I love hamentaschen. Every bite has a taste of sweet dough mixed with jelly, poppy seed or chocolate. I try lots of different flavor combinations like adding nuts, coconut, or even chocolate chips to any of the fillings below. Sometimes I like the classic version and sometimes more creative types. This dough is my favorite one and all of the fillings are terrific to have in your repertoire.

Hamantashen


3 cups flour

½ cup finely ground almonds

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

½ pound unsalted margarine or butter

1 egg

2 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, almonds, baking powder, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. Blend or cut in the butter until the mixture resembles very fine crumbs.

In a small bow, beat the egg, water and lemon juice until well blended. Add to the flour mixture and beat until completely blended and the mixture begin to form a dough. Do not over mix.

Transfer to a floured board and knead the dough into a ball. Divide the ball into 6 equal portions for easier handling. Flatten each portion with the palms of your hands and roll it out to ¼ inch thick. With a scalloped cookie cutter or the top of a water glass, cut into 3 ½ inch rounds. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Fold the edges of the dough toward the center to form a triangle, leaving a bit of the filling visible in the center. Pinch the edges to seal them.

Place the hamantashen on a lightly greased foil-lined baking sheet and brush with egg white. Bake fro 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and eat.

Hamantashen Fillings

Apricot-Coconut: 


2 cups apricot preserves

½ cup shredded coconut

½ cup chopped nuts like walnuts, toasted

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Prune:

1 ¼ cups pitted prunes

½ cup raisins

Sweet wine or water

½ cup sugar

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 orange

½ cup walnuts, toasted

In a large bowl, soak the prunes and raisins in enough wine to cover for 3 hours or overnight. Drain well. Chop or mince the prunes and raisins. Add the sugar, lemon juice and zests, and walnuts and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Poppy Seed: 


4 ounces poppy seed

½ cup nondairy creamer

1 tablespoon unsalted margarine or butter

¼ cup seedless raisins

¼ cup walnuts, toasted

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the poppy seeds, creamer, margarine, raisins, walnuts, and honey. Bring to a boil and stir over medium heat until the creamer is absorbed and the mixture thickens. Cool. Stir in the vanilla.

Chocolate

½ cup cocoa

½ cup sugar

¼ cup nondairy creamer

1 cup toasted nuts, finely chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and blend thoroughly.

By Emuna Braverman and Elizabeth Kurtz, of www.gourmetkoshercooking.com

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