“My mom’s household is Jewish—however not that Jewish. My mom substituted her lapsed Hebrew within the vacation blessing with ‘hurrah for Hanukkah,’ and no matter I knew about Passover I realized from Cecil B. DeMille. I didn’t know what Purim was till I used to be 9 and attended artwork lessons on the Jewish youth heart close to our home in Philadelphia. In late winter, the drama college students placed on a play whereby the evil Haman bribes the king of Persia to permit him to kill the Jews. Fortunately, the king’s favourite spouse, Esther, outs herself as Jewish. In a surprising reversal, the king orders Haman hanged, and Persian Jews are saved and a day is put aside for feasting. Forthwith, we kids have been served cookies—jam- and poppy seed-filled triangles—representing, we have been advised, Haman’s three-cornered hat.
The cookies I knew. They have been hamantaschen. My grandmother made delectable jewel-like variations year-round; they blew the youth heart’s dry, cakey ones away. Grandma Syl’s flaky cream cheese pastry was formed into tiny triangles framing candy dollops of her home made raspberry and apricot-pineapple jams. As I’ve realized, Purim additionally requires mishloach manot, or ‘sending parts’—giving baskets of sweets to associates and family members. I will not be probably the most observant of Jews, however with my Grandma Syl’s implausible recipe in hand, that is one ritual I can grasp.” —Betsy Andrews
Featured within the SAVEUR 100 within the January/February 2013 situation.
Substances
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 16 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- ¼ cup apricot preserves
- ¼ cup raspberry preserves
- 2 giant egg whites, overwhelmed
Directions
- In a medium bowl utilizing an electrical mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt on medium pace, scraping down the bowl midway, till fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat within the flour. Kind the dough into a skinny disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for half-hour.
- Switch the dough to a floured floor and roll to a thickness of ⅛ inch. Utilizing a 2½-inch spherical cookie cutter dipped in flour, reduce out dough rounds. Collect the scraps, re-roll, and reduce the dough till you will have 30 rounds. Place about ½ teaspoon of the preserves (use the apricot on half and the raspberry on half) within the heart of every spherical. Brush the perimeters with the egg whites, then fold within the edges to kind a triangular form, leaving a small opening on the high. Tightly pinch the corners to make sure the dough is sealed. Divide the cookies between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for half-hour. Collect the remaining dough scraps, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate.
- Place a rack within the heart of the oven and preheat to 350°F. One baking sheet at a time (go away the opposite sheet within the fridge), bake the chilled cookies till evenly browned, 16–18 minutes. Set the baking sheet apart to chill for five minutes, then switch the cookies to a wire rack to chill fully.
- Whereas the primary batch bakes, proceed to roll and reduce the remaining dough (you need to get one other 15 rounds), alternating topping with ½ teaspoon of the apricot or raspberry preserves. Form the rounds into triangles, tightly pinching the corners, and switch to the cooled baking sheet, then refrigerate for half-hour. Bake and funky in line with the above directions.
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