Hamentaschen for Every Taste: 4 Recipes

Decisions that have to be made on Purim are among the most pleasant of all. The season starts with the bigger ones, like which costume we should wear this year and which events to attend, and then move on to the choice of hamentaschen we’ll bake. The right recipe will make the Purim goodie basket more personal, spreading an aroma of home baking, and make your holiday that much happier.

• Why do Jews dress up for Purim?
• For a wilder Purim try these drunken hamantaschen

Hamentaschen with poppyseed filling

Courtesy of pastry chef Oren Becker

For the dough:

150 grams softened butter

2/3 cup (90 grams) powdered

sugar

2 tbsp. (30 grams) ground

almonds

½ tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. grated lemon peel

1 beaten egg

1-2/3 cups (255 grams) flour

pinch of salt

For poppyseed filling:

½ cup (120 ml) milk

¾ cup (150 grams) sugar

grated peel and juice of

½ lemon

1 tbsp. honey

20 grams butter

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

1-1/2 cups (120 grams)

fresh ground poppyseeds

50 grams coarsely chopped

walnuts

Prepare the dough:

Using a mixer with a dough hook, mix the butter with the powdered sugar and the ground almonds. Add vanilla extract, grated lemon peel and egg. Sift flour, adding to it a dash of salt, and then add to the mixer. Mix at low speed until a uniform dough is formed. Avoid over-kneading. Remove the dough from the mixer, roll into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least three hours (at this point, you may choose to freeze the dough for future use).

Prepare the filling:

In a small saucepan, bring to a boil the milk, sugar, lemon juice, grated lemon peel, honey, butter, vanilla extract and cinnamon. When the liquid boils, add the poppyseeds and simmer on a low flame until the seeds absorb the liquid. Remove from heat, add the walnuts and mix thoroughly. Cool thoroughly (at this point, the filling may be frozen for future use). On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 4 mm. Form circles by using a cookie cutter or a glass 7 cm. in diameter. Place a teaspoon of the poppyseed filling in the center of each circle. Fold the dough into a triangle shape, with the filling peeking out from the center. Pinch the edges of the dough so that they will not open during baking. Bake in a preheated 160-degree oven for about 15 minutes, until the hamentaschen are golden brown. Cool and keep in a sealed container.

Hamentaschen with vanilla cream and chocolate krispies

Courtesy of Lehamim Bakery (makes 40)

For the dough:

2 cups flour

¼ cup finely ground and

sifted almonds

275 grams butter

2 eggs

½ cup powdered sugar

¼ cup sugar

pinch of salt

3 grams baking powder

For the filling:

3 cups milk

½ vanilla bean

½ cup sugar

5 egg yolks

4 tbsp. corn starch

150 grams bittersweet

chocolate chips or

chopped chocolate

50 grams white chocolate

chips

In a bowl, beat the yolks, sugar and corn starch to a uniform texture. There is no need to whip. In a saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla bean to a boil. Pour 1/3 of the milk into the yolk mixture while stirring. Return the yolk mixture and milk to the pan on a low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture bubbles and a thick pudding consistency is reached. Remove from heat and transfer immediately into a container, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill.

Prepare the dough:

Process the butter in a mixer, adding to it all the dry ingredients, and then the eggs. When the mixture is uniform, form a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. Spread flour on the work surface and roll out the dough to a thickness of about 4 mm. Cut circles 6 cm. in diameter with a cookie cutter or glass.

Fill and bake:

Once the filling has been chilled, mix it with chocolate rice krispies and place in a pastry bag. Squeeze filling from the pastry bag into the center of every dough circle. Close into the shape of hamentaschen as in the recipe above. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, and brush with beaten egg. Place in a preheated 180-degree oven. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

Chocolate-filled hamentaschen

Courtesy of Tati café (makes 20)

For the dough:

70 grams powdered sugar

120 grams cold butter

cut into cubes

190 grams white flour

40 ml. sweet cream

½ gram baking powder

¼ tbsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

For the filling:

40 grams chocolate spread

20 grams date spread

1 tbsp. sifted dark cocoa

powder

¼ tsp. brandy

10 grams chocolate chips

Prepare the dough:

In a food processor, blend the butter, flour and powdered sugar into fine crumbs. Add the remaining ingredients and knead until a uniform dough is formed. Take care not to knead too much. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for four hours in the refrigerator.

Prepare the filling:

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients except the chocolate chips. Add the chocolate chips only after the filling is placed at the center of each cookie.

Hamentaschen filled with Lotus spread

For the dough:

200 grams softened butter,

cut into cubes

100 grams (1 cup less 2 tbsp.)

powdered sugar

300 grams (2 cups plus

2 tbsp.) flour

15 grams (1 tsp.) Lotus spread

1 egg yolk

For the filling:

200 grams (1/2 jar) Lotus spread

5 finely-ground Lotus biscuits

For decoration:

Powdered sugar

Prepare the dough:

Place butter, powdered sugar, flour and Lotus spread in a mixer bowl with a dough hook and blend into a crumb mixture. Add yolk and continue to process until dough forms. Form a ball from the dough and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one hour. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of approximately ½ cm. Make about 25 circles 8-cm. in diameter using a cookie cutter, ring or glass with thin sides.

Assemble the hamentaschen:

Place the Lotus spread in a pastry bag. If it is too firm, warm it for a few seconds in a microwave (but be careful that it not become too liquidy). Squeeze a heaping teaspoon of Lotus spread into the center of each dough circle and sprinkle a few biscuit crumbs on top. Form into a triangle shape, being careful to pinch the edges thoroughly so that the filling will not leak out during baking. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, and leave in the freezer for about half an hour. Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Bake for about 15 minutes until light golden brown, and cool to room temperature. Keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to four days. Before serving, sprinkle with a little powdered sugar.