Yummy, Yummy Hamantashen

בס''ד

I would like to thank my dear readers who answered my call to share their hamantashen recipes for this blog.

Hamantashen, alludes to the hidden nature of the Purim miracle because of their fillings hidden inside the dough.

And a interesting side note. I read that one of the reasons that poppy seed hamantashen are so popular is because Queen Esther, who did not eat anything non kosher in the palace would eat poppy seeds all day long. The poppy seeds kept her healthy and young looking. 

Each of the recipes that were shared are very unique. Hadassa from Elon Moreh sent a recipe that is not a cookie dough, but a bread dough...

Sandra V. from London, UK sent this recipe.

Wine and Walnut Filled Hamantashen

 

Filling

4 oz walnuts

4 oz stoned dates

8oz sultanas/ raisins or currants

1 tablespoon sweet wine

1 tablespoon warm golden syrup

juice and rind of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon apricot jam

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Pastry

1/2 lb self raising flour

1/2 lb plain flour

10 oz margarine

4 tablespoons water

2 egg yolks

2 oz icing sugar

1 egg white

Mix all filling ingredients together. Set aside.

Mix flour and icing sugar.

Rub in fat until mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.

Sprinkle with egg yolk and water and gather into a ball.

Chill for 1/2 hour.

Roll out pastry1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch circles.

Put a spoonful of filling on each circle then draw up into a triangle. Pinch edges firmly together. Brush with beaten egg white.

Bake at 425 degrees F or 220 degrees C for 15 minutes or till rich brown. Makes 56

Shmuel from Hadera sent the next two recipes.

2 eggs

½ cup water

5 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

100 gm. margarine

1 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

Make the dough and allow to rise 1 hour, roll it out and cut in circles or wide strips

Fill with:

date spread

cooked prunes

halva spread

crushed poppy seeds

raisins

or whatever your fancy.

Bake at 190c  for 25 to 30 minutes.

 

Mohn hamantashen

2 cups hot water

8 cups flour    

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

½ cup oil

½ cup sugar

poppy seeds

-Combine flour, yeast and salt.

-Place in a bowl, form cavity, place yeast and 2 tsp. sugar in ¼ cup warm water and allow to ferment.

-Add liquid and combine with flour to form a soft dough, let rise 2 hours.

-Punch down and allow to rise 1 hour.

-Divide into five parts, roll out and spread a little oil on the surface of the dough

-Roll out like jelly-dough, cut circles, fill with processed poppy seeds then fold to a triangular shape, and press down and let rise 1 hour,

-Bake at 375⁰ f (about 190⁰ C)  for 25 – 30 minutes.

Hadassa from Elon Moreh sent two recipes.

Hadassa's Healthy Hamantashen
Instead of using a cookie dough base, use your favorite roll (as in small yeast bread) recipe for the base of the oznei Haman. I recommend using a whole wheat dough with olive oil and za'atar.

For the filling, chop in a food processor whole garlic, green olives and black olives in whichever proportion suits you. Onions may also be used, but I prefer garlic, which also isn't as hard to check for bugs. Add a bit of olive oil if the mixture seems dry. It should be as moist as any filling for oznei Haman.

Form the oznei Haman in the traditional way:

1) Roll dough to a thickness of 0.6 cm-¼ inch

2) Using a glass or large round cookie cutter cut circles of dough about 6.3-7.6 cm-2 ½ - 3 inches in diameter

3) Place filling in the center of a circle of dough. Do not overfill. Leaky oznei Haman are unattractive. Eat your prototypes and give the perfectly shaped ones.

4) Fold the edges of the circle towards the center so that the resulting shape is an equilateral triangle with rounded corners.

Baking time will vary depending on the bread recipe. Check frequently as oznei Haman are relatively thin and therefore bake more quickly than most rolls.

Please note: Be sure to put in your holiday greeting note a mention that the oznei Haman are bread, not cookies.

Sugarless, but sweet, oznei hamantashen
Dough Ingredients:
1 cup oil
1 cup sugarless apple juice concentrate
1 ½ cup sugarless apple juice
1-2 eggs
8 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Spice to taste: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg

Mix the ingredients in the order listed until the dough is smooth.
The amount may be halved. The dough should be chilled for an hour to make it easier to roll out. The amount may be chilled for up to 24 hours, but then leave it out until it's the right consistency to roll out. Shape the usual way.

Filling Ingredients:
Pureed raisins and/or dates
Sugarless jam
Coconut flakes mixed with a bit of apple juice concentrate
Ground nuts and raisins
Ground nuts with a bit of honey – too much makes the filling leak!

"Bake at 180 C until the cookies start to brown at the edges, about 10-15 minutes."

Daniella Y.

I use my mother's tried and tasted for nearly 40yrs recipe that was my grandmothers.... and apparently it's the famous ashkenazi one...

filling-

canned poppy seed with date filling and crushed walnuts and raisins

-apricot and raspberry jam for another filling-

-sprinkle powder sugar when cooled

-in one bowl goes all the liquids,

-in another bowl goes all the dry ingredients, including the grated orange rind... 

-mix all together....

-wrap the dough well, and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge before you go to roll it out.

-take a glass.. and cut circles - and then pick up the remnants of the dough back into the bowl,

**flatten the mixture down a bit, so it gets into the corners of the cookies!!!***

-close the cookies –

-brush a bit of water over them... but some use an entire egg and some only use part of the egg...

-bake at 350 degrees F until their a bit golden... check the bottom of the cookies not the tops! If the bottoms look done, then pull them out and let them cool....

-put in the freezer to cool and then in a air tight container.

-these cookies should be kept in the fridge- as they're a moist cookie.

Batya from Shiloh

2 cups flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
3 T vegetable oil
either lemon rind or 1tablespoon vanilla

First mix dry ingredients.
Then add eggs, oil, flavor.
Mix (I use a spoon and hands).
Roll on floured board to 1/4 " or 1/2cm thick.
Cut into circles; I use a large glass mug.
Spoon somehttp://me-ander.blogspot.com/2006/03/easiest-ever-hamentasch-filling.html

or any other filling, into the center.
Fold into triangles.

Bake on greased pan or pan lined with "baking paper."

Medium, like for a cake, heat. Until "lightly browned." The correct color will depend on your flour and sugar.
Cool on rack or towel, or almost anything that they won't stick to.

And last but not least, is my mother’s a”h famous hamantashen recipe. I remember as a child, my mother making trays and trays of delicious hamantashen. Each one was perfect and that sweet aroma of the hamantashen baking was heaven itself. 

Dough

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

½ cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

juice from ½ an orange

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Mix together and knead.

Filling

1 cup prunes

1 cup raisins

½ cup chopped nuts

juice from ½ an orange or lemon

-combine ingredients

-roll dough out on flat board.

-cut circles using a cup or glass

-fill with filling

-make triangles and brush with beaten egg

Bake at 350F / 180c until golden brown.

 

Enjoy whatever recipe you choose to make. Feel free to comment and please share.

Miriam