Updated March 16, 2011.
Purim is a sweet holiday of fun celebrations.
Looking for some seasonal foods to add to the festivities? The most popular is hamantaschen, a triangular cookie with a filling in the center. A few of our readers shared their recipes with us.
Plus, Rachel and Shannon shared theirs and we have a video recipe for two ingredient "slacker hamantaschen" too.
Cheryl Cohen's simple recipe for hamantaschen:
- In a bowl, sift together 4 cups of flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Add 4 eggs, 1 cup of warmed honey, 1/2 cup of Crisco shortening.
- Stir until it's well-mixed.
- Roll out the dough and make 3- or 4-inch rounds.
- Put filling in the middle, fold into a triangle, and bake.
And for those of us who might need a few extra instructions when we bake:
Paula Glazer Vornbrock's recipe
makes 24 to 32 hamantaschen:
¾ cup milk
2 eggs
¼ cup margarine
3 ½ cups flour
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
Jam or solo brand canned filling (poppy seed, raspberry, apricot)
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add 1 teaspoon or more of sugar to activate the yeast.
- Warm the milk, margarine, sugar, and salt until the margarine melts. Cool to lukewarm.
- Mix the dissolved yeast with the milk mixture and eggs.
- Add 2 cups of flour and mix.
- Work in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
- Place in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise.
- Knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until the dough is soft and elastic.
- Divide the dough into 24 to 32 portions.
- Shape into a ball. It does not have to be very round.
- Roll each ball into a circle, which also does not have to be very round.
- Put about a tablespoonful of filling in the center of each circle. The filling will expand in the oven.
- Have a small cup of water. Dip your finger in the water, then run your finger around the edge of the dough to seal the sides.
- Shape into a triangle by bringing up the sides of the dough and pinch the sides together.
- Place on greased cookie sheets or on parchment, cover with a towel, and let rise for about half an hour.
- Brush the tops with a mixture of beaten egg and 2 tablespoons of water.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 to 22 minutes.
- Cool on racks.
Helen's Hamanstaschen
Recipe shared by Bonnie Hausman, in memory of Helen Friedman z"l. Bonnie notes that she sometimes innovates with the filling, adding dried cherries or fig jam - whatever appeals to her or that she has in the house when she's baking!
Filling:
Let apricots, pitted prunes and raisins soften several hours or even overnight in water. Water will be absorbed. Add any favorite jam to taste. Grind together in blender. Put in container and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Dough:
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 small teaspoon baking powder
- 4 scant cups flour
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream
- lemon/almond flavor
Soften butter. Then, mix as for a cake, adding sugar, then eggs, and adding remaining dry ingredients alternatively with sour cream. You can keep mixture refrigerated until the next day.
When ready to assemble and bake, roll out batter, cut with circle form, fill, fold and spread with a beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Do you have other favorite recipes? Let us know!
