Savory Hamantaschen - Leek, Fig and Cambozola

Hamantaschen. Triangular. Filled with stuff. Made for Purim. Meant to resemble Book of Esther’s Haman. Also maybe meant to resemble aforementioned defeated enemy’s ears (in Israel Hamantaschen are called “Oznei Haman” - translation from Hebrew: Haman’s ears). Whatever they are, they are defined by their shape. There are endless variations on their dough, their size, their flavors, and their fillings.

This year, like many other years, I continue to explore the possibilities of what Hamantaschen can be. I experiment with the dough. Egg or no egg? Butter or margarine? Sweet or savory? Traditional fillings or crazy fillings? I'm still seeking my perfect version of a sweet, not-too floury dough (this one comes close), but I am increasingly happy to eat a pastry that is a little more savory. While it has a note of sweetness, this hamantaschen is more appetizer than dessert. The dough is the same used in flaky pie dough or crostatas, the filing has leeks, fig preserves and Cambazola cheese. The result is salty, sweet, and rich.

As a cautionary note, the impulse may be to fill these generously with your filling; exert restraint, it will seem like too little but any more will cause the cookie to overflow or taste too filling-heavy. Another cautionary note, make sure to really pinch shut the edges of each hamantaschen. These tricky guys like to unravel in the oven any chance they get.

Savory Leek, Fig, and Cambozola Hamantaschen

Makes approximately 20

for the dough-

2½ cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, cold

6-8 tablespoons ice cold water

1 egg, beaten for the egg wash

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the filling-

2 large leeks, diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼-½ teaspoon fig preserves per hamantaschen

½ teaspoon Cambozola or creamy blue cheese per hamantaschen

for the dough-

In a food processor, add the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times. Add the cold cubed butter. Pulse until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbs of butter and flour. (If doing by hand, using a pastry cutter combine the dry ingredients with the butter until pea-sized balls form).

To the food processor add the apple cider vinegar, and the ice water a few tablespoons at a time. Pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball. If the dough doesn’t stick together easily between your fingers, add another tablespoon of water. When it is done, the dough will be slightly crumbly but will easily form into a ball. Form the finished dough into a flattened disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerated for 2-3 hours or overnight.

for the filling-

Clean and dice the leeks. To a skillet over medium low heat, add the butter. Add the leeks to the pan and season them with salt. Sauté until the leeks are soft and starting to caramelize (turning golden but not crispy and browned), about 10-15 minutes

to assemble your hamantaschen-

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Flour your surface and rolling pin lightly. Roll out the dough until about ¼-inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit, cookie cutter, or even a drinking glass, cut out rounds from the dough. Fill each round with ½ a teaspoon of the leek mixture, ½ a teaspoon of fig preserves, and ½ a teaspoon of cambozola blue cheese. Fold over one third of the round onto the filling, fold over a second third, and fold over the last third. With each third, gently pinch and seal the edges of the dough firmly together, forming a well-secured triangle-shaped pastry. Transfer the hamantaschen onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure there is at least an inch between each pastry. You can re-roll the remaining dough and form more hamantaschen.

In a small dish, beat an egg. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Top with freshly ground black pepper if desired.

Bake the hamantaschen for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown.

Once baked, transfer to a rack to fully cool. Serve at room temperature. The hamantaschen can be stored in an air-tight container for several days, if they last that long.

Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen are generally a simple cookie: sweet pastry filled with jam, poppy seed fillings, prunes or other dried fruit combinations in triangular form. They're usually made of a sturdy sugar cookie-type dough. They're also often a little dry and boring.

Last year, I used basic pie dough for my hamantaschen. I really like those cookies because you can never go wrong with good pastry, but this year I wanted to bake more traditional hamantaschen. I did a little research and found the Ovenly recipe. Their pie dough + powdered sugar + egg yolk combination inspired me. I found I needed a little more liquid than the original recipe called for, but otherwise it's very similar to theirs. Next time I would probably omit the honey from the dough as it's plenty sweet with the powdered sugar (if you do this you may need to add a little extra water). 

You can fill these cookies with your favorite thick jam, or you can make a poppy seed or dried apricot filling. Ovenly also has a few ideas for inspired hamantaschen fillings. 

These hamantaschen are perfect along with a hot cup of tea or coffee, especially during these lingering winter days... They are soft and delicate, buttery and crumbly, small and sweet. 

Happy Purim!

Raspberry Hamantaschen

Recipe slightly adapted from Ovenly

Makes approximately 40 hamantaschen

for the dough-

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, cold and cubed

2-3 tablespoons ice water

for the filling-

1/2-3/4 cup thick jam (I used organic low-sugar raspberry jam... or sub with your favorite filling choice)

for the egg wash-

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon water

for the dough-

Sift together the flour, sugar and salt. This step is critical as powdered sugar is generally lumpy, and this step eliminates the lumps. Cube the butter. Add the flour and butter to a food processor. Pulse until a coarse meal forms. If you don't have a food processor, combine the flour mixture and the butter using a pastry cutter.

Next, make a well in the dough, and add the egg yolks and the honey to the well. Combine everything together with your hands or a spoon. The dough will be crumbly and it will just start sticking together. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water, and combine the dough. If the dough still isn't coming together, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. Be careful not to over-mix or your dough will get tough. Also, be careful not to add too much water. You want to just form a ball of dough without it being too sticky or wet.

Form the dough into a 6-inch dish. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. If you see flecks of butter in the dough that is a very good thing

to assemble the hamantaschen-

Once chilled, roll the dough out until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-inch biscuit or round cookie cutter, or using a small glass, cut rings out of the dough.

Combine the scraps of dough, and re-roll it and cut out more rounds.

Add about 1/2 a teaspoon of filling to the center of each cookie. Pinch the sides closed so that you form a triangle. You want to make sure the dough is sealed very well together, otherwise the filling will escape as the cookie bakes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Transfer the hamantaschen to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze the cookies for 15 minutes before baking, or about as long as it takes for the oven to preheat.

Make an egg wash by whisking the egg yolk and water together. 

Before placing the cookies in the oven, brush the dough with the egg wash. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer the cookies to a rack and allow them to cool. 

Strawberry Hamantaschen Tartelettes

I need no excuse to make a cookie, but holidays are a good one.  Purim is this Saturday, and Hamantaschen, a three-sided cookie with a filling, is traditionally eaten and given as gifts on this holiday.

There are 2 things that hamantaschen need to be: three-sided and filled with something (jam, poppy seeds, prunes, etc.)  These aren't bad requirements for a cookie.  The only problem is that most of the Hamantaschen I've eaten in my life kind of suck.  They tend to be large in size, with dry bland cookie dough surrounding average tasting jam.

The only exception to the sucky-hamantaschen rule are my grandmother's (of course).  Instead of cookie dough, she made a pastry dough that she typically used for peroshke.  She also made her hamantashen small. She also filled them with homemade jam.

Pie dough is my favorite type of dough, and I  thought why not make hamantaschen with that?
The result: it worked.

These don't taste like typical hamantaschen. They taste like little pies.  If you want to make them into tartelettes (in fact, my french roommate says they reminded him of these), you don't need to form them into triangles.  If you want to make them triangular, you need to make sure you fold over the corners really well. This is a versatile base to work with, and I'm sure I'll play around with this recipe in the future.

I apologize in advance for the directions on this one... I sort of winged it, and some of this you have to do by feel... make sure your dough isn't too wet, don't roll it out too thick, make sure you chill the dough, and make sure you chill the cookies before you bake them. They are a little labor intensive, but they're also fun to make, if you like this sort of thing.

Pie-Dough Hamantaschen with Strawberry Filling
Makes 30 cookies

for the dough-
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cubed
1/4 cup ice water

for the filling-
1/2 cup strawberry jam (thick is best, recipe below if you want to make your own)
3-4 strawberries, quartered and sliced very thin
1 egg
turbinado or coarse sugar

for the dough-
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. For all pie dough, keep all of the ingredients as cold as possible.

In a food processor, add the flour and the cubed butter.  Pulse until the butter looks pea-sized and the mixture is crumbly.  Slowly add the ice water, a little at a time.  Pulse each time you add.  The dough is ready when it sticks together when you press it with your fingers.

Form the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disc, and cover it in plastic wrap.  Let the dough chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

to assemble-
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Make an egg wash by cracking an egg and beating it in a small dish.

Cut the dough into thirds, keep the dough you're not using in the fridge.  Roll the dough out until it is about a 1/4-inch thick.  Cut the dough with a 2-inch biscuit cutter. You can take the scraps of dough and re-roll those out so that none of the dough goes to waste.  If you want the tartelettes larger, use a 3-inch biscuit cutter or a glass (add more filling accordingly).

Spoon a 1/4 teaspoon of strawberry jam into the center of each round. Top the jam with a thin slice of strawberry.  Fold over the edges of the dough onto the jam, forming a triangle.  I start by folding one third, then another, then the last.  Pinch each corner super tight, otherwise the dough will unfold when the cookies bake. Here's a good tutorial.

Place the cookie on the baking sheet, leave an inch or two of room between each cookie.  Once you fill up the tray, place the tray of cookies in the freezer (or fridge) to chill for 15-30 minutes before baking. Take the cookies out of the freezer.  Brush the egg wash over the edges of the cookie, sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.

Fresh Strawberry Jam
adapted from Ina Garten's recipe

2 pints fresh strawberries, rinsed and cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
juice and zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and continue to cook over very low heat for 45 minutes, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the mixture boils slowly. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate, and the mixture starts to look thick and jammy. (I keep one in the freezer.) Pour carefully into a canning jars and either seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately, or follow proper canning guidelines below.