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.

Poppy Seed Thumbprints

I was paging through a cookie cookbook, looking for my next cookie for the blog and these poppy seed thumbprints caught my eye. They're colorful, fairly easy to make and are sure to drive away those winter blues.

I made a quick trip to the store to buy (what else) poppy seeds! The dough came together quickly, as I mixed the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in quick succession. The flour and poppy seeds are added to the dough in two equal parts, and mixed until just combined. In fact, too much mixing will make the dough oily as poppy seeds are high in fat.

The most difficult part of the whole process is to ensure that the thumbprints stay intact during the baking process. You'll need a bit of patience to achieve good thumbprints. After the initial baking, remove the pan from the oven and reshape the cookies that have spread by pressing the edges of the cookie gently with the back of a spoon while they are still hot. Then gently re-press the thumbprints before adding the jam. This process worked well.

One final word of warning about these cookies. Don't eat too many or you'll end up failing a drug test just like in the Seinfeld episode where Elaine tests positive for opium after she eats too many poppy seeds.

Poppy Seed Thumbprint Cookies (adapted from Carole Walter's Great Cookies cookbook)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1/4 cup poppy seeds
2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 t vanilla
Raspberry and/or apricot jam

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Whisk in poppy seeds and set aside.


Flour with poppy seeds
In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix butter on medium-low speed until smooth. Add sugar and mix until just combined. Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix until just blended, being careful not to over mix. Stir in dry ingredients in two additions, mixing until each is just combined. Dough will become oily if mixed too much.

Roll dough into balls about 1 1/4 inches each and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Use a wooden spoon handle, make a deep indentation into each cookie. Roll handle to widen the indentation slightly.


Roll tip of wooden spoon gently to make thumbprints.
Bake for 10 minutes, remove cookies and re-press each indentation. Gently reshape cookie if necessary with the back of a spoon. Fill centers with preserves being careful not to overfill.

Bake again for 4 to 5 minutes longer, or until cookies are golden brown. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Cookies will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container layered between wax paper.

Cookie Press Review:

I wasn't too sure about these cookies at first but they grew on me. My tasters absolutely loved them. I couldn't get any of my tasters to say anything remotely negative about the cookies even after dropping a few hints. The poppy seeds add a surprising crunch to the cookie and a nice flavor as well. The dollop of jam adds a perfect touch both in looks and in taste.

Cookie press rating: 4 (out of five)