These hamantaschen are more fruity and less sweet than most. Due to my Nana Sara’s tendency to add ingredients “until it’s right,” this recipe was obtained by recording everything during a cooking session (circa 1968) and some amounts are not precise.
Usually, one recipe of filling will last beyond a single recipe of dough, so have extra dough ingredients ready. This recipe makes 100 small hamantaschen (pareve or dairy). They freeze well so you can bake ahead!
Dough Ingredients:
Six eggs
½ cup butter (also very good with pareve margarine)
One cup sugar
One cup unsweetened grapefruit juice
One cup vegetable oil
One tsp salt
Six cups sifted flour (note: up to 8 ½ cups total, see below)
One tsp baking powder for every cup of flour
Filling
One box prunes (~16 oz)
One box dried peaches or apricots (~16 oz)
One box raisins (~16 oz)
One orange with rind
Directions:
1) Make the filling
Soak the dried fruit several hours in warm water until tender, drain, grind together with orange. Mix,
put in refrigerator. (With food processor, use main cutting blade; process until you get small particles, not too
smooth.)
2) Make the dough
Whisk together liquids & eggs in a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream sugar & butter/margarine, then
add six cups flour, six tsp baking powder, salt and liquids alternately. Add 1 ½ to 2 ½ cups more flour, ½
cup at a time and knead with hands (with one tsp additional baking powder for each cup), until dough is
elastic and less sticky so it can be rolled. If you aren’t sure, err on the side of less flour, since you can
add flour to while rolling but if there is too much flour the hamentaschen will not stick together after
you fill them.
3) Assemble
Roll on floured surface until approximately 1/8 to 3/16 inch thick, cut rounds with a glass about 3 ½
inches in diameter. Put filling in center (one to two tbsp), fold up into triangles, and pinch to close. Gather
unused rolled dough, add more from bowl, roll and fill again until finished. If they don’t stay closed, wet your fingers if needed.
Put on oiled cookie tins (or lined with parchment paper), brush with egg whites or milk to brown tops.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Sometimes the tops don’t brown
much so check the bottoms of a few and take out when the bottoms are browned.
Susan Berger, Reston, Virginia
