Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen - the quintessential Purim food! It's the one exotic recipe even coworkers who didn't like exotic recipes loved - in fact, the dough, nut and poppy seed recipes in this post come from a book Eileen Summers gave me during an office Christmas gift exchange - ah, the joys of being part of a multi-cultural community!

I used to make a different version at home, though the prune filling was similar.  The recipe my mom used included honey in the dough, and was much more cake-like. It would also completely cover the filling.  The key point was that it was also still folded in triangles.

Why triangles?  Because the cookies symbolize Haman, the bad guy in the Purim story who tries to destroy the Jews, wore a triangular hat.  Why did he hate the Jews? Because one of them - Mordechai, one of the heroes of the story - won't bow down to him.  Also because his people traditionally hated the Jews.  I always find this story slapstick - Haman continually misunderstands what is happening, and is misunderstood himself.  The most Marx Brothers moment, I think, is toward the end, when Queen Esther reveals herself to be Jewish, and the king - who up until this point was perfectly O.K. with Haman's plot to commit genocide - agrees to let the Jews strike at Haman's people first.  Then the king apparently leaves the room for a minute.  Haman throws himself on the Queen's couch to beg for mercy.  That's when the king walks back in, sees Haman sprawled there, upon the cushions where the Queen is lying, and interprets his intention in an entirely different light.  As punishment for molesting the Queen, he orders Haman strung up on the gallows Haman built for Mordechai.  And for good measure, he hangs Haman's 10 sons, too.  You can read the whole bloody comedy - and the ending is literally bloody enough to make Hamlet look rated G - here.

Except Joan Nathan says some people say the name hamantaschen come from "tash kocho," meaning "May Haman's strength become weak." And some say that the cookies symbolize Haman's ear. And others say - this is my personal favorite - the cookies are named from "mun-tasche," or "poppy seed bag," which would make the name a pun. Ha-mun. Get it?

Anyway, whatever the origins, they're delicious! I ship some off to family and close friends every year.

Here are the recipes:

WARNING: THE POPPY SEED AND NUT FILLINGS ARE DELICIOUS, BUT THEY MAKE A LOT OF FILLING.  A SYNAGOGUE'S WORTH OF FILLING.  AND THEN SOME. YOU NEED MAYBE A QUARTER OF THE RECIPE TO FILL 36 HAMANTASCHEN. Or you could use the leftovers to make a nut or poppy seed roll.  Or you could ship a lot to family and friends.

Poppy Seed Filling (From Joan Nathan's "The Jewish Holiday Kitchen")

1 pound (2 Cups) sugar
1/2 Cup water
1 pound (2 Cups) poppy seeds
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
rind and juice of 1 lemon
rind and juice of 1 orange
2 TBs rum
4 ounces (1/2 Cup) raisins (I prefer the golden ones.)
2 ounces (1/4 Cup) figs
Cinnamon to taste
2 Cups apricot or raspberry jam (I prefer apricot)
1/2 Cup unsalted butter or margarine (I use butter)

1. Simmer sugar and water while stirring over low heat, until sugar dissolves.

2. Add the poppy seeds. (The recipe says to grind the seeds in a food processor or blender. I never found that to work - the seeds are too small.)

3. Add egg whites, vanilla, lemon and orange rinds and juices, rum, raisins, figs and cinnamon. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the jam and butter until the butter is melted and the ingredients combined. Then put in the fridge for at least a few hours, until it isn't too runny, before using in cookies. I usually make this on a different day and store it at least overnight in the fridge.  But it actually keeps for a surprising long time - weeks, even!

Nut filling (From Joan Nathan)

1 3/4 Cup sugar
2 Cups ground walnuts
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
rind and juice of 1 lemon
rind and juice of 1 orange
2 TBs rum
4 ounces (1/2 Cup) raisins (I prefer the golden ones.)
4 figs
1 tsp. Cinnamon or to taste
2 Cups apricot jam or orange marmalade

Combine all the ingredients, mix well, and refrigerate.

Prune filling (a.k.a Lekvar, if you don't like calling it prune.  Or call it dried plum.) (From Karen's Kitchen Stories)

1 1/2 Cup pitted prunes
2/3 Cup water
1 tsp. lemon zest
3 Tablespoons orange juice
1/3 Cup brown sugar

1. Put everything except the sugar in a small saucepan and simmer, covered,  about 30 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed.

2. Remove from heat, stir in the brown sugar, and mash or blend into a puree.  I found an immersion blender works really well, but a food processor or normal blender will also do the job.

Cookie Dough and Putting It All Together (From Joan Nathan)

2/3 Cup butter or margarine (I use butter)

1/2 Cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2-3 Cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

dash of salt

1. Cream the butter with sugar.  Add the egg and continue creaming until smooth.

2. Add the vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until a ball is formed. (A food processor works great for this!)  Keep adding flour until dough is dry enough to roll.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

4. Use about half the dough to roll out on a lightly-floured board to a thickness of about 1/8 inch.  Cut into 2-inch circles (water glasses work well for this.)

5. MOST IMPORTANT STEP - Dip your finger in a cup of water and run it around the rim of a circle.  If you don't do this, your cookie won't hold together.

6. Put a dab of your choice of filling into the center of the circle. Pinch together the rim about halfway down. Fold the bottom up to form a triangle and pinch together the remaining to corners the same way.  A little spot of filling should peek through the center.

7. Put on the cookie sheet and bake 10-16 minutes, until the tops are golden.