halloween in march.

It's Purim!

Purim is one of my favorite holidays on the Jewish calendar because it is like my favorite non-Jewish holiday: Halloween. However, unlike Halloween, when Purim rolls around the weather is usually beginning to springify.

Ok, so it's not exactly like Halloween--there's no trick-or-treating or haunted houses or carved pumpkins. But! There is serious partying and playing, megillah reading and costume wearing...though the costumes tend to be variations on the King Ahasuerus-Queen Esther-BadMan Haman themes. Nonetheless, despite the lack of costume diversity, it is a time to celebrate and shake groggers and boo when Haman's name is mentioned [boooooo].

It also means hamantasch in great quantities--Purim's answer to Halloween candy. The word hamentaschen actually mean's "Haman's pocket", but they are made to represent Haman's famous tricornered hat.

Hamentaschen are delightful cookies that are traditionally filled with mohn--a poppyseed spread that has a limited number of dedicated followers. Generally, people tend to prefer a filling of jam or dried fruits.

It's astounding to me that this time last year I was sitting in a kitchen in Ankara, folding dough into hamantaschen at 11pm with MDL. It was a great time, but the results were a bit off-putting. The flavor was great, but the expansion of those things was remarkable. At the time, I blamed the "freak taschen growth" on "high" altitude...

I just can't believe it's been a year already. I still wake up sometimes expecting to open my eyes and see Anitkabir outside my window while hearing Screaming Boy screaming his head off. Sigh...I miss Turkey so much.


Anyhow, today's menu:


Raspberry Hamantaschen




So, in honor of the holiday that starts tonight, the PB and I made some hamantaschen last night. It was the PB's first time making them and I was thoroughly impressed. I think his ended up looking nicer than mine, but his turnover rate was half of mine--so ha! Ok, ok, his are better. This one was his definition of a "perfect" hamantasch.




I actually used the same dough recipe as last year, I wanted to experiment and see if it was a problem with the recipe or a problem with the altitude [I stand by my beliefs!].

The results?

They were completely different--they didn't expand at all! They came out lookin' and tastin' like hamantaschen should.

These cookies are fun to make, especially when you have friends around. They can be time consuming, so having an assembly line system makes for a good time. The dough is incredibly forgiving and the results are worth the effort!

Try different jams, dip half in chocolate, eat 'em while they're hot or while they're cold, dunk them in milk...oh-so many ways to make and eat these delicious cookies!

Happy Purim!





Raspberry Hamantaschen


[note: This is a slightly altered version of a recipe that my mom gave me. I don't know where she got it from--she owns a lot of Jewish cookbooks. When I find out, I'll let you know. Don't forget to try out different fillings!]



1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
1 egg
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
raspberry jam


directions:


1. in a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add egg and mix until incorporated.
2. in another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. add the dry ingredients and the milk, alternating between the two and mixing to incorporate before making the next addition.
4. mix in vanilla.
5. the dough will be quite sticky, but don't worry about that. place dough on a floured surface and, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/16-inch thickness.






6. cut dough into 2-inch rounds.









7. remove the excess dough and set aside. you can roll this out again, repeating the processes below.








8. place a dollop of jam in the center of the circle. don't use too much--it will make explode out the sides. it always seems like you aren't using enough, but you are usually using too much.








9. draw up the sides to create a three pointed shape.








10. if filling is oozing over the top, remove the excess. and there you've got a hamantasch!




11. after making a batch, carefully transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. if they tear or start to fall apart, take some of the extra dough and smooth it over the areas where holes have formed.







12. bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes, until edges have browned and tops are lightly tanned.

eating hamantaschen: a passive-aggressive way to fight the [Ha]man!







Comments, questions, and recipe alterations are always more than welcome.