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Hamantashen

Sandra Levine

By Sandra Levine
in Pastry & Baking

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

Posted
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Am I the only person making yeasted hamentaschen anymore? (I always think of Purim as the beginning of the chametz-gorging season!)

Chametz-gorging season? Is that Jewish version of lent? :laugh:

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Comfort Me

Comfort Me

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Am I the only person making yeasted hamentaschen anymore?  (I always think of Purim as the beginning of the chametz-gorging season!)

Chametz-gorging season? Is that Jewish version of lent? :laugh:

Blovi: I almost started to reply with a dissertation on chametz and preparing for Pesach. Then I saw it was you, and laughed!

So what flavors are you making this year? I'm doing apricot, mohn, lekvar, and almond. Oh -- and I'm trying some coconut this year using Joan Nathan's coconut jam from Foods of Israel Today.

I have to admit, this isn't my favorite baking job. And this year I'm doing the food for our shul's Purim Feast -- Hummos, Pita, Moroccan Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Olives & Preserved Lemon, Couscous with Sultanas and Pine Nuts, Harrisa, and a marinated carrot salad for 200 people. I wanted to make Matbucha, but I don't think I'll have the energy. (The drug regime I'm on -- think chemo but without the hair loss -- is working on the root medical problem I've had, but it has left me nauseous and pretty freaking exhausted! Only three more weeks, Baruch HaShem!)

So this year, instead of the fancy, individually wrapped boxes of Shalach manot containing homemade truffles, caramels, hamentaschen, and splits of Champaign, I am packaging hamentaschen in Chinese food containers and adding a bit of curling ribbon. That's as good as I can get. 'Cuz the minute the Megillah is put away it's time to start searching out chametz! And that topic probably deserves a thread of its own -- as well as a thread for pesadich recipes.

Aidan

"Ess! Ess! It's a mitzvah!"

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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Aaaagggghhh! Why is the imminent approach of Purim making me crazy so early in the year? :wacko:

"I am packaging hamentaschen in Chinese food containers and adding a bit of curling ribbon. That's as good as I can get. "

Why are you so apologetic? You know about pikuach nefesh .. take care of your health first ... Comfort Me, you still must think of your own energy levels and strength first ...

after all, as you so correctly note, bedikas chametz follows those hamantashen waaaaay too closely for comfort ... :unsure:

why didn't someone put a label on holidays and their attendant food prep ... simply warning: "Jewish holidays may be closer than they actually appear on your calendar" ... seems only sensible .... :laugh:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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I've just got to get through the weekend. The synagogue dinner is on sunday and then I'm free to stress out over Purim. But, in the meantime, my parents just dissed me on coming over for the Purim se'udah (festive meal). It seems they have theater tickets. Since they're not available, I'm not going to bother to do a big thing. Maybe we'll go out to dinner instead.

Anyway, I'll make my gingerbread-apricot hamentaschen and I'm going to take yet another stab at chocolate-raspberry ones. Regarding the mishloach manot, in past years I've made four or five other kinds of cookies (oatmeal raisin, coconut, butterscoth, assorted biscotti, etc) plus I would put in lots of candy, but I'm well aware that no one really wants all that crap in their house, especially when Pesach is so close. My plan is to go shopping next monday and see what inspires me.

Sorry to hear you're still feeling lousy.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Comfort Me

Comfort Me

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...after all, as you so correctly note, bedikas chametz follows those hamantashen waaaaay too closely for comfort ... :unsure:

why didn't someone put a label on holidays and their attendant food prep ... simply warning: "Jewish holidays may be closer than they actually appear on your calendar" ... seems only sensible .... :laugh:

So I'm not the only one who thinks Jewish holidays come in fairly inhumane bunches! And I thought I was the only one! Every year at the end of Passover and the when Simchat Torah is (finally) past I feel like I've survived the Bhutan Death March.

I'm going to come out of the closet here. I HATE Pesach. I hate it more than you can imagine.

It's a shitload of work, all of it thankless, and I end up putting my nicest stuff away for two weeks. I hate covering things in foil. I hate cleaning -- and since my cleaning lady is Polish, doesn't speak English, and doesn't understand chametz, she gets three weeks off so that I can do all of the cleaning myself. There is no joy in it for me.

The only things I can say good about Pesach is that it only lasts 8 days and I don't have to cook for the seders because we go to Toledo, OH every year.

Aidan

"Ess! Ess! It's a mitzvah!"

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Posted

I don't know if people are looking for lekvar this year, but the brand I'm most familiar with is Simon Fischer. They make prune and apricot. Any kosher market will carry it. Or, go to the kosher aisle of your local supermarket.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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Posted
...after all, as you so correctly note, bedikas chametz follows those hamantashen waaaaay too closely for comfort ...  :unsure:

why didn't someone put a label on holidays and their attendant food prep ... simply warning: "Jewish holidays may be closer than they actually appear on your calendar" ... seems only sensible .... :laugh:

I'm going to come out of the closet here. I HATE Pesach. I hate it more than you can imagine.

It's a shitload of work, all of it thankless, and I end up putting my nicest stuff away for two weeks. I hate covering things in foil. I hate cleaning --

I always thought I was alone in this type of thinking.. and, after the house is actually cleaned, the shopping is done, and the foods are cooked, I actually breathe a sigh of relief and relax and enjoy the holiday, albeit briefly ... but, in truth, my daughter said it best of all when she reminded me that it is the ultimate "labor intensive" holiday .. and I hate being on "a virtual umbilical cord" running back and forth between sink and table .. endlessly ... :hmmm:

Shortly thereafter, I realize that the week becomes endless somewhere about day #4 and I am sick of macaroons and the crumbs on the floor and ... well, you know this only too well .. I hated covering the counters most of all, then, by some miracle, I found a guy who cut lucite counter covers for me... and now am considering Corian which I hear needs no covering ... :rolleyes:

Mercifully, it does end and then I enjoy the preparation for Shavuout because it affords me a more than ample way to do my favorite dairy dishes .... then, all is calm and collected until Rosh Hashonah which is a long break ... (except for boiling the egg and making ashes to dip it in for Tisha b'Av) :huh: ...

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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JFLinLA

JFLinLA

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Yes, yes, I make yeasted hamantashen. It's from a recipe that I got from my friend Judy Aaronson.

That said, I don't get to my own until next week after the massive "hamantashen assembly line" which is this Sunday. I've mentioned it elsewhere. I made the first batch of non-yeast dough for this activity last night and it is sitting in my fridge. I have several more batches to go. For this, most fillings come out of a can but I do make pecan-caramel filling and a sweet cheese filling that's nice on it's own or combined with a berry filling. I think I'm throwing my hands up with the previous unsuccessful attempts at chocolate filling and will be using Nutella this year.

So long and thanks for all the fish.
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Comfort Me

Comfort Me

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Yes, yes, I make yeasted hamantashen. It's from a recipe that I got from my friend Judy Aaronson.

That said, I don't get to my own until next week after the massive "hamantashen assembly line" which is this Sunday. I've mentioned it elsewhere. I made the first batch of non-yeast dough for this activity last night and it is sitting in my fridge. I have several more batches to go. For this, most fillings come out of a can but I do make pecan-caramel filling and a sweet cheese filling that's nice on it's own or combined with a berry filling. I think I'm throwing my hands up with the previous unsuccessful attempts at chocolate filling and will be using Nutella this year.

Can you share your recipe for the pecan caramel filling? Caramel is my favorite vegetable! :wink:

Aidan

"Ess! Ess! It's a mitzvah!"

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foodie3

foodie3

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love yeasted homentashn but you must it them freshly baked - they don't keep!

i use the same dough as for challah with half the yeast amount, proof it slowly in the frig. for 48hrs, roll out, fill, let rise, brush w/eggwash, bake!

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JFLinLA

JFLinLA

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Can you share your recipe for the pecan caramel filling? Caramel is my favorite vegetable!

Yes but please be patient. It may take a few days.

love yeasted homentashn but you must it them freshly baked - they don't keep!

i use the same dough as for challah with half the yeast amount, proof it slowly in the frig. for 48hrs, roll out, fill, let rise, brush w/eggwash, bake!

I'll post my yeast recipe as well. While always better fresh, the do keep for a few days . . . not that they ever last that long.

So long and thanks for all the fish.
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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Mercifully, it does end and then I enjoy the preparation for Shavuout because it affords me a more than ample way to do my favorite dairy dishes .... then, all is calm and collected until Rosh Hashonah which is a long break ... (except for boiling the egg and making ashes to dip it in for Tisha b'Av) :huh: ...

You've effectively shot the year to hell. (I do the same thing to.)

I don't hate Pesach, but then, I go to my in-laws. Now it's true that I do most of the cooking, but I don't have to clean. (YEAH!!)

But it looks like we're going away next year. You know what they say..."L'shanna habah b'Miami Beach" :laugh:

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Mizzy

Mizzy

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I grew up in Israel, and every purim my grandma would make hamantaschens (oznei haman as we like to call them), with Turkish Delight (or lekach) filling. Its got a very different consistency to it, but adults always seemed to enjoy it more than the traditional poppy seed filling. you should give it a try, its not nearly as sweet as poppy seed filling or jams.

mia

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

Posted
Posted (edited)
Mercifully, it does end and then I enjoy the preparation for Shavuout because it affords me a more than ample way to do my favorite dairy dishes .... then, all is calm and collected until Rosh Hashonah which is a long break ... (except for boiling the egg and making ashes to dip it in for Tisha b'Av) :huh:  ...

You've effectively shot the year to hell. (I do the same thing to.)

I don't hate Pesach, but then, I go to my in-laws. Now it's true that I do most of the cooking, but I don't have to clean. (YEAH!!)

But it looks like we're going away next year. You know what they say..."L'shanna habah b'Miami Beach" :laugh:

This entire thing finally hit me like a ton of bricks when my closest friend called me in January to announce gleefully, "we are going to spend Pesach at a glatt kosher hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona this year! Want to join us?"

After some 15 years of enjoying the second night sedarim at their home, it was over, just like that, poof! So I began to feel the pain of preparing the house and seders myself even more intensely ... and you are correct in your "L'shanah haba b'Miami Beach" .. or some other catered weeklong respite ... but why spend thousands of dollars to spend a week somewhere else? Oh yeah, the pain ... :unsure:

Thanks for sharing your pain, bloviatrix! No one makes more sense of this than you! :hmmm:

Wait a minute, wasn't the theme of this thread merely apricot hamantashen? :laugh:

Edited by Gifted Gourmet (log)

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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robyn

robyn

Posted
Posted
...after all, as you so correctly note, bedikas chametz follows those hamantashen waaaaay too closely for comfort ...  :unsure:

why didn't someone put a label on holidays and their attendant food prep ... simply warning: "Jewish holidays may be closer than they actually appear on your calendar" ... seems only sensible .... :laugh:

So I'm not the only one who thinks Jewish holidays come in fairly inhumane bunches! And I thought I was the only one! Every year at the end of Passover and the when Simchat Torah is (finally) past I feel like I've survived the Bhutan Death March.

I'm going to come out of the closet here. I HATE Pesach. I hate it more than you can imagine.

It's a shitload of work, all of it thankless, and I end up putting my nicest stuff away for two weeks. I hate covering things in foil. I hate cleaning -- and since my cleaning lady is Polish, doesn't speak English, and doesn't understand chametz, she gets three weeks off so that I can do all of the cleaning myself. There is no joy in it for me.

The only things I can say good about Pesach is that it only lasts 8 days and I don't have to cook for the seders because we go to Toledo, OH every year.

If you get tired - for whatever reason - just cheat. Go a store - buy what you want - and put it in clever packages. If you have a reputation as a good cook - everyone will think your stuff is wonderful. By the way - they were doing a giveaway of hamantashen at our local Costco last weekend. We have a small Jewish community here - so they were touting them to shoppers as tasty cookies!

Also - if you are tired - there are hotels (I know the ones in south Florida - but I'm sure they exist elsewhere) - that specialize in 1 week "Passover Vacations". So the holiday is really a holiday - not a forced march. Maybe it's not in the cards for this year - but think about it next year.

I do not have a Kosher kitchen - so I don't do anywhere near as much as you do. But I know Passover is near when we get the "food message" from the nursing home in the mail (it's like a Miranda warning) - and we got it in the mail today. I am looking forward to the annual Purim party/festival at the nursing home. Sounds ridiculous when you think of a 94 year old Queen Esther - but it's a lot of fun. Robyn

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Cheating for Purim is not an option. Especially this year. I didn't bake last year because I was too busy chairing the Synagogue Journal Dinner the the night before. At least this year the dinner is this sunday. I will have a riot on my hands if I don't provide gingerbread-apricot hamentaschen to my friends.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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JFLinLA

JFLinLA

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Cheating for Purim is not an option. Especially this year. I didn't bake last year because I was too busy chairing the Synagogue Journal Dinner the the night before. At least this year the dinner is this sunday. I will have a riot on my hands if I don't provide gingerbread-apricot hamentaschen to my friends.

Gingerbread hamantashen? I gotta try that. Can you provide the recipe please?

Thanks.

So long and thanks for all the fish.
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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Do you have Nick Malgieris's How to Bake? I use his recipe for gingerbread cookies. Then I fill with apricot lekvar. I'll pm the recipe if you don't have the book.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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JFLinLA

JFLinLA

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Do you have Nick Malgieris's How to Bake? I use his recipe for gingerbread cookies. Then I fill with apricot lekvar. I'll pm the recipe if you don't have the book.

I don't think I have that one. I think I've got his cookie book.

Oy vey! There is no Hamentaschen or mohn or even lekvar recipe in the recipe archive.

Please rectify urgently...

Wasn't it earlier on this thread that I posted the hamantashen cookie dough recipe I use in response to a question from Blov? As already promised, I'll post the yeast dough recipe I use and pecan-caramel filling recipe and cheese filling recipe. I know I've got recipes for mohn and maybe lekvar. I'll check but it will all be later this weekend. Hope you can hang on that long or someone else will take care of it.

So long and thanks for all the fish.
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