BWW Cooks: Hamantaschen - They're Not Just a Jewish Purim Treat Any More

The holiday of Purim is over, and Jewish mothers and other cooks everywhere are getting ready for Passover. No more filled pastry pockets of goodness. Matzah. No more apple, prune, cherry, or chocolate triangles of happiness. Matzah. Most non-Jews know matzah, so they know it is indeed the "bread of affliction," but many haven't met Jewish cuisine's most delectable treat.

But wait - what if Jewish cooks - no, wait, what if all American cooks - made hamantaschen, Purim's happiest treat, more often? Would they lose their luster? Or would we just keep on eating the greatest pastry known to humanity? Survey says... figure out a Passover version of hamantaschen pastry dough, because hamantaschen aren't just for Purim any more, and everyone wants to eat them all the time. Lose their luster? We haven't even started having fun with this delicacy yet! From Bread Basket Bakery in Brooklyn to bakeries in the far less Jewishly populated area of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where this writer found hamantaschen on sale - big, lush, pillowy triangles of fruit and pastry - in a café-bakery across the street from the Lancaster County courthouse on a very non-holiday date, bakeries are selling hamantaschen all year round now. Everyone who eats them wants more, apparently most definitely all the time.

You've never had hamantaschen? You can't relate? Imagine a (usually mini) triangular fruit Danish. The dough ranges from near-pie crust to sugar cookie dough, usually baking powder, not yeast dough. There are variations galore; my mother liked a cream cheese dough, and I like to eat it, though it's messy work to make. They're supposed to emulate the hat that the villain of Purim, Haman, wore; it's easy to imagine that this is a medieval Jewish embellishment, as it's not likely that an ancient Persian vizier was wearing a tricorn hat. It's also sometimes said to refer to Haman's ears - though it's also not likely that ancient Persian viziers had triangular ears - or his pockets, a more likely explanation. But the tricorn story is the one that's most told. The dough is cut into circles, with delicious filling centered on it, and the sides are folded up into a triangle and the edges pinched shut before baking.

It's a tradition for fillings to be sweet. In keeping with the theory that the tricorn hats are European, not Persian, the traditional fillings include prune and "munn" - poppyseed. Fruit fillings are most common now, especially cherry and apricot, though this year I ate apple, lemon curd, and brownie fillings. If strapped for time, the traditional choice among Jewish home bakers is Solo filling, available at almost any grocer. For the hamantaschen gourmet, there's a longstanding war between Solo almond paste and Solo's chunkier nut filling as the filling of eternal happiness; I pick nut. The chewy crunchiness of Solo nut filling ruled my childhood dreams of hamantaschen; my mother could never make enough of them. Here's a suggestion - take the classic Solo nut filling, mix in some mini chocolate chips and a splash of bourbon, and, presto... Derby hamantaschen, based on Derby pie. Make some for a kosher Kentucky Derby party, or just make them to eat mini Derby pies. They're a shoo-in for Purim itself, when hearty drinking is appreciated.

A non-Jewish, hamantash-baking friend asked me if it was cheating to fold a small dough circle around a Hershey Kiss. Some may say so, but I say, chocolate hamantaschen. Hamantaschen are infinitely adaptable, so be sure to think of your own fillings for these little pockets of glee. Put in peanut butter cups, especially if you have a sugar cookie dough. Put in Rolos. Put in crushed Heath bars. Call this writer and send her samples. Chocolate and hamantaschen - two great things that go great together. This is why America is wonderful.

The new trend in an old dish? Savory hamantaschen, small for appetizers, large for dinner service.

The best dough to use? A sweet one with sweet fillings, or plain for savory ones. Don't oversalt the crust dough for savories. Any good Jewish cookbook will have five or more dough recipes; pick the one that works for you without too much effort. Another alternative is to mug a Jewish grandma and try her recipe. No two Jewish grandmothers have identical recipes; it's a mystic law.

Savory fillings currently making the rounds include deli foods, meats, and almost anything that can be stood up to putting into a doughy pastry triangle. Some cheese and a dab or two of Italian sauce conspire to be a pizza treat!

Another savory topping from this season - caramelize red onions, and add some balsamic vinegar and goat cheese. Or try "French onion soup" ones with caramelized onions, Worcestershire sauce, and Gruyere cheese. Small Mediterranean hamantaschen - a tomato, basil, and cheese filling - are great mini appetizers. There are recipes for all manner of savory doughs as well to accompany these fillings.

If you're on Jewish cooking lists, the big hamantash of the year was the whole wheat pumpkin hamantash, but the idea of whole-wheat hamantaschen has been around for a while. A whole wheat dough goes well with big flavors - apples and cinnamon, or, alternatively, if you're not kosher (or, for that matter, not Jewish, because everyone likes hamantaschen), corned beef and Swiss cheese with some Thousand Island dressing, for a Reuben hamantash.

There are now recipes for gluten-free hamantaschen doughs, so that everyone can have fun, and some very experimental bakers have worked out phyllo-based hamantaschen to produce the ultimate hybrid... the baklava hamantash. While this might seem like a fun Greek-Jewish fusion dish, baklava-type desserts combining fruit flavors, honey, and nuts are traditional to the Persian region as well, so Queen Esther herself might have snacked on something like this.

The perfect baking challenge is to invent a sweet or savory - or one of each - hamantash for each holiday. Saint Patrick's Day. Saint David's Day - how about a Welsh leek filling, or Welsh rabbit? What's your choice for the Fourth of July? President's Day, alas, is taken, as the traditional cherry-filling hamantash suits the George Washington story as well as cherry pie, and what's more American than an ethnic spin on a traditional dish?

If you've never had hamantaschen, try your hand at them. If you have, it's time to start inventing. There are recipes galore to get you started, ranging from the most Jewish (Chabad.com will always lead to interesting food articles) to the most funky (Buzzfeed, among other sites, aggregates wild and crazy hamantaschen recipes) to the healthiest (nowaythatshealthy.com, inspirehealthykids.com).

Go forth and bake, and let us know what you've invented. And if some brave baker invents an edible Passover hamantash - the operative word is edible - we want to hear about it. It's the baking equivalent of kosher ham and vegetarian short ribs, and non-dairy cheese that melts properly. It's up there with gluten-free bread that people will eat voluntarily. Take the challenge, and bake away.

Photo credit: MyJewishLearning.com

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