Unconventional Purim Treats

[posted by Joan]

Purim (which came this year on March 20) is a little like a Jewish Halloween. In Israel, this is the time of year when Jews and Arabs alike dress up in costumes. The holiday celebrates the heroine Queen Esther, whose bravery and intelligence expose and lead to the demise of the evil Haman, who is plotting to have all the Jews destroyed in the kingdom of Persia. The traditions of this holiday include a lively reading of the story of Esther, from the megillah, with noisemakers used each time Haman’s name is mentioned. Of course, there is traditional food, which includes hamanstaschen, filled pastries in the form of Haman’s three-cornered hat.


As a young girl I liked to dress up as the lovely Queen Esther when it was Purim. Our synagogue always had a Purim Carnival where we came in costumes and played games and won prizes. As I grew older I tried to construct more elaborate and unusual costumes, such as going as a torah scroll. When my daughter Rebecca was young, she decided the former Queen Vashti, who preceded Esther and was either banished by or left the King after he asked her to parade in front of his soldiers, was much more interesting. As long as I can remember, Rebecca has always dressed up as a glamorous and feminist Queen Vashti.

I remember making Hamanstaschen as a girl, often using a sugar cookie dough for the pastry, and cutting the dough into circles with a glass. We would fill the circles with different types of fruit jams, then seal the corners, forming a triangle. In my adult years I experimented with different types of dough and different fillings. The traditional doughs often use oil and orange juice. I have always tried to find a richer and more tender dough. I have also tried to find fillings more exotic than jars of fruit preserves. After marrying Michael, I began to make a chocolate filling, to satisfy his love of chocolate. I also tried different combinations of nuts and jam or nuts and chocolate, and once when my kids were young, tried a peanut butter and chocolate chip filling.

My friend Lena gave me a recipe for hamantaschen dough that is better than anything I have ever tried before or since that time (I still try out different doughs, most recently experimenting with a cream cheese pastry). To make her dough I soften 2 sticks of butter, beat in 2 cups of sugar, then 2 eggs and 2 additional egg yolks. I mix in 1 cup of sour cream, 1 tsp vanilla, and 3 1/2 cups flour. The dough is soft, and needs to be chilled for at least one hour.

The filling I make most often, is a chocolate one. I melt one 12 oz bag of chocolate chips with 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk. I mix these well, and stir in 1 tsp vanilla.

I roll out the soft tender dough on a floured board, adding more flour as needed, and cut round circles, using my widest drinking glass. I place a tbsp or so of filling, turn up the edges, pinch them to make a triangle, and carefully place them on greased cookie sheets. I sometimes sprinkle the chocolate filling with chopped nuts. I bake the hamantaschen at 350 just until they begin to turn golden, being careful not to overbake them. Along with the chocolate filling, I also use some fruit jams for filling, and have tired various recipes for poppyseed fillings.

One year, trying to once again be original, I made a new filling. I had tasted it in a lusicious caramel nut tart. I made this filling, let it cool, and used it for one of the fillings in the Hamantaschen. After baking the cookies, I drizzled the nut-filled hamantaschen with some melted white chocolate, and dusted the other pastries with powdered sugar.

Here’s the nut filling:  


1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds

Combine sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat. Boil without stirring until caramel is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 9 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Gradually whisk in cream (mixture will bubble). Stir until caramel is smooth. Add butter, honey and vanilla. Stir until well blended. Mix in all nuts. Let cool.

I have also made apricot filling. I cut up a package of dried apricots and cooked them slowly with some water and sugar. I added some lemon juice and lemon rind, and then had a brainstorm, and chopped up some crystallized ginger to add. The result is a wonderful moist and tangy apricot/lemon/ginger filling. Not at all traditional, but delicious nonetheless!

This year I am creating an orange/ginger/lemon filling. I simmered two thinly sliced Clementines, ½ sliced lemon, ¼  cup sliced crystallized ginger, 1 inch piece of fresh, peeled ginger, and ½ cup raw sugar. I added a little water, and let this mixture simmer along with 2 cinnamon sticks.

Each time I make hamantaschen, I peek into the oven to see whether or not the triangle shapes are holding firm, or if the cookies have spread and flattened and filling is running out on the baking pan. There are always several irregular or deformed looking pastries that are put on a plate for people to nosh on, while I save the more perfect looking hamantaschen to share with friends. I must admit that most people who taste my unconventional hamantaschen have raved about how tender and delicious they are. They seem to taste even better after they age for a day or two. I am glad that I have this holiday once a year where I find time in my busy schedule to explore new Hamantaschen recipes, which I then bake and share with my family and friends. No matter if I’m a few days later than the actual holiday!

Comments

[Suzy Harris]

Joan, next year I'll try the apricot-lemon-ginger combo - that sounds so yummy! I tried the cream cheese dough from the NY Times this year but wasn't impressed.

[Joan garfield]

Suzy, I have never had luck with cream cheese dough. I tired a few new doughs this year, one from NYT that had confectioner's sugar, and it was awful! but their poppy seed filling was good!