Almond Hamantashen Cookies Food

ALMOND HAMANTASHEN COOKIES

Steps:

• To prepare dough, place almonds in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until finely ground. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Process in on/off pulses for about 15 seconds longer, or until the ingredients are well blended. Sprinkle the butter over the dry ingredients. Process in on/off pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, use a fork to beat together sugar, egg, egg white, lemon juice, almond extract and lemon zest. Add egg mixture to the processor and process for 30 seconds, or until ingredients are incorporated and dough begins to mass around the blade - be careful not to over process.
• Turn dough out of the processor and divide in half. Roll out each half to a scant 1/4-in. thick between sheets of parchment paper, being sure to smooth out any creases in the underside of the dough. Stack dough sheets on a large tray or baking sheet and refrigerate for about 15 minutes, or until cold but not stiff.
• To prepare filling, combine marzipan, egg white, lemon juice and food colouring (if used) in the food processor. Add 1 teaspoon water and process until the mixture is smooth and well blended. If mixture is still too dry to hold together, add enough additional water (1 to 2 tbsp.) to soften and smooth it.
• Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease several baking sheets or line them with parchment paper and set aside. Remove one sheet of dough from the refrigerator and carefully peel off the bottom sheet of parchment paper, then replace it loosely. Turn dough over and peel off top sheet of paper. Cut dough into rounds using a 2- or 2 1/2-in. round cutter or rim of a drinking glass.
• Working with one dough round at a time, place a small, rounded 1/2 teaspoons marzipan filling in the centre and fold up dough to form triangle. The marzipan should mound just slightly in the centre of the "hat.".
• Repeat with each round, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the rounds become soft and difficult to handle at any point, slide the cookies and parchment paper onto a tray or baking sheet and refrigerate until they firm up again.
• Gather dough scraps and roll out between sheets of paper again. Cut out the cookies, transfer to baking sheets, and fill and shape until all the dough is used. Repeat the process with the second half of the dough.
• Place hamantashen in centre of oven and bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are just barely tinged with brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to stand for 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to wire racks and let stand until cooled completely. Sprinkle the tops with a generous sifting of powdered sugar. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage.

TRADITIONAL HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat shortening, sugar, and egg at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add zest and juice and beat until incorporated. Add flour mixture, stirring, until a smooth dough is formed. Gather dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Halve dough. On a lightly floured surface roll out half of dough (keeping other half wrapped and chilled) 1/4 inch thick. With a 3-inch cutter cut out as many rounds as possible. Transfer rounds with a metal spatula to a large baking sheet, arranging about 1/2 inch apart. Reroll scraps and cut out more rounds. Put 1 teaspoon filling in center of each round and fold up edges to form triangular cookies resembling a tricornered hat, pinching corners together and leaving filling exposed. (Pinch dough tightly enough so seams are no longer visible and sides are taut enough to prevent cookies from leaking filling as they bake.)
• Bake hamantaschen in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool hamantaschen on baking sheet 5 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely. Make more hamantaschen with remaining dough and filling in same manner. Hamantaschen keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.

GRANDMA'S HAMANTASHEN COOKIES

Steps:

• pre-heat oven to 375'F.
• cream butter and sugar.
• add eggs one at a time.
• beat well.
• add vanilla and orange juice.
• add flour and baking powder (and salt if needed).
• mix until the dough can form a ball.
• roll dough on a well floured board to about 1/8inch thick.
• cut into 3inch rounds.
• place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of each round.
• pinch dough upward in three places at the outer edge to make the traditional three-cornered hat shape.
• bake for 15-20 minutes on greased or parchment lined baking sheet until slightly golden brown.
• remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack for at least 10minutes.