Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen are pastry-like, triangle-shaped, cookies that are popular this time of year. Traditionally eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim, hamantaschen are formed by rolling the dough, cutting circles with a round cookie cutter, filling them with any one of a number of delicious fillings (poppy seed, apricot, or raspberry) and folding the circles into triangles. Does it sound difficult? It's really not. Don't let the multi-step process mess with your head. Let's make hamantaschen. I'll walk you through the process every step of the way. I promise.

Hamataschen
This recipe is adapted from Carole Walter's Great Cookies cookbook.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 sticks cold, unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cans Solo filling (I used poppy seed and apricot)

Egg Wash
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons sugar

Lightly beat the egg whites with the sugar until well blended and sugar has dissolved.

Step 1:
Make the Dough
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse two or three times to combine. [If you don't own a food processor, whisk ingredients together in a large bowl.]

Add butter and pulse five times. Process 5 seconds longer to form a sand-like consistency. [Or add butter to the bowl and break up butter pieces with your fingers while incorporating the butter into the flour. Keep pulling flour from the bottom of the bowl to thoroughly mix as if you were making pie dough.]















Place the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla into a small bowl and mix with a fork to combine. Pour mixture into the processor and pulse four or five times, then process until the dough comes together. [or add the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla and gently mix with a spoon until the dough forms] Be careful not to over process the dough. Pour dough onto lightly floured work surface and form two disks, roughly the same size. Flour hands as needed if dough is sticky. Wrap disks individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 3 days.














Step 2:
Roll the Dough

Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough on a flat surface or on a pastry cloth to a 3/16 inch thickness. Use flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut circles of dough and place them on cookie sheets. If you don't have a 3-inch cookie cutter, substitute the top edge of a drinking glass or cut a 3-inch piece of cardboard and use a paring knife to cut circles. You may collect scraps and roll them once more. Try not to over handle the dough which will make your cookies tough.

Step 3:
Fill the Cookies
Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling onto each piece of dough. Then brush the perimeter of each circle with the egg wash. Lift dough to partially cover the filling, creating a triangle shape. The easiest way I found to do this was to use my two thumbs to lift dough from the bottom edge. Then use your index fingers on each hand to gently lift the dough at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions. Pinch corners together to form a triangle and bush dough with egg wash.















Step 4:
Bake (you're almost home)
Bake cookies for 15 to 18 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. If baking two pans at a time, rotate sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through baking. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets for 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.

Step 5:
Pat yourself on the back or get someone to do it for you. You've just made a delicious batch of hamantaschen!

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You may also freeze them.