Hamantaschen to honor an old friend!

Who knows—perhaps it was for a time like this that you became queen?”  Esther 4:14

When Smitty was an intern at IBM, he was befriended by a nice guy named Tom who often invited him home to dinner with his wife Judy.  Tom and Judy were to become dear friends in the early years of our marriage. This week's blog post is in honor of my friend Judy.  


This week the Alpha Bakers made Hamantaschen, pastry cookies with a poppy seed filling that are served on the Jewish holiday of Purim.  Purim celebrates the triumph of the Jewish people over a plot by an evil oppressor named Haman.  This story is familiar to both Jewish and Christian believers and is detailed in the Book of Esther.  

Once again, baking allows me to connect with dear ones near and far. This week, I am reminded of Judy, who taught me that "Hamantaschen" means "Haman's hat," and that the three-sided pastries represent his three-sided hat.   


Judy shared some of the treasures of Judaism with this clueless Catholic girl.  The joy she takes in her faith and heritage is inspiring, and it never diminishes her deep respect for other people's faith traditions.   I am so lucky to have had her as an older "sister" when I was a young bride.  

I hope I am excused for taking so few photos!  I have been sick and I am lucky to have gotten the baking done at all. 


I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where there is a large and vibrant Jewish community.  That means there is no shortage of great Jewish FOOD!  Bagel shops, delicatessens, restaurants and bakeries are easy to find in south Florida.   


Thus, I have sampled Hamantaschen many times, but the recipe from The Baking Bible is far superior to anything I have tasted before.  As Rose puts it, the cookie dough is always "sturdy" in bakery Hamantaschen.  Even if the filling is good, the cookie dough always reminded me of stale Pop Tarts.  The Hamantaschen were always the size of the palm of your hand, too--way too much of a not-great thing. 

Like all of Rose's recipes, the sugar is perfectly balanced and never overpowering.  The dough recipe calls for turbinado or "raw" granulated sugar.  On the left is the coarse sugar as it comes from the store.  On the right, I have ground it in the food processor until it is fine.  

Butter, turbinado sugar, flour, egg yolk, cream and vanilla are  combined with a pinch of salt in the food processor to quickly make a tender and delicious cookie dough.  After chilling, the dough is rolled and cut into three-inch circles.  

I did opt to use the canned poppy seed filling, but per Rose's instructions, I added lemon zest and apricot preserves.  The resulting filling resembles caviar!  

The borders of the cookies are brushed with beaten egg wash, and then I used a small scoop to put little balls of fillings in the center of the cookies.  The edges are folded up to form the triangle.
  

The finished cookies are tender and delicious, and filled with glossy poppy seeds that are given just the right edge with lemon zest and apricot preserves.  

One more quick story about Judy.  Smitty told me that Judy made this great chocolate cream pie, and suggested that I call her for the recipe.  When I did, Judy cracked up and said, "The recipe is...one frozen pie crust, one box of Jello chocolate pudding mix and one tub of Cool Whip."   After all the home-cooked meals she served him, that shortcut "recipe" is the one Smitty requested!  


I hope that Judy and her beautiful family had a happy Purim yesterday, and thanks, everyone for stopping by my Artful Oven!