.
. But who's to say that
? I must mention that this holiday is about a Jewish woman (Queen Esther) who saved her people.
. The story is read from the
. So as not to give you the whole 'megillah' here, the story goes that Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin (uncle?) Mordecai, who raised her as a daughter, was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of Ahasuerus' harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther and made Esther queen. But the king did not know that Esther was Jewish. The king’s aide, Haman, wanted to kill all the Jews (yet again, someone wanted to annihilate the Jews). Esther told the king that Hamen was plotting to have her killed -- well he was plotting to have all the Jews killed. When she tells the King that she is Jewish, the King kills Haman instead and saves the Jews.
. As I mentioned above, they are supposedly modeled after
, but I feel better about eating hats than ears), but if you're so inclined here's a great
for Purim. You'll find them quite different, and I suggest you try both. Although the holiday begins Monday night, there's no reason that these great pastries (cookies) can't be made and consumed now (or anytime)!
.
. Great addition. So many possibilities.
The second recipe has a darker chocolate pastry (I use DARK cocoa), and the hamentaschen are filled with jam (I like
Bonne Maman Dark Cherry Preserves).
The recipe is from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily. Another taste treat is to fill these with
peanut butter. Of course, you can make your own family recipe for
Hamentaschen and fill them with chocolate. Any way you make them, have fun! I've added a third link for yet another Purim treat!
Before you begin, here are some TIPS for making good Hamentaschen.
Dough: Be sure and chill your dough. Put the dough in your refrigerator before rolling out. Roll out dough between pieces of parchment or wax paper rather than adding more flour, so the final product isn't too dense and doughy.
Tip for shaping: Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each circle. Fold up the sides to make a triangle, folding the last corner under the starting point, so that each side has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under. Folding in this "pinwheel" style will reduce the likelihood that the last side will fall open while cooking, losing its filling. It also makes a better triangle shape.
I. Decadent Chocolate Hamentaschen
Recipe from Victoria Sutton at MyJewishLearning
Chocolate Pâte Sucree:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract (
optional)
1 egg
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup
DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
8 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
8 ounces heavy cream
Dash salt
Rum to taste (optional)
Chopped cherries, cranberries, nuts, or toffee (optional)
To prepare sucree: Cream butter, sugar, salt, and almond extract if using until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until incorporated. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Add to butter mixture in two stages, alternating with the heavy cream. More or less cream might be needed depending on the consistency of the dough. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, and form a flattened disc. Chill for at least one hour.
To prepare ganache: Over a double boiler, heat cream and chopped chocolate. When chocolate is mostly melted, lightly whisk until ganache is smooth and shiny. Whisk in rum (
optional) and salt. Chill for several hours.
To form hamantaschen: Roll chilled chocolate sucree to slightly more than 1/8 inch thick. Using a round cutter or glass rim dipped in flour, cut circles of about 3 inches in diameter. If adding dried fruit or nuts, sprinkle a small amount in the center of the cut discs.
Remove ganache from fridge, and using either a small ice-cream scoop or by hand, form about 1 inch round balls and place in center of sucree circles.
Carefully fold in the edges to form a triangular shape, and pinch the corners to seal. Ensure there are no gaps or tears in the dough, to prevent filling from oozing out during baking.
Bake hamantaschen on greased cookie sheets at 350 F for about 15 minutes, until crust is baked through.
Ganache will liquify during baking, but will set as hamantaschen cool.
This second recipe features a really dark chocolate pastry, and these hamentaschen are filled with jam.
This recipe is adapted from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily. Another great taste treat is to fill these with peanut butter.
II. CHOCOLATE HAMENTASCHEN
Recipe from Emily at Voila! Adventures in the Kitchen with Emily.
Ingredients
Recipe originally adapted from Coconut and Lime
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup
DARK cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of any flavor jam, divided
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line with cookie sheet with parchment paper
In large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat thoroughly.
Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, and mix until thick dough forms. Refrigerate dough for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle clean work area with powdered sugar. Roll out dough until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 2 to 3 inch rounds. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
Spoon 1-2 tsp of jam (
or peanut butter) in middle and fold sides to create triangle shape. Pinch corners and lightly smoosh them down so there isn’t a visible seam. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
III. And, here's a recipe to a third recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Chocolate Hamentaschen from With love and Cupcakes. 
