It’s Purim time everyone!!! What is Purim you ask? Well, Purim is a Jewish holiday, that celebrates the evil Haman’s plan to kill all the Jews being thwarted by Mordecai and his daughter Esther. It has become a day of feasting, rejoicing and three corner hats. That is really just a brief summary of the holiday if you really want to learn more about Purim CLICK HERE.
During all of my Purim celebrations growing up, there were a few strong traditions. Having a Purim Carnival, three-corner hats, noise makers, dressing up in costumes (nothing like seeing your Rabbi dressed like a nun!), and making Hamantashen.
Hamantashen is a pocket filled cookie, recognizable for its three-cornered shape (it looks like the three-cornered hat). The shape is achieved by folding the sides of a circular piece of dough with a filling in the center.
Hamantashen can be made with tons of fillings. Some of my favorite are apple, strawberry and apricot. Often friends get together to have Hamantashen making parties. The host can make the dough and everyone else brings their favorite fillings. Then everyone can get together and bake them together!
Today I am going to share a couple of new kinds of Hamantashen I found! You will also note there is at least 3 different ways to spell Hamantashen… Which is the correct way… THERE ISN’T ONE… it’s the epic Chanukah vs. Hanukkah battle all over again!
Ingredients & Directions for Bleeding Hamantaschen: This recipe comes from www.kosherinthekitch.com
These chocolate and raspberry filled pastries were decadent but due to the raspberry juices leaking out during the baking process, they resembled bleeding hearts.
1 sheet of puff pastry
1 cup of raspberries
Chocolate spread
1 cup of chocolate chips
Cut out circles of puff pastry using a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass cup. Then place 1 tsp. of chocolate sauce in the center of each circle. Place 1 or 2 raspberries on top of chocolate then pinch the side of the dough together forming a triangle. Bake in oven on 375′ for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and slightly crispy. Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle over hamentashen. These taste great once cooled off and given the chance to slightly harden, otherwise it’s a gooey mess!
Ingredients & Directions for Strawberry Cheescake Hamantaschen: This recipe also comes from www.kosherinthekitch.com
Servings: about 20 hamantashen
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
2 t baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup Strawberry Jam
1 cup cheesecake filling
CheeseCake Filling:
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1/3 cup of sugar (you could use 1/2 cup if you like it very sweet)
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
Combine ingredients until smooth. Makes about 1 cup.
Directions:
Cream together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour and baking powder. Mix together. The dough might be crumbly, use your hands to smooth it out and combine it. Roll out dough on floured surface (about 1/4 to 1/8 thick. Not too thick since then the circles are hard to shape and will open up. Not too thin since then it will rip when shaping or filling) and cut out circles using a donut cutter or the rim of a large glass cup or mason jar. Fill center of circle with strawberry jam and cheesecake filling (about 1/2 tsp each) and bake on 350′ for 12 to 15 minutes depending on how soft or crispy you want them. I like them super soft so took them out around 10 minutes.
* Notes on shaping hamantashen: Place filling in center than slowly fold over one side. Then the next and finally bring the bottom on top. Gently pinch the corners.
Ingredients & Directions for Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Hamantaschen: This recipe is from Pragmaticattic
In a bowl, cream together the margarine, peanut butter, and sugar(s):
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
Add in the following ingredients to the creamed mixture:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon coffee powder [dissolve in water]
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add the following dry ingredients to the batter:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Now, make the PB filling by combining the following in a separate bowl:
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter [I think I used closer to 3/4 cup peanut butter; use enough to make a moist dough]
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you shape the cookies. Form chocolate dough into 30-32 balls (1 1/4″ diameter). Shape the peanut butter mixture in the same number of balls (3/4″ diameter). Flatten the chocolate balls into 1/8″ thick rounds, trimming edges if necessary with a cookie cutter to make neat rounds. Put a peanut butter ball into the center of each round and fold up three sides and pinch together the edges to make a triangle shape.
Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake cookies in preheated oven for 8 minutes or until they’re just set. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. Makes 32 cookies.
Ingredients & Directions for PB&J Hamantaschen: Instead of just peanut butter this recipe, from SoCalSustanance adds some jelly to the mix.
Dough
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup orange juice
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Extra flour for dusting and rolling
Filling
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 tsp powdered sugar
Jelly or fruit preserves (I used strawberry, blackberry and sour cherry)
Soften peanut butter for 15 seconds in microwave, and mix in powdered sugar. Spoon small (less than 1 tsp) rounded scoops of peanut butter onto a wax paper lined plate using a small spoon or melon baller. Make 20 small scoops, and place plate into freezer.
Combine softened cream cheese and sugar in a stand or electric mixer. Add oil, eggs, baking powder, salt, orange juice and vanilla until well mixed. Slowly add flour until completely incorporated into the dough.
Generously flour a rolling pin and flat work surface. Place 1/2 dough on work surface, and place remaining dough in the refrigerator. Roll out dough until its 1/4 inch thick. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or a pint glass. Repeat with remaining chilling dough.
Ingredients & Directions for Girl Scout Samoa Hamantashen: It is girl scout cookie season after all!!! This recipe is from Kitchen Tested.
Makes 30-40 cookies
4 sticks (2 cups) margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 (8 oz) container whipping cream, not-whipped
6 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup caramel (homemade or store-bought melted caramels)
1 1/2 cups shredded toasted coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 egg white
For all of the steps on making this delicious treat check out her website HERE. This one is kinda intricate…
Ingredients & Directions for Brownie Filled Hamantaschen: I found this delicious recipe on Allrecipies.com
Dough
3 Eggs
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple juice
1 table spoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
5 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
1 box brownie mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Egg Was
1 egg
1 table spoon of water
Directions
Beat the eggs and sugar until creamy. Stir in the vegetable oil, apple juice, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix the baking powder into the flour and add it to the egg mixture, stirring to form a dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
Prepare the filling: combine the brownie mix, eggs, water, and vegetable oil and mix well. (You can also follow the package directions and use the low-fat version, if desired). Refrigerate the brownie batter for 3 hours or overnight.
Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Mix the egg and tablespoon of water to make an egg wash.
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Roll out half the dough on a long piece of parchment paper into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Use a large round cookie cutter to cut circles in the dough. Remove the scraps of dough from around the circles.
Using two spoons, place 1 tablespoon of chilled brownie batter in the center of each cookie dough circle. Brush the edges of the cookie circles with egg wash.
Fold the cookie into a triangular shape, bringing the edges up so they partially overlap the brownie filling. Pinch the corners to seal the dough. Brush the hamentashen with egg wash. Repeat with the remaining circles and the other half of the dough.
Transfer the parchment paper holding the cookies onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the bottoms of the cookies are light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
That’s all the recipes for today! Time to go make some!
Share your favorite Hamantashen recipe with us in the comments section!