Hamentaschen

I can't guarantee that Hamentaschen is a real word, or even a real cookie. What I am sure of, is how delicious these cookies are. Hamentaschen is what my Dad called them, when he would whip these little morsels out, so forevermore Hamentaschen is what they will be to me.

What they will be to you, is a tender cookie, rolled flat, filled with fruit, and popped in your mouth one after another. 

Whatever you want to call them, you'll love them. This? I can guarantee.

My dad said they were traditionally filled with prunes or poppy seeds, but he always filled them with an apricot mixture. When I first started making these as a Thanksgiving complement, I also created a Cran-raspberry flavor. I loved how the cookies looked with vibrant orange and red fruit poking out of the middle; playing off both the colors and the flavors of the Holiday. My favorite is the apricot... try them both and see what you think. Either way, you'll find them delicious.

For the dough...

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla paste

Zest of one orange 

Juice of one orange

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour (up to 1 additional cup may be necessary)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In an electric mixer, cream eggs and sugar. Add oil, vanilla, juice and zest. Mix until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 3/4 cups of flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add to wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, blending on low until incorporated. Add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough reaches the constancy of sugar cookie dough-- moist, but not sticky.

Roll dough out on a generously floured surface.  Approximately 3/16" thick. Using a 4" diameter cookie cutter, or wide-mouth glass, cut dough into rounds and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each round. Fold three edges of the cookie together, leaving only a portion of the center uncovered, and pinch the ends together.

When finished you will have created about two dozen triangular shaped cookies, highlighting the filling in the middle.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until just barely golden brown.

For the filling...

Ingredients:

Apricot

1 package of dried apricots

Water

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

Cran-Rasp

1 package of dried cranberries

2 TBSP Raspberry jam

Water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions:

Place dried fruit in a sauce pan. Add just enough water to cover the top of the fruit. Simmer slowly over low heat, until the fruit has softened enough to mush together. Stir frequently while waiting,mad you don't want toe fruit to burn. If the fruit hasn't softened, yet all the water has been absorbed, add more water in 1/4 cup increments. Once the fruit has reached the consistency of a thick jam, whisk in sugar, extract, and jam (if called for).