Hamantaschen: The Traditional Purim Treat That's Also A Parable!

For those of you unfamiliar with this traditional Jewish cookie, well let me tell you, it has a serious history!
Haman was one of the evil persecuters of the Jews, whose actions are described in the Book of Esther. Taschen means pocket in Yiddish. So what do these have to do with Purim? Well the whole actual historic event that took place (around 358 BC) was very much hidden, and occurred over a number of years which isn't readily apparent if one reads the Book of Esther at face value. In fact, the name Esther means hidden. And these cookies have an inside that is hidden, well at the least the photo on the right does! 

So this cookie not only tastes good, it's also a parable for the idea that hidden within the evil there is good!
And despite Haman's attempts to wipe out the Jewish people there was indeed a sweet ending in the merit of Queen Esther, and I'm here today to tell you about it! And as for the noise maker I've placed next to the cookie, well, we shake that at every mention of Haman's name during the reading of the Book of Esther on Purim. Why? To remember that evil in the world can be overcome! So go ahead and bake a big batch of Hamantaschen and think about how the flip side of bad is good!

Hamantaschen (thanks to my friends over at gourmetkoshercooking.com for the recipe)

These three cornered cookies are traditionally filled with prune, poppy or fruit fillings (see recipes below) but can be filled with any preserve or filling of your choice. Be creative; try  homemade applesauce with cinnamon for the apple pie lover!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• ½ cup finely ground almonds
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ½ pound unsalted margarine or butter
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons cold water
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• Hamantaschen fillings (recipes follow, or you can purchase ready-made prune, poppyseed, and  chocolate fillings, as well as fruit jam, which is what my grandmother always used!)
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, almonds, baking powder, salt, sugar, and lemon zest.  Blend or cut in the butter until the mixture resembles very fine crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg, water and lemon juice until well blended.  Add to the flour mixture and beat until completely blended and the mixture begin to form a dough.  Do not over mix.
4. Transfer to a floured board and knead the dough into a ball.  Divide the ball into 6 equal portions for easier handling.  Flatten each portion with the palms of your hands and roll it out to ¼ inch thick.  With a scalloped cookie cutter or the top of a water glass, cut into 3 ½ inch rounds.  Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each round.  Fold the edges of the dough toward the center to form a triangle, leaving a bit of the filling visible in the center.  Pinch the edges to seal them.
5. Place the hamantaschen on a lightly greased foil-lined baking sheet (or baking paper) and brush with egg white.  Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and eat.

Hamantaschen Fillings

Apricot-Coconut

• 2 cups apricot preserves
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ½ cup chopped nuts like walnuts, toasted
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Prune Filling

• 1 ¼ cups pitted prunes
• ½ cup raisins
• Sweet wine or water
• ½ cup sugar
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 orange
• ½ cup walnuts, toasted

In a large bowl, soak the prunes and raisins in enough wine to cover for 3 hours or overnight.  Drain well.  Chop or mince the prunes and raisins.  Add the sugar, lemon juice and zests, and walnuts and mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Poppy Seed Filling

• 4 ounces poppy seed
• ½ cup pareve milk or milk
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted margarine or butter
• ¼ cup seedless raisins
• ¼ cup walnuts, toasted
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the poppy seeds, pareve milk, margarine, raisins, walnuts, and honey.  Bring to a boil and stir over medium heat until the pareve milk is absorbed and the mixture thickens.  Cool.  Stir in the vanilla.

Chocolate Filling

• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup pareve milk, pareve cream, milk, or coffee
• 1 cup nuts, toasted

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and blend thoroughly.