Hamentashen

 
The end of this week marks the Jewish holiday of Purim, which celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by the evil Haman.  It is a fun and joyous celebration, marked with parades, costumes and the baking of hamentashen, a stuffed cookie filled with delicious fillings, most often poppy seeds or dates and apricots.

Every year for Purim, Paul's Mother spends a day lovingly baking hamentashen, so today Sydney and I decided to spend the afternoon baking with her.  Sydney was so cute, sitting up at the table watching as Bubbie filled the hamentashen with filling and carefully folded them into their signature triangle shape.  Syd loved helping lift them off the cookie sheets once they were cooled and putting them onto baking racks.

I thought that it would be fun to try a little twist on the traditional fillings this year, so I found a recipe for Cherry Hamentashen online and decided to give it a try.  They turned out so well, like a cherry turnover almost, and were so yummy, tart and sweet all in the same moment! 

Bubbie's caretaker, Emma, graciously whipped up a batch of the dough for me today and we made a few dozen cherry filled treats to bring home and have been enjoying them ever since!

Here's the recipe from food.com if you want to give them a try, they are super easy and a real treat!  Happy Purim!

Cherry Hamentashen

• ¾ cup margarine , softened (not tub margarine)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (I often just use a squirt of lemon juice)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 drop water
• 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
• sugar , for sprinkling
• 2 ¼ cups flour

1. Cream margarine in mixer bowl.
2. Add sugar and beat till fluffy.
3. Beat in egg, lemon peel, and vanilla.
4. Add in flour and salt.
5. Beat in water a few drops at a time until dough starts to come away from sides of bowl.
6. Place dough in a 2-quart size bag and form into a flat disk.
7. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2-3 hours and maximum of 2-3 days.
8. Roll out dough flat about an 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
9. Using a round cookie cutter or the top of a cup, cut out circles.
10. Spoon 2 cherries and a little bit of filling onto the dough circles.
11. To fold into the shape of a hamentashen (a triangle) use both thumbs and the two first fingers on each hand.
12. Slide two fingers from left hand under left side and two fingers from right hand under right side and two thumbs under the bottom of circle.
13. Bring all fingers (with dough) together to form a triangle and try to pinch close.
14. Repeat this process with remaining circles and dough.
15. Place on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.
16. Sprinkle a small amount of sugar on top of each one.
17. Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes or just starting to turn pale golden.