Israel

ISRAEL: Hamantaschen

Got lots of help from Jewish pals on these babies, including Hadar, Ido, Mia and Susan. Darcy Dat de Lagarón says: “Hamantaschen are quintessentially Jewish and thus a real representation of Israel as the Jewish Homeland”. I think you can fill with almost any kind of preserve. I used cherry jam and the remainder of Ruadhri Crofton’s gorgeous apple butter. Carly Sutherland suggests using mohn — a ground poppyseed filling. These are super-fun to make.

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INGREDIENTS:

4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup canola or vegetable oil
Juice (2 Tbsp) and zest (1½ tsp) of one medium lemon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tsp. baking powder
1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1⁄2 cups (1½ lb.) filling, such as apple or prune butter, strawberry or apricot preserves
Instructions

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to to 350ºF and line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, add the eggs and sugar and whisk until light and foamy. Add the oil, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla extract, and stir to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and use a wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula to stir well until a stiff, homogenous dough forms.

Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough out onto the surface. Press it into a cohesive mass, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even ¼-inch-thick sheet. Use a 3¾-inch round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass to punch circles in the dough. Pull the scraps away from the circles and set aside to be rerolled once. Using a tablespoon or a small scoop, portion 1 heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each circle. Fold in the dough from three sides and press the edges together to seal, leaving a small opening over the filling. When all of the cookies are shaped, place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies until lightly browned on the bottom and just set throughout, 18-22 minutes.

Remove and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.