Hamantaschen

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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Hamantaschen
Photography by Yvonne Duivenvoorden

This recipe makes 50 servings

Nutritional Info
Per cookie: about	-
cal	130130 cal
pro	2 g2g pro
total fat	5 g5g total fat
sat. fat	3 g3g sat. fat
carb	19 g19g carb
fibre	1 g1g fibre
chol	21 mg21mg chol
sodium	42 mg42mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	55 calcium
iron	55 iron
vit A	44 vit A
folate	1010 folate

Hamantaschen (also called Haman's Ears in Israel, or Haman's Hat in North America ) are filled triangular cookies baked especially for Purim, a joyous Jewish festival celebrating the overthrow of the evil Haman. Children don costumes and deliver gifts of food, such as these cookies, to family and friends. The cookies are delicious, so even if you aren't celebrating Purim, make some to share.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter 1 1cup cupunsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar 2 2cups cupsgranulated sugar
2 tsp grated orange rind 2 2tsp tspgrated orange rind
2 eggs 2 2eggeggs
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3-3/4 3-3/4cups cupsall-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder 2 2tsp tspbaking powder
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 1/2tsp tspsalt
Poppy Seed Filling:
1 cup poppy seeds 1 1cup cuppoppy seeds
1 cup milk 1 1cup cupmilk
1/4 cup hot water 1/4 1/4cup cuphot water
1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 1/2cup cupgranulated sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped raisins 1/4 1/4cup cupfinely chopped raisinraisins
2 tbsp liquid honey 2 2tbsp tbspliquid honey
1 tbsp grated orange rind 1 1tbsp tbspgrated orange rind
1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 1/4tsp tspcinnamon
1 pinch salt 1 1pinch pinchsalt
Egg Wash:
1 egg 1 1eggeggs

Preparation

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1. Poppy Seed Filling: In clean coffee grinder, grind poppy seeds. In saucepan, bring milk and water to boil; stir in poppy seeds, sugar, raisins, honey, orange rind, cinnamon and salt. Return to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until dry and stiff, about 18 minutes. Let cool.

2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and orange rind until fluffy; beat in eggs. In separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt ; stir into butter mixture in 2 additions to make smooth dough.

3. Divide dough into thirds; form each into disc. Wrap each and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

4. Between waxed paper, roll dough to generous 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness. Using 3-inch (8 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out rounds, rerolling scraps.

Egg Wash: Beat egg with 1 tbsp (15 mL) water; lightly brush over edges of rounds. Place heaping 1 tsp (5 mL) filling onto centre of each.

5. Fold up 3 sides to make 3 corners; pinch corners to seal and leave pea-size opening in centre. Place, 2 inches (5 cm) apart, on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

6. Brush with egg wash. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to rack; let cool.

Additional information : Tip: You can layer the hamantaschen between waxed paper in an airtight container and store for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Variations
Prune Filling: In food processor, finely chop 2 cups (500 mL) pitted prunes; 1 cup (250 mL) raisins; ? cup (125 mL) walnuts; 2 tbsp (25 mL) granulated sugar; 1 tsp (5 mL) grated lemon rind; 2 tbsp (25 mL) lemon juice; and 1 tbsp (15 mL) water until thick and stiff, about 1 minute.

Apricot Filling: In saucepan, soak 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) finely chopped dried apricots in 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) hot water for 20 minutes. Bring to boil; cover and simmer over low heat until softened and almost no water remains, 30 minutes.

Stir in 2 tbsp (25 mL) liquid honey; 2 tsp (10 mL) grated orange rind; and 4 tsp (20 mL) orange juice; cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Refrigerate filling until cold. In food processor, pulse until coarsely chopped.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: March 2008