40 | FEBRUARY 18 • 2021 

T

he word “Purim” means 
“lots,
” or using today’s 
language, lottery. And 
from a particular lottery, we’ve 
created an entire holiday that is 
the most outwardly joyous of 
the Hebrew calendar. 
Back in the 
sixth century 
BCE, Haman, 
the vizier to the 
King of Persia, 
ordered the 
annihilation 
of Jews. The 
event was to 
take place on 
the 13th of Adar. Through a 
series of actions, which included 
the Jewish wife, Esther, of the 
King of Persia and her uncle, 
Moredechai, the Jews were 
spared, and the evil Haman 
executed. 
On the day after, the 14th, 
there was a celebration their 
survival.
It’s a story that’s read in its 
entirety — the whole Megillah 
— not once, but twice, in case 
you didn’t hear it right the first 
time, on Purim. Then there’s the 
eating and drinking. Gifts are 
given (mostly sweets) as packag-
es and hamantashen (the cookie 
kind — not the yeast type made 
at many bakeries) are made to 
celebrate. Here are some great 
recipes for making and giving 
and eating. 

EASY HAMANTASHEN 
(COOKIE DOUGH TYPE)
Great to make with kids 
because there’s no electric 
mixer involved!

Ingredients
2¼ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
⅔ cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable or oil (not 
extra-virgin)
1 tsp. vanilla
Ice water or orange juice (as 
needed)

Filling Suggestions 
Canned pie filling (I use Solo 
brand) — fruit or poppyseed 
or thick filling such as lemon 
curd, fruit preserves or pea-
nut butter, hazelnut chocolate 
spread or cookie butter.

Directions
Position the oven rack to 
the center of the oven and 
preheat oven to 350°F. 
Line a baking sheet with 
parchment. Set aside. 
Combine 2¼ cups flour, 
baking powder and salt in 
a bowl and whisk well. Set 
aside. 
In another bowl, whisk 
together the eggs, sugar, 
oil and vanilla.
Stir the mixture together 
with a spoon until crumbly.
Lightly flour a clean sur-
face and turn the dough 
onto the surface.

Shaping, Filling and 
Baking Directions
Use your hands to “knead” 
(or start turning the dough 
over and over) until smooth. 
If the dough is too dry, 
add juice or water, a few 
drops at a time and continue 
kneading until the dough 
is smooth. If the dough is 
too wet, knead in the extra 
¼-cup of flour. 
Flour the surface lightly 
again and use a rolling pin to 
roll out the dough to about 
⅛-¼ inch thickness. 
Gather the scraps and roll 
them out again and repeat 
making circles until you have 
24-36 (depending on the 
thickness and size of circles).
Place about teaspoon 
of filling into the center of 
ONE circle — this is your 
“test hamantash” (too much 
filling will make the haman-
tashen break open or ooze 
filling). Fold the dough over 
the filling, overlapping the 
overlapping the edges to 
make a triangle (Do not 
pinch the edges together). 
A bit of filling should be 
visible. Press down on the 
edges to seal. 
Place the “test” hamantash 
on the baking sheet and 
freeze for 20-minutes before 
baking. bake for 15-20-min-
utes or so until the pastry is 
lightly golden. 
If the size and amount of 
filling are all correct, continue 
making hamantashen as the 
test or correct the amount of 
filling and dough folding. 
Makes 24-36 hamantash-
en, depending on size. 

NON-DAIRY CHOCOLATE 
CHIP DOUGH
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) non-dairy marga-
rine or vegetable shortening, at 
room temperature 
⅓ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. almond milk or coconut 
cream (stirred) or water
1¼ cups flour 

¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ cup non-dairy mini chocolate 
chips

Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, 
beat the margarine and sug-
ars together until smooth. 
Add the egg and almond 
milk vanilla until mixed until 
incorporated. 
In a separate bowl, add the 
flour, baking powder and salt 
and whisk well. 
Add the flour mixture to 
the mixing bowl and mix 
until incorporated. Mix in the 
chocolate chips.
Place the mixing bowl into 
the refrigerator for one hour 
to chill.
Use the shaping, filling and 
baking directions above to 
finish the recipe. 
Makes 18-24 hamantash-

en. 

CITRUS NUT DOUGH
Ingredients
1½ cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (at room 
temperature)
2 large eggs 
1 tsp. lemon extract (optional)
½ tsp. Grated orange or lemon 
zest, or a combination
½ tsp. salt
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. orange juice
¾ cup chopped nuts 

Directions 
In a bowl of a stand mixer, 
beat sugar and butter until 
creamy. 
Add in the egg, vanilla, 
zest and salt. Mix until 
incorporated. 
Add the flour, baking 
powder and juice. Mix until 
incorporated. Mix in the 
nuts. 
Place the mixing bowl in 
the refrigerator and chill for 
1 hour. 
Use the shaping, filling 
and baking directions as 
above. Makes about 2-3 
dozen cookies. 

Lots of Reasons 
to Celebrate

Purim is coming up soon 
— better get baking!

Annabel 
Cohen
Contributing writer

