Why Did You Eat That: Bah Hamantaschen
With the holiday music comes the holiday baking. While many opt for gingerbread and sugar cookies, I happen to be quite fond of hamantaschen. I’m a little late to the game on these (or at least I never knew how to pronounce the name of these sweet treats), I’ve fallen hard and fast. A traditional cookie made during the Jewish holiday of Purim, they are sure to delight any sweet toothed cookie lover. While they look pretty fancy and complicated… again, I made them. If I can do it- so can you.
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- dash of salt
- Fruit filling (I used apricot, raspberry, and almond)
Directions:
- Cream the butter with sugar. Add egg and continue creaming until smooth.
- Add the vanilla.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until a ball of dough is formed (a food processor would have been helpful for this).
- Chill for 2-3 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Taking 1/4 of the dough, roll out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
- Cut circles of dough with a drinking glass or round cookie-cutter.
- With your finger put water around the rim of the circle. Fill with 1 teaspoon of filling and fold into three-cornered cookies. (Press two sides together, and then fold the third side over and press the ends together.)
- Bake on a well-greased cookie sheet 10-16 minutes, until the tops are golden. (I prefer for them to be a bit lighter, so stay near the oven- they cook fast).
Be sure to let these cool before boxing up or trying to serve/eat. It takes a little bit of time before the fruit filling goes from molten lava back to solid again. I may or may not know this because I splattered it down the front of my face and shirt. Patience is a virtue, my friends. You also might notice I rolled out the dough on tin foil (DOH!). Wax paper would be a more prudent choice- but beggars can’t be choosers and it all worked out in the end. So, be sure to add these delicious (and impressive) cookies to your holiday baking repertoire.
xx,
WhyDid