arts & life foo d SWEET RICE KRISPIES TREATS HAMANTASHEN Rebecca Pliner Myjewishlearning.com Rice Krispies treats on a stick are always one of the most popular items I sell from my dessert company [I Want that Dessert, in Queens, N.Y.], and so it felt only natural to turn these into a Purim delight for the whole family to enjoy. The best part about this recipe is that there is no oozing of filling, no seams of the dough breaking and no baking. Head to Michael’s to get some cute treat bags to package them for fun mishloach manot. 6 cups Rice Krispies 10 oz. mini marshmallows (do not substitute fluff) 3 Tbsp. butter or margarine Lollipop sticks 15 oz. bar of semi-sweet chocolate Sprinkles, candy or other decorative items Grease a large bowl and the spatula you will be using. This will help avoid too much sticking. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the mar- garine with the marshmallows at 30-sec- ond intervals at full power. Stir after each interval. When melted, remove and pour into bowl with the Rice Krispies. Mix well until all are coated with marshmallow. Using your hands, spread mixture even- ly onto a greased sheet pan, then press together so the Rice Krispie treats are compact. Allow to sit for several minutes at room temperature to cool. Form the Rice Krispie treat mix into hamantashen shapes. Place lollipop stick 42 March 17 • 2016 into center. Over a double broiler, melt ¾ of a large bar (15 oz.) of semi-sweet chocolate. Reserve the last ¼. Stir gently until all the chocolate is melted. Carefully, take choco- late off the double broiler. Be very careful not to let any water drip into chocolate; if this happens, you need to start over, as chocolate “seizes” when water gets into it and the tempering process does not work. Add in the remaining chocolate. Let sit in hot chocolate for 30 seconds, then stir. Dip hamantashen into chocolate and tap stick lightly to remove the excess choco- late. Place on parchment to let dry. After 2-3 dipped pops, start decorat- ing before the chocolate sets in. Use your favorite sprinkles, chocolate chips, Oreos or candy to add your own flare. TRIPLE CHOCOLATE HAMANTASHEN Shannon Sarna Myjewishlearning.com I love getting creative with hamantashen fillings, but this year I also wanted to give a little love and attention to the dough. And what better ingredient to include than chocolate. Once you have made your chocolate dough, you can still get creative with the fillings, although the delicious and easy Nutella perfectly complemented the dark cocoa powder in the dough and the sweet- er white chocolate drizzle on top. You could also try raspberry jam, peanut but- ter or even halva. For the chocolate dough: ½ cup butter (or margarine) ¾ cup granulated sugar 1 egg 1 Tbsp. milk (or almond milk) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1¼ cups all-purpose flour ⅛ cup cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey’s Special Dark) ¼ tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. cinnamon For the white-chocolate drizzle: ½ cup white chocolate chips 2 tsp. vegetable oil Nutella for filling To make the dough: Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla until mixed thoroughly. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry mixture to wet mixture until incorporated. Note: If the dough is too soft, increase flour amount by ¼ cup of flour until firm. Chill dough for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Dust your work surface with powdered sugar or flour to keep from sticking. Roll the dough to about ¼-inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out and place onto cookie sheet. To keep the dough from sticking to your cutter, dip in pow- dered sugar or flour before each cut. Fill cookies with scant ½ tsp. Nutella. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely. To make white-chocolate drizzle: Place white chocolate and vegetable oil in a small glass bowl. Heat in the microwave at 30-second intervals until melted. Mix until completely smooth. Use a fork or a small plastic squeeze bottle to drizzle white-chocolate sauce back and forth on cookies. Allow to dry completely on a cooling rack before serv- ing or packaging. SAVORY T here’s no end to combinations and concoctions to create within the three points of the hamantaschen. Nina Safar, founder of the blog Kosher in the Kitch (kosherinthekitch.com), has served up a delicious collection, including Fruity Pebbles Hamantaschen, Chocolate Peanut Butter Reese’s Puffs, Pop Tart Hamantaschen and more. But there are only so many sweets you can eat, right? Here, Safar shares her reci- pes for savory hamantaschen. courtesy kosherinthekitchen.com Sweet & Savory Try a few twists on the traditional hamantashen. EGG ROLL HAMANTASHEN 1 tsp. corn starch mixed with 2 Tbsp. water 1 tsp. sherry wine 3 tsp. soy sauce 3 cups cole slaw mix 1-inch piece of ginger, shredded 2 green onions diced, for serving Egg roll wrappers Heat up pan with some oil then stir in cole slaw mix. Add sherry and soy sauce and combine. Add corn starch mixture and stir together. Add ginger and combine together. Heat through. Using a mason jar, cut out cir- cles in egg roll wrappers (1 egg roll wrapper yields 4 circles). Place a teaspoon of “batter” in center of circle then, using water, wet the corners and pinch together creating a tri- angle hamantaschen shape. Place on greased baking sheet. Cook on 350°F for about 12 minutes, until crispy. Serve with sweet chili sauce or duck sauce. Tip: If desired, add cooked chicken, beef or tofu to the cole slaw mixture before filling up the center of each hamatashen.