Hamentashen Recipe

This one is from my grandmother's old cookbook (Jewish Cookery, Leah Leonard, 1949) It's a little on the imprecise side, but given that the cookbook is sixty years old, that's not surprising. I've added notes where I could, and will continue to update it when possible.

Please let me know how it worked and if you made any changes.

Update:

The hamentashen was tested by a nice reddit user who filled them with peach preserves, and a raspberry jam said they came out beautifully, and if you use Jam, use a little less since it tended to boil over.

Baked by https://www.reddit.com/user/curvy_lady_92

Dough Ingredients

  • 2/3 C Butter (shortening in original recipe)
  • 1/2 C Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 3 T Milk or Water
  • 1/2 t Vanilla
  • 2 C Sifted Flour - you might need an extra 1/2C depending on the weather and the flour.

Directions

  • Cream shortening and sugar.
  • Add egg and continue creaming until smooth
  • Add liquid and vanilla and sifted flour and stir until it forms a ball.
  • Chill 2 - 3 hours or overnight

When chilled . . .

  • Preheat oven to 350°F
  • Roll out on a lightly floured board until 1/8" thick
  • Cut into 2 inch rounds
  • Place ball of filling the size of a hazelnut in the center of each round
    (NB. This is between 15mm and 24mm, or somewhere between the size of a US nickle and a US quarter dollar)
  • Fold over the edges (three sides) and press with fingers
  • Place on a cookie sheet and bake until light brown (about 20 minutes)

Poppy Seed and Honey Filling Ingredients

  • 2 C Poppy Seeds
  • 1 C Water or Milk
  • 1/2 C Honey
  • 1/4 C Sugar
  • 1/8 t Salt
  • 2 Eggs (Optional)

Directions

  • Combine everything except the eggs in a saucepan
  • Cook over moderate heat until thick, stirring to prevent scorching.
  • Let cool before adding eggs, beating in thoroughly. If the eggs thin it out to much, return to heat and stir while cooking 1 – 2 more minutes.
  • Fills 24 small or 12 large hamentashen