Hamantaschen

Tonight is the first night of Purim. That’s the Jewish holiday where kids and adults dress up in costume (like the mask above made by Jason Rodgers) and cheer, boo and hiss while story of Haman, Esther and Mordechai is read aloud.

In case you don’t know the story, it goes like this: The Persian king, Ahasuerus, needed a new queen. He held a contest among all the eligible women in the kingdom and picked Esther, a beautiful young girl who was orphaned early in her life and also happened to be Jewish.  She was raised by her uncle Mordechai who advised her not to reveal her heritage when she went to meet the king. Esther followed her uncle’s advice and soon thereafter became the new queen.

A few years later King Ahasuerus promoted Haman to be his chief advisor. Haman was a wicked man who expected everyone to bow down to him. Mordechai would not bow down because he believed Jews should only bow down to God. So Haman, incensed and humiliated, vowed to kill all the Jews. He drew lots or Purim to pick the day of annihilation and convinced the king to go along with his plan. Mordechai heard of Haman’s evil plot and told Esther, asking her to speak to the king in defense of her people. She agreed and asked that the king and Haman join her for two banquets. At the second banquet she told the king of Haman’s evil plan and revealed that she was Jewish. Outraged by this act of betrayal, King Ahasuerus ordered that Haman be hanged. He was and Mordechai was elevated to a position of great power and influence. Now Purim is observed with two days of storytelling, merrymaking, drinking and feasting.  It’s actually the only Jewish holiday where you’re supposed to get so drunk, you don’t remember whether Haman is the villain or the hero.

While nuts, chocolate and alcohol are often consumed during the Purim festivities, the most common dessert you’ll find are hamantaschen – little cookies filled with a fruity marmalade in the center. They’re similar to those delightful circular cookies you have at tea parties, but these are little triangles. Why triangles, you ask? Because Haman’s hat was supposedly triangular. While the cookies come in a variety of flavors, the most common choices are poppy seed, prune and apricot. Since I’m not a big fan of the poppy seed as I’m a big believer in cookies being sweet as opposed to savory, I opted for the prune and apricot. They’re sweet but not too sweet and surprisingly easy to make.

Hamantaschen

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces dried apricots
• 6 ounces pitted prunes
• 1 cup water, divided
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a small pan, heat the apricots and a half cup of water over medium heat for 15 minutes or until apricots are tender. Drain the fruit, mix with the apricot preserves, mash with a fork and set aside. In another small pan, heat the prunes and a half cup of water over medium heat for 15 minutes or until prunes are tender. Drain the fruit, mix with 1/4 cup of sugar and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs, 3/4 cup of sugar, oil, zest, and lemon juice together in a medium bowl.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Pour in the egg mixture and knead with your hands until dough comes together. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut circles out using a cookie cutter.
5. Place 1 tablespoon of either the apricot or prune filling in the center of each circle. Wet the edges with water and pinch firmly together to create a triangle, leaving the center open to expose the filling. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.