the dough and roll out on well-floured surface until very thin. Use a cup or glass with 3-inch diameter to cut out circles. Add 1 tsp filling (recipe below) and bring up sides towards the center and pinch firmly in 3 places to make trangle cookie with some filling showing. Bake Hamantashen at 350 on non-stick pan for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Filling
6 ounces dried apricots or cherries
Boiling hot water
1/2 cup very finely chopped walnuts or almonds
2-3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1-2 tsp lemon juice
Soak dried fruit in boling water for 1-2 hours to soften. Drain off water and chop fruit finely. Combine chopped chopped fruit, nuts, honey, zest and lemon juice and mix well. Use in 1 tsp amounts in center of Hamantashen.
