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The Jewish Holiday Baker

50 original recipes for the traditional baked goods associated with the major holidays--challah for Shabbat, hamantashen for Purim, macaroons and matzah for Passover, jelly doughnuts for Chanukah--as well as delicious and exotic alternatives from around the world: Yemenite kubbanah, Turkish boyos, German schnecken, Russian babka, Hungarian strudel, Parisian pletzel, Mexican banana cake, Syrian ka'ak.

see more Jewish Holiday Cookbooks

Hamentaschen

Mishloach Manot (literally translated as the "sending of portions") is a standard Purim food tradition, and certainyl a favorite among Jewish college students! These gift baskets are filled with cakes, cookies, nuts, fruits and other treats which are then given to neighbors, friends, as well as the needy. Hamantashan, of course, in all different flavors, often are the centerpiece of these food baskets, which is why we have included Caryn's own Grandma's Sue's recipe here for you to enjoy!

Put eggs and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add butter. Mix with mixer. Combine baking powder with flour. Add to bowl a little a time, and mix in. when it seems to be getting a little thick, add a little orange juice. Keep going until the dough starts catching in the beater, then take out and knead the dough the rest of the way by hand.

Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.

Dust a flour board with a little bit of flour. Roll a piece of the dough out on flour board. Take a four inch glass, turn it upside down and cut the dough with the lip of glass to make a 4 inch circle of dough. Fill cookie with chosen filling. Squeeze dough up and across to form three cornered hamantashen.

Cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil and bake hamentashen in 400 degree oven about 15 or 20 minutes. (Check after 15 minutes) Hamentashen should be golden.

Makes about 3 dozen hamentashen.

Ingredients

4 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
1 c. sugar or sucanat
6 oz. butter
1/4 c. orange juice

Have your favorite hamentaschen filling either pre-made or pre-bought and on hand! (Usually jam or fruit preserves, chocolate, or poppy seeds are used, but consult our Purim Recipe Index to discover your favorite)

Kitchen Tools Needed

Electric Mixer
Cookie Sheet
Rolling Pin

Sucanat is basically dehydrated sugar cane with little to no processing, making it an excellent source of iron, calcium, vitamin B6, potassium and chromium, which helps balance blood sugar. Malitol is a bit more expensive, but is a little less sweet than actual sugar. What's nice about Sucanat is you can use in a 1:1 ratio wherever you'd use sugar. You can get more info about using nutritious, natural sweetener substitutes for your holiday baking here.