I typically say that I didn’t bake until 5 years ago, and, while that is mostly true, there were a handful of recipes that I trusted myself to follow with a level of success – this is one of them. The Jewish holiday, Purim, will be celebrated this week and the food most associated with Purim is the triangle filled cookie, Hamantashen (which is why I have non-Jewish friends who still refer to this as the “Cookie Holiday”). On Purim we read the story of Esther and how she saved the Jewish people of Persia from the nefarious plans of the king’s advisor Haman. You can learn more about Purim here.
I grew up with the Hamantashen made by the Sisterhood at Congregation Ner Tamid and I was thrilled when I no longer could get their Hamantashen in person to have their cookbook with this recipe.
The most popular fillings are jams or poppy seeds. I also like this dough because it is not overly sweet and I have been able to make savory fillings for them such as Spinach & Feta; Bean & Cheese Burrito; Pizza. This year I’m only making one batch, so I’ve limited my fillings, including raspberry and my personal favorite, apricot. My 2 year old insisted that we make some with a cream cheese filling, so I decided to go with a chocolate cheesecake filling that I’m sharing with you below.
¾ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla
3 cups plus 4 tsp flour
3 ½ tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup orange juice or non-dairy creamer
Filling of choice (Chocolate chip cheesecake below)
Egg, thinned with water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream shortening and sugar together. Mix in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients alternately with orange juice to creamed mixture. Mix well to form a smooth dough. Roll out dough onto a floured board to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with a 3-inch round cutter. Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of each round. Press 3 edges together to form a triangle. Brush sides and top with egg.
Place on greased baking sheets. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown, making sure triangles don’t touch. Remove from baking sheets and cool before handling.
Makes 3 ½ to 4 dozen cookies.
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Filling
¼ Cup Cream Cheese
¼ Cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips
Mix all ingredients together and place in center of dough circles before pinching.