KosherEye.com
By Leah Hadad, Tribes-A-Dozen™
It is a family tradition to bake hamantashen with my children, and they have become quite efficient in folding triangles from the small circles. We then enjoy sharing our home-made hamantashen with friends and neighbors. With Purim around the corner, I decided to make a try for a new twist on my traditional recipe. When you are pinched for time, you can make one large hamantashen. It's just as delicious and much easier to make. And the size, I have to say, is quite impressive. You can cut the large hamantashen into 3-inch parallel strips and then cut each strip into smaller triangles. Et voila! you have individual hamantashens without the tedious, time-consuming work of folding each individually. This recipe, along with a feature on Tribes-A-Dozen, will appear in this week's edition of the Washington Jewish Week.
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 Box of Traditional Voilà! Hallah, or any of the other mixes;
1 1/4 tsp. yeast (packed included)
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp warm milk, 110°- 115° F
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
8 tbsp unsalted butter, sliced
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Chocolate-Walnut Filling:
8 oz. dark chocolate, or your favorite
1-cup walnuts
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup raspberry jam
Egg wash:
1 leftover egg white
1 Tbsp. sugar
Directions:
Read the following instructions and prepare ingredients before starting.
Pour the baking mix into a bowl of a stand mixer. Mix in the sugar. With a spoon, create a well in the middle.
Pour the yeast into the well and pour the milk on top. Let stand for 5 minutes to activate.
Add eggs, butter, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix with the paddle attachment for 10 minutes on low. Scrape sides of bowl and paddle attachment as necessary.
Scrape dough from the bowl and shape dough into a smooth ball and place in the refrigerator to cool for 20 min. This can be done a day in advance.
Place the chocolate, walnut, and cinnamon in a food processor bowl. Pulsate to grind to small pea-size granules.
Take dough out of the refrigerator. Place parchment paper on your counter or board. Place the dough on top of the center of the paper and roll into a large circle, about 1/8-inch thick.
Spread the jam all over the dough, leaving a two-inch clear margin. Sprinkle the chocolate-walnut mixture evenly on top of the jam. If you wish, reserve 2 Tbsp. of the mix to sprinkle on top of the cookie later.
Fold three sides of the circle over the filling to create a triangle. Lift the top corner of the parchment on one side and bring it over the dough to make a point at the top. Peel the paper back to the counter. Do the same with the other side. Then fold up the side closest to you to overlap the other folded sides. The sides need to overlap so that only a small triangular window is left in the middle to show the filling. Press to seal the overlapping seams.
Whisk the leftover egg white and the sugar and brush all over the hamantashen. Brush the seams with gentle pressure to smooth the edges. Let rest for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° F.
Brush the hamantashen with the egg wash again and sprinkle the reserved chocolate-walnut mixture.
Bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes.
Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before serving.
To serve, cut into individual triangles. Enjoy!
Notes:
* You could make individual hamantashen. Divide the dough into 18 balls. Process the jam with the chocolate and walnuts. Use a heaping teaspoon of filling for each hamantashen.
Recipes: Desserts, Hamanentashen, Chocolate, Walnut, Holidays, Parve, Kosher