Hamantaschen for Purim
It's time to get triangular!
Rich just told me that Purim is coming this week. Crud! I already had a full baking week ahead of me: I have a pie idea that's been burning a hole in my pocket for months and months now, and I'm hoping to finally knock it out for Pi Day on Friday. Plus next Monday is St. Patrick's Day, and I have my eye on an Irish Cream Chocolate Cake I want to bake.
But I have to make hamantaschen for Purim. My daughter and husband are Jewish1. Keeping Wanda connected to her Jewish heritage is super important to me, and I do what I can as a gentile. And I can bake hamantaschen!
Purim is one of the best Jewish holidays. It centers a badass woman (Esther), it's about Jewish pride, and to celebrate you dress up in silly costumes, get loud, and get drunk (well, the grown-ups get drunk, everybody gets to dress up and be loud, though). It's not a major holiday, but it's big fun for all. The story of Esther is worth reading up on, it's a good story.
These little triangular cookies are a traditional part of the holiday. The "haman" part of the name comes from the villain in Esther's story, Haman. I've heard that the cookies are supposed to represent Haman's hat, or Haman's ears, and the name literally translates to "Haman's pockets." Whatever, they are tasty. You roll out dough, cut out circles, add a filling of your choice, fold them up, and bake them.
The best recipe for Hamantaschen cookie dough is from Tori Avey: Buttery Hamantaschen. That's not just my opinion, it's an opinion widely held—if you scratch the surface of Jewish baking opinions online you'll see lots of recommendations for Tori Avey's recipe. It has a bit of orange zest in the dough, it makes them sing.
Tori Avey
I make two flavors of hamantaschen: apricot and chocolate.
For the apricot filling, I just use Bonne Maman apricot preserves thickened on the stovetop with a bit of cornstarch. (1/2 tsp cornstarch to one jar of preserves, cut up any big hunks of apricots, boil for about five minutes.)
For the chocolate filling, I love the brownie-like chocolate filling from Jenn Segal at Once Upon a Chef. I use that filling, but with Tori Avey's cookie dough. The brownie combined with the hit of orange from the cookie—so good.
Jennifer Segal
I'll make the dough on Tuesday, make the filling and bake the cookies on Wednesday, and we'll try to not eat them all before Purim starts Thursday night.
And now I'll leave you with one of the high points of the movie For Your Consideration, a scene from the melodramatic movie-within-the-movie Home for Purim, starring the genius Catherine O'Hara: