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Happy Hamantaschen!

Finished hamantaschen in three flavors—dark poppy seed, bright apricot, and rainbow sprinkles on Nutella—are lightly golden browned and finally finished.

Today, I spent most of the day making Hamantaschen for Purim, thinking I was finishing just in time for sunset…only to realize I was a few days early!

❤︎

Mid~week holidays really mess with my head…I know that I still have a lot of things to do before this week is over—including a painful doctor’s appointment I’m dreading tomorrow!—but having a day off on a Wednesday made me keep thinking that today was Saturday! And no matter how many times I reminded myself that the week wasn’t over yet, I kept being surprised & disappointed every time I would remember.

ADHD really is a laugh a minute.

Still, today was the first day of Spring—and what a lovely day for a public holiday, Japan, thank you!—so I could scarcely think of a better way to spend such an idyllic day than hiding indoors, making fun, filled (& fun-filled) cookies.

A piece of lemony yellow pastry has been rolled i to a countertop, and a round cookie cutter is being used to cut out three-inch circles.

Hamantaschen are traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Purim, which begins on Saturday evening this year, and I always look forward to making them. While they may appear a bit complicated, I’m always surprised at how quickly the oil-based dough comes together, and how easy it is to roll out and cut into circles…the hardest part is just remembering to make sure that I have the filling ready to go before I get started.

A tray of pastry circles with a mound of dark poppy seed filling in the middle of each, half of them folded into triangular hamantaschen.

After cutting the dough into ~7cm / 3~inch circles and placing them on a baking sheet, they’re topped with a small amount of sweet filling, and then folded into a triangular shape. To be honest, I took the slightly more difficult route with the folding—choosing to tuck one corner under each other rather than simply squishing them closed—as I prefer the look of the finished product more this way…and I never have any trouble with the filling sneaking out!

Finished hamantaschen in three flavors—dark poppy seed, bright apricot, and rainbow sprinkles on Nutella—are lightly golden browned and finally finished.

Because I’m also a textbook overachiever (and indecisive weirdo) I chose to make three flavors today: a traditional poppyseed filling, a simple apricot jam, and the ever-popular Nutella noms…I also couldn’t resist adding sprinkles to the latter.

Sadly, I don’t have a recipe to share today—only a story about one day in my tiny kitchen—as I embarrassingly forget & relearn how to make these cookies each year. However, if you’ve never tried poppyseed filling, I heartily recommend Tori Avey’s recipe, which makes plenty for almost three dozen hamantaschen, and leaves enough left over for a poppyseed crumb cake too!

How about if I promise to share my simple & quick crumb cake recipe in the future? Okay? Okay!

A small, round calico cat, sleeping in a circle shape, with her paws and nose and tail all tucked together.
Happy Purrr~im from my sous chef, Kome Kitty! While she spent most of the day twittering at birds from the other side of the window, she maintains that her assistance was invaluable.

Have you ever made hamantaschen or a similarly filled cookie? And what is your favorite holiday cookie to make or simply eat? I would genuinely love to hear about it in the comments below.

And have a lovely weekend…whenever it finally gets to you!

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  1. CleverBunny Avatar
    CleverBunny

    Ooh I often see one of my friends post these to facebook when she makes them for Purim, but I never knew the name! Thank you for the link to the recipe – it’s going on my ever-growing list of things I want to make 😂

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