Living in the heart of Miami Beach, I sometimes forget that the rest of the world is not aware of jewish holidays and foods the way they are here, where babka and challah are bakery staples. In the coming weeks, many food writers and magazines are focusing on Easter and Passover, anticipating Sunday brunches, Easter egg hunts, and the traditional Seder plate. But there's another important holiday happening even sooner than these major holidays: Purim, the merriest of Jewish holidays. It celebrates the liberation of Persian Jews from the persecution of the evil minister Haman. And there's a treat to celebrate. So for a quick review, hamantaschen are three-cornered cookies typically filled with jams or a poppy seed paste and eaten during this holiday. Their shape is modeled after the three-corner hat purported to be worn by Haman. I have never totally understood why that means we all eat his hat, but whatever. It tastes good, so I do not question it. Below is my Homemade Hamentashen recipe I am sure you will find tot be delicious!
What you will need to make the Hamentashen dough is
-3 cups all-purpose flour -1/4 teaspoon salt -1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) butter, softened -1/2 cup sugar -2 large eggs -1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fillings:
- Strawberry Jam (Store Bought)
- Nutella Filling
- Jiffy Peanut Butter
- Homemade Cake Batter Filling
-1 (18.9 oz) box Funfetti cake mix
-2 cups fat-free plain Greek yogurt
-1 cup lite Cool Whip
Stir together the flour and salt. With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, and vanilla, and mix until well combined. Add the flour, a half a cup at a time, mixing gently.
Take piece by piece from the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin on a floured surface until you get a nice disk.
Once you have our dough rolled out, you take a glass cup. I used a shot glass to make mini ones. (Finally putting the shot glasses to use!) On each round, spoon a 1/2 teaspoon of your desired filling. Lift up 3 sides and pinch the corners together to make a triangular 3-cornered hat shape, leaving the center of the filling exposed. Make sure you have thoroughly pinched the corners. If you're having trouble, you can moisten the surface of the dough lightly with egg mixture.
This is what it should look like after you folded your circle into a triangle. Above is the classic strawberry jam which is the most common.
Above, is my homemade Cake Batter filling I made which came out delicious!
I then lay out all of my filled Hamentashens on a baking sheet and put then in my oven which is preheated to 350.
After about 15 minutes, I have Strawberry, Peanut Butter, Chococlate and Cake Batter Hamentashens ready to eat!
here is a cute way to display them if you are serving it during a party!
Happy Holidays to everyone!
