We're usually not very good at posting holiday recipes very far in advance of the holidays, but this time we're on the ball. Purim is at the end of next week, but we've already made our first batch of hamantaschen. The recipe is from the only place to find a decent hamantaschen recipe these days: my mom's old synagogue cookbook.
So goes the dough, so goes the hamantaschen -- which means that creating a dough with perfect flavor and consistency is crucial. This recipe is great because it calls for just enough sugar, and results in a cookie that holds together well (far too many hamantaschen are overly crumby) but still gives a good crunch. As for fillings, anything goes! We used two pre-made fillings -- raspberry jam and poppy seed filling, but also did our own apple-pie filling by cooking apples together with sugar, cinnamon, raisins, butter and a bit of cornstarch. With this dough, however, I imagine that almost anything will taste great.
Ingredients:
4 cups sifted flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs beaten (+1 additional egg, beaten)
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
fillings
Instructions:
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add 4 eggs, oil and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. Roll portions of dough onto floured board, 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 4-inch rounds (glass size). Place about a tsp of filling in center. Run a wet finger around the circumference of the dough and pinch edges together to form a triangle. Place on greased cookie sheet. Brush with 1 beaten egg mixed with a small amount of water. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.
