Happy Purim Hamantaschen
Yum!
Hamantaschen are a traditional cookie to celebrate Purim but these pocket cookies are now sold year-round. Also traditional are prune or poppy fillings, but these days anything goes.
Make a filling; prunes are traditional but I had lots of apples so this is a thick prune applesauce.
Use fruit juice for the liquid. Let it chill before making the pockets.
For the dough, use any of your sugar cookie recipes, preferably one with less sugar since the filling is so sweet. (Although I do know people who have great success using a purchased refrigerated sugar cookie dough for a quick fix.)
Roll out the dough
and drop a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center.
Form the pocket shapes by pinching the dough together in three places equi-distant (is that a word?) around the perimeter. Bottom row has one side done; middle row two sides; top row is finished. Pinch hard or they will open while baking.
Bake until the edges are a golden brown.
I tried something new this year. I melted extra white chocolate (see previous post) and dropped some on top of the pockets. The cookies on the right have white chocolate only on the bottom.
Delicious! The white chocolate adds a wonderful flavor. Unfortunately, for anyone baking and selling, it adds an additional cost. Is it worth it?
PS - I was going to write about Hamantaschen and the history of Purim but I found this great blog post by Marilyn from Simmer Till Done. She’s quite charming.