Hamantashen (Haman's Pockets)hamantashen

Various reasons are given for eating these triangular pastries. Some say they are reminiscent of the tri-cornered hat worn by Haman and the other officers of the Persian court. In Hebrew, they are called Oznei Haman - Haman's Ears, because of the pasuk ". . . and his ears fell down." Tradition holds that Haman had pointy ears - like Mr. Spock! They are filled with poppyseed, prune or other fillings. The good treat hidden inside is also a reference to Purim, where G-d's Hand was hidden.

Yields 4 dozen

Ingredients for Dough:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup margarine
3 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
4 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten, for glaze

For filling: Use apricot or prune jam. Or if you can get a can of poppyseed filling, you can make the traditional poppy seed hamantashen. For untraditional variations, try other types of jam, chocolate spread, or chocolate chips.

1. Blend sugar, oil and shortening. Add eggs and juice.
2. Add dry ingredients and roll into a ball. Refrigerate for one hour.
3. Divide dough into four parts. Roll out each piece very thin (1/8 inch) on a floured board. With the rim of a glass, or cookie cutter, cut circles into the dough.
4. Place 1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon of filing in the middle of each circle.
5. To make into triangles: pull together right and left sides of each circle, so that they meet in the center, leaving the bottom side down. Lift the bottom side up to meet other two sides, forming a triangle. Seal the sides very lightly, they will ease open in the oven, revealing the filling.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Brush dough with beaten egg before baking. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Delicious Kreplach

These stuffed dumplings are eaten three times a year: on Erev Yom Kippur, on Hoshanah Raba, and on Purim. One explanation is that these are the three holidays of beating - on Yom Kippur we beat our breast (alt.explanation: we "beat" kapparos, the atonement offering); on Hoshanah Raba, we beat the hoshana bundle; and on Purim we beat Haman! (The connection between beating and eating dumplings remains unclear to me.) The key idea of eating dumplings on Purim lies in the hiddenness of their contents. The miracles of Purim happened in a seemingly hidden way, until the entire story was revealed. Kreplach are generally served with chicken soup. They could also be fried like pirogen and served as an appetizer or side dish.

Yields 50 kreplach

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef or chicken
4 small onions, minced
4 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb flour
2 eggs
12 fl oz warm water

1. In saucepan, brown the meat and onions in the oil. Don't let the onions get burnt and crispy. Add 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, remaining salt, eggs, and water. Mix until the dough is smooth. Roll into a ball.
3. Cut the dough into 10 pieces. Roll out each piece flat. Then cut 5 circles, about 3 inches in diameter, out of each piece with a glass or pastry cutter. Place 1 tsp of meat filling in the middle of each piece. Fold the dough over and seal the edges. You can make them into triangles, like hamantashen, or into half-moon shapes. Or you could use two circles of dough to make larger, circular kreplach.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the kreplach, up to 10 at a time, and cook until they float to the top (or else 3-5 minutes, if they don't float). Remove with a slotted spoon.
5. Drop them into the chicken soup a few minutes before serving.