hamantaschen!

jam, poppy seed, and almond filled hamantaschen

I was introduced to these delightful cookies last year, which are made as part of the celebrations for Purim, a Jewish holiday in which they were saved from slaughter by Haman (a member of King Ahaseurus' council who tried to get all the Jews killed) through the efforts of Esther, the Jewish Queen married to said King. She found out about Haman's plan and asked the King to spare her people-- which he did out of his love for her, and to top it off he also had Haman disposed of as well.

 So, as you can imagine it's a fairly happy holiday, to celebrate "hey! still alive!" and the downfall of Haman. The cookies are said to look like Haman's hat, with their distinctive three corners-- although, it seems an unfair tribute to him to make them taste so delicious.

 

Traditionally they're made with poppy seed filling, but they also taste wonderful with essentially any filling (even savory-- I saw a kale and garlic filling online somewhere) you want. My personal favorite is jam :)

 
I love the gooey sweet stickiness right when they're fresh from the oven, with the jam just bubbling and syrupy and dripping goodness everywhere...plus they look so much prettier too :)

Last year we went all out and made the poppy seed filling ourselves from scratch-- it was amazing and made the kitchen smell sooo good-- but this year we resorted to store-bought filling due to lack of time.  I had these grand ambitions to make an almond-ginger filling from scratch, but ended up having to buy almond paste at the last minute.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with using store-bought pastes and fillings, I just like the extra homey smells in the kitchen and feeling of accomplishment you get when you make something completely from scratch (see funfetti cookies recipe) :).

Hamantaschen cookies
(makes ~2-3 dozen, depending on how big you make your cookies :))

from Jewish cooking, ed. Marlena Spieler, via my friend Shaunna


1/2 c unsalted butter @ RT
1 1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
pinch salt
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, egg, vanilla/almond extract, and salt.  Sift flour into a third bowl.*

3.  Beat the creamed butter mixture with one third of the flour, then gradually add the remaining flour, in three batches, alternating with the milk mixture.  The dough should be the consistency of a loose shortbread dough.  If it's too stiff, add a little extra milk.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

4.  Make your fillings (recipes below; or use a good, thick jam :D)

5.  Preheat oven to 350F.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to the thickness of 1/8-1/4 inc, then cut into 3 inch rounds using a cookie cutter.**

6.  Place 1-2 tbsp in the center of each round, then pinch the pastry together to form 3 corners, leaving a little of the filling showing in the middle of the pastry.***

7.  Place the pastries on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until pale golden.

* In the spirit of laziness, I just made a little hole in the middle of the butter-sugar mixture, added and mixed the wet ingredients in there, and then added all the flour in at once. The dough turned out fine this way, just takes a little more effort to mix everything together (I also don't have a mixer and do this by hand).

** I used a pint glass and a small drinking glass to get 3" rounds and 2" rounds, respectively.

*** In reality, you'll be lucky to get even 1 tbsp in. For the jam ones especially, err on the side of less, not more, because if you have too much filling they will unfold and spread everywhere when you bake them. They look quite sad coming out of the oven, but they still taste delicious :). This is less of an issue for less watery fillings, like the poppy-seed or almond ones.

Fillings:

Poppy seed:
1 c poppy seeds, coarsely ground
1/2 c milk
1/2 c golden raisins, roughly chopped
3-4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp light corn syrup
1-2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put all ingredients, except vanilla, in a pan and simmer 5-10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened and most of the milk has been absorbed.  Stir in vanilla.

Almond-ginger:
1/4 c butter @ RT
1/2 c almond paste
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp chopped candied ginger

Mix until smooth. Can be stored covered in the fridge or frozen for up to 1 month.

Note: you definitely do not have to be Jewish or celebrate Purim to enjoy these cookies :)