Hamantaschen – Buttery cookie triangles with prune filling
I always find it fascinating to see how holidays around the world intersect. So, Holi and Purim happen pretty close to each other and share the same message of overcoming and triumphing over evil. This year Purim seems to be beating Holi by a day, so let us talk about some sweet treats. The quintessential Purim treat is Hamantaschen. I finally gave them a try working with Faye Levy and Beth Lee’s recipe.
The Story behind the Hamantaschen
According to Faye, This Yiddish word hamantaschen means “Haman’s pockets”; the name of these triangular filled cookies in Hebrew, oznei Haman, means “Haman’s ears.” In simple lay terms, the bad guy here. And honestly the cookie is so delicious, you really want get right down to eating it.
There are many fillings for this interesting triangular shaped cookie. And after chatting quite a bit with Faye, I am using a prune filling which is her mother’s recipe. I made the prune filling swapping out the walnuts with almonds as my son is allergic to walnuts. So good!
Now, along with Faye Recipe, I peeked at The Essential Jewish Baking Cookbook, which essentially gave me the permission to skip the extra egg yolk that Faye adds. I have a thing for recipes that use only egg yolks or egg whites. It’s just me. I do not like to waste something if I do not have to. Faye’s original 123 cookie dough and her poppy seed filling is right here.
If you like prunes much like I do, given this prune and almond cake a shot.
It is a fool proof practical dough that gets done in the food processor, another score. Both Beth and Faye use citrus in their dough. Beth a little more orange juice. I actually used a small tangerine zest and juice and it turned out just perfect. Lovely notes of brightness enveloping a beautiful fruit and nut filling. I have been sneaking in this batch a couple at a time. It is after all a great way to celebrate spring.
And now if you want you too can follow this to get your Hamantaschen on.
How to enjoy this cookie
I am sure there are many ways to savor this. For me, I think that it is perfect with a good cup of chai.
An easy and foolproof take on this classic spring cookie. Hamantaschen is the stuff you will be eating until they are all gone.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup wholewheat flour
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter cut into pieces
- 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 6 ounces pitted prunes
- 1/4 cup walnuts (I subbed this with almonds and this worked fine)
- 4 tablespoons strawberry jam
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
Instructions
- Beat the egg and set aside. Place the flours in the bowl of a food processor. Add in the sugar and baking powder and salt and pulse to mix in.
- Add in the butter and the beaten egg. Sprinkle the orange rind and the orange juice and run the food processor until a soft uniform dough is formed.
- Remove the dough and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator for 3 hours to overnight to chill.
- In the mean time make the prune filling.
- Cover prunes with cold water and soak 8 hours or overnight; or cover them with boiling water and soak 15 minutes.
- Grind walnuts or almonds to a fine powder. Drain prunes and chop finely or puree in food processor. Mix prune puree with walnuts, jam, raisins and orange zest.
- To shape and bake the cookies, grease a baking sheet and set aside.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Flour a surface and roll out the cookie dough to about 1/4 cm thickness. Cut into 3 -inch circles.
- Place a circle onto a piece of parchment, fill with the about 2 teaspoons of the prune filling and fold three corners into a triangle to form a cover leaving just some fruit exposed.
- Place on the cookie sheet.
- Continue and complete all the cookies in this manner. I got about 14 cookies from this mixture.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes until pale golden. Turn off the heat, remove and serve.