Hamantaschen

I was in New York for Purim which is my poor excuse for not writing this sooner. I attended a most unusual Purim Party, a formal masked Bat Mitzvah high atop New York City. The mother of the Bat Mitzvah did an amazing job of producing the event. The Bat Mitzvah girl was equally amazing as she chanted the whole megillah in a tasteful yet elegant pink tulle BCBG gown with the New Yorker sign in red letters above her in the sky. Whenever she mentioned Haman's name we all booed and shook black hamantaschen rattles my friend had made for the occasion. Later that evening, the caterer served the real thing, although his hamantaschen did not compare to Nana's Lena's. I only remember her baking hamantaschen when we were little. After that she bought them at a bakery.

When I returned from my trip, there were a bevy of emails including one from my college suitemate Carol who enjoys using my book as a basis for her own culinary creations. She wrote:

“Nana Lena really knew her hamentaschen crust! WOW! I made some filling from cherry/prune/stuff I mixed up and used Nana Lena's crust with a stick of butter and equal amount of butter flavored shortening "NO TRANS FAT". Joel took one bite and he really said, Oh My GODDDDdddddd. Thank you for a perfect tea time snack." --Carol Breitner--

Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen are small triangular pastries with a sweet filling, a Purim treat. Also known as Haman’s hats, after Haman, the evil prime minister of Persia, who plotted to exterminate all the Jews. The plot was foiled, so when we symbolically eat his hat, it has a “happy ending”-- a sweet filling, often poppy seed, prune, or apricot. Nana Lena made hers with prunes.

Dough
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (*or 1/2 pound butter or margarine)
1 beaten egg
2 Tbsp orange juice

Sift dry ingredients. Work in shortening. Put orange juice into beaten egg. Add to dry ingredients. The dough will be very sticky. Cover. Chill 4 hours.

Roll out dough on well-floured board. Cut into rounds using the plastic top of a coffee tin. Let rounds sit for 15 minutes before forming into cookies.

Prune Filling
1 pound sweet prunes (no pits)
3 slices of orange
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp oil
dash of nutmeg

Cook prunes with 3 thin slices of orange, half a lemon (use both rind and juice), sugar, oil, and nutmeg, over a low heat until jam-like. Or skip all that and buy puréed prune filling.

Forming the Cookies
Spoon a teaspoon of filling into each cookie. Fold up three sides to form a triangle, pinching the corners, like a three-cornered hat. The filling peeks through only the center of the cookie. Bake at 400º for 10-15 minutes.

Add your comments below. I always love to hear how it turns out. --Amy