Hamantaschen for Purim
This year, we’ve been more aware of Jewish holidays than ever. It might have started as quarantine boredom, when we first made brisket in the name of Passover. But we also happened to be gathering over Zoom with the extended family for Rosh Hashana and prominently displayed and lit our tiny menorah for all the days of Hanukkah. And now I made cookies for Purim!
It’s never been more than a quick passing acknowledgement for us in the past, but I think it’s nice that we’re marking this difficult year with as many little checkmarks as we can along the way.
Using up leftovers as part of my pantry challenge is a nice little bonus too.
Hamantaschen (with pineapple or fig jam)
DOUGH (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
In a stand mixer, cream together:
12oz butter (3 sticks)
40g confectioner’s sugar
65g sugar
Add:
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
Add until mixed together:
330g AP flour
Allow the dough to develop a little more. Go a few seconds longer on low than you think it needs, until it starts to ball up a little.
You can also lightly flour hands to “knead it” a little until it has a little more structure, but the heat from your hands might make the dough appear too soft and mislead you on its consistency.
Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment to about 1/8-inch thick. I would err on the side of thicker if you’re unsure.
Chill the rolled dough completely (~20 minutes?) before using.
Quick Fig Jam - yields enough for all the cookies
Simmer together until sugar dissolves and figs rehydrate and become soft, about 5 minutes:
6oz dried figs, stem removed and diced into quarters
150g sugar
1 cup water
Blend with an immersion blender to desired texture.
Taste and adjust:
Add additional sugar along with a splash of water if necessary
Cook off more water (while stirring constantly on low heat) if too loose
You want it to be a little thicker for this application, but it will also thicken more as it cools.
I cooked mine until it just began to hold onto a wooden spoon without falling off.
Season with lemon juice off heat (to taste, about 3 Tbsp).
Transfer to a container, and cover with plastic wrap flush with the surface to prevent a skin from filming.
Cool completely before use, or your cookies will melt during assembly!
Leftover Pineapple Jam: (made this months ago from leftover pineapples from a recipe, so no exact recipe>
Brown butter in a pan.
Add brunoised pineapple + some brown or white sugar, and saute on medium-high until caramelized. (Add some vanilla paste in there too!)
Turn the heat down to low to evaporate some more liquid.
Cook until desired level of caramelization/consistency.
Assembly:
Take the chilled dough from fridge, and remove the top layer of parchment. Dust it very very lightly with some more flour. Put the parchment back, and flip the whole thing over.
Take the top layer of parchment off. Now the slightly dusted/released parchment is on the bottom side.
Working quickly, punch 3-inch rounds with a cutter.
Pipe about 2 tsp of filling onto each round.
Fold over into triangles - you can do the pinch method (which I prefer), or just fold each side on top of one another for a flatter appearance.
If you’re having trouble crimping because the dough is melting in your hands, your dough is too warm and needs to chill again. Slide the whole thing onto a sheet-tray, and place it back into the fridge.
If your dough is cracking as you shape, it might be a little too cold. Give it another few seconds. The window of perfect shaping isn’t too large, and the heat from your hands will also melt the dough - it’s mostly butter lol.
The scraps can be re-rolled for an almost indefinite number of rounds.
Make thumprint cookies with the last bits for your sanity and patience.
Chill your assembled hammies in the fridge completely before baking.
Bake at 350F (or 325F convection) until the edges begin to brown a little, about 20 minutes.
Notes
This is not a traditional Jewish bakery version, which I remember as kind of dense and crumbly? Obviously it’s not even pareve. We’re actually just making a super buttery jam shortbread cookie in a different shape. This dough is perfect (maybe even better) for thumbprint jam cookies as mentioned above.
I shaped mine by creating all 3 sides at a time, and pinching the edges together. You can also fold one side over the center at a time, to create a more flatter look.
I re-upped the flour after my first batch baked (pictured above) because they didn’t hold their shape despite a full chill. Tasted amazingly buttery, but also difficult to shape. The later ones stayed upright while maintaining the optimal texture.
SK made a note that she reduced the flour due to feedback that the dough was not flexible - that is likely a temperature issue, as discussed above, or too much flour by volume (about 2.5 cups)! The gram weight listed above is good for the recipe.
A couple of asides:
This year’s hamantaschen were not in fact an original idea. When I thought of the pineapple jam in my freezer, I was reminded of last year, when I first repurposed leftover pineapples into jam. Our 800+ people parties were cancelled overnight, and I was left with like 12 quarts of pineapple compote. So I caramelized them on the stove and tried to make stuff like 菠蘿酥 (Taiwanese pineapple cakes). Of course, there were barely anyone around to eat them by then. The dough for these (repurposed pineapple cake dough) held up a lot better because they were less buttery. A different texture, but still crumbly and rich. If I can dig back through my phone history for the recipe, maybe I’ll post it here!
Second, my surprise Christmas present that arrived in January - a made-to-order handcrafted endgrain cutting board by Boardsmith. He’s beautiful. And requires regular oiling. He’s a big oil guzzler and always hungry for more. But I love him with all my heart. With great care and love on our part, he’ll be, hopefully, a lifelong member of our family.