It’s that time of year again, my allergies start acting up, you have a few nice days that tease you like it might actually stop raining soon – and then comes Purim.  What does that mean?  It means it’s time to make the Hamantashen.  I actually thought that this year I was going to get away without making some – since last year’s were such a disaster, but no…

My daughter came home from Sunday school last week and told me that her teacher asked if anyone in the class knew how to make Hamanatashen.  She so lovingly thought of me – and told the teacher that I am great at making Hamantashen.  Was she home last year?  Did she see that only a few of my Hamantashen didn’t flatten like a pancake?  Well – needless to say, he asked if I would bring in Hamantashen to Sunday school for Purim, and of course she said yes – even before asking me.

So – this year I was determined to make a good batch – so I asked my neighbor again for her recipe – she reminded me that I really needed to pinch the sides (even though if you read on the internet, everyone else specifically says NOT to do that) and wished me luck.  This was a much better recipe – I really pinched those cookies to death, but it worked – and only a handful of mine flattened like a pancake this year – I was very pleased.  Now, I have a keeper – a recipe I can count on – or did I just get lucky this year?

Ingredients

• 1 C sugar
• 1-1/3 C butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 6 T milk ( =1/4 C + 2 T)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 5 C flour
• Assorted Jams for the filling

Preparation

Cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and cream until smooth. Add milk and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the flour and mix till a ball of dough forms. Separate the dough into 3 balls and flatten slightly.  Wrap with plastic and chill 2-3 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out dough, then cut into 3″ circles, add a little jam (level 1/2 tsp is probably enough), and pinch into triangle shapes. Be sure to really secure the seam so it doesn’t open up while baking. Bake about 13 minutes until slightly golden.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Hamantashen