Hamantaschen to Bake or Knit!

Purim is one of my family's favorite Jewish holidays and, certainly, the delicious three-sided cookies known as Hamantaschen have a great deal to do with that. Here, I share my tried-and-true Hamantaschen recipe. Happy baking!

What’s the story behind the Hamantaschen? A traditional Purim treat, Hamantaschen are designed to represent the terrible Haman. Around the 5th century BCE, Haman was an advisor to the Persian King Xerxes I and plotted to massacre the Jewish people. King Xerxes wife, Queen Esther, was Jew herself (a fact which was not known to the King or Haman) and created a plan to save the Jews and expose Haman. She was successful. Yes, Queen! Purim celebrates the survival of the Jewish people in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran).

HAMANTASCHEN RECIPE

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

1 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 ¼ Cup Sugar

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

3 Teaspoons Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Salt

5 ½ Cups Flour

Filling:

I like to use canned pie filling in Apricot, Raspberry, Prune, or Poppy Seed. Jams and jellies work, too.

Mixing:

Whisk together the baking powder, salt, and flour. In a stand mixer or separate bowl, mix together eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and combine until a dough forms.

Filling and Baking:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Remove the top sheet of paper. Cut circles out of the rolled dough and remove the excess dough, leaving the circles on parchment paper. Add a teaspoon of filling to the center of each circle. Turn the cookie into a triangle by pinching three corners of dough together.

Bake for about 12 minutes until the cookies are a light golden brown.

We made Funfetti Hamantaschen by adding sprinkles to the dough. They were a hit!

Would you prefer to KNIT your Hamantaschen!?

I designed a Hamantaschen cookie that's made in worsted weight yarn (though would be really cool knit with super bulky or super skinny yarn, too). The cookie and filling are knit separately and then seamed and stuffed. The pattern includes a link to a video tutorial that will show you how to seam the Hamantaschen together.

You can get the pattern on my website HERE or on Ravelry HERE.

Not Jewish but know someone who is? Purim traditions include gift-giving and charity. Bake or knit a Hamantaschen for a Jewish friend to show solidarity and bring a smile to their face.