Hamantaschen Best Food

HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Make the dough: Beat the butter, both sugars, the egg, milk, vanilla and maple extract (if using) with a mixer on medium-high speed. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat until fully incorporated.
• Divide the dough into thirds and wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Form the hamantaschen: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375˚ F. Roll out one piece of dough on a floured surface until 1/8 inch thick. Use the rim of a juice glass to cut out 3-inch circles. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Spoon a teaspoon of the apricot preserves into the center of each circle of dough.
• Fold in the edges of the dough to form a triangle, pinching at the corners to keep the filling in but leaving the center filling slightly exposed.
• Bake the hamantaschen: Arrange the hamantaschen on 2 baking sheets (use nonstick pans or line the pans with parchment paper).
• Bake, rotating and switching the pans halfway through, until the hamantaschen are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.

HAMENTASCHEN

Steps:

• To make the Filling: Place the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until soft and the liquid is absorbed. Add water, if needed. Let cool.
• To make the Dough: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, egg white, and orange zest. Add it to the processor and pulse to mix, being careful not to over mix. Divide into 2 disks and chill 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to 1/4-inch thick. Cut out 2 1/2 to 3-inch disks. (You can re-roll the scrapes to make more disks.) Place a disk of dough down and place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center. Pinch the disk in 3 places to form a triangular shape with the filling still showing in the center. They will look like 3 cornered hats. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Continue until all the disks are made.
• Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

HAMANTASCHEN WITH POPPY SEED FILLING

Steps:

• Put the confectioners' sugar and the egg yolks in a food processor and blend. Add butter and lemon zest and process to blend. Gradually add the flour and the salt, pulsing until it forms a ball. Divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Put milk, sugar and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat. Grind poppy seeds to a fine powder in coffee grinder, taking care not to over-process to a paste. When milk mixture is warm, turn heat to low and add poppy seeds and raisins. Cook at a low simmer stirring frequently until the seeds absorb the milk and the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice, brandy, orange liqueur and butter. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the vanilla extract, remove from the heat and let cool completely, or chill until needed, up to 3 days.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Unwrap one of the chilled dough disks and place on a piece of parchment paper that has been dusted lightly with flour. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Cover with a second piece of parchment paper. Let stand at room temperature until malleable, about 5 minutes. Use a rolling pin to press and roll out the dough into a 1/4-inch- thick round between the sheets of parchment, flipping the dough occasionally. Use a plain biscuit or cookie cutter or glass to cut 3-inch circles, placing the circles on the prepared baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill until firm while you repeat the rolling/cutting process with the second round of dough.
• Remove the first pan of dough rounds from the refrigerator. Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each, and press up the sides to form triangles, pinching the ends closed. If the dough is too firm, let stand a minute or two to soften; returning the baking sheet to the refrigerator if the dough becomes too soft. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds.
• Brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake until golden and dough is delicately firm all the way through, about 13-18 minutes, rotating the racks front to back and top to bottom after about 10 minutes.
• Place trays on wire racks for 10 minutes before transferring cookies on parchment to racks to cool completely.

HAMANTASCHEN (BEST EVER!)

Steps:

• For the filling, simply chop all the ingredients fine in your food processor and mix well.
• For the dough, cream sugar and eggs.
• Add oil and mix until it turns pale yellow and is no longer shiny.
• Mix in lemon and vanilla.
• In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet. When it becomes difficult to mix, add more flour and knead.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• To assemble cookies, roll out dough (in batches) to desired thickness (maybe a little thinner than 1/4") and cut into circles of desired size (can use cookie cutter, inverted glass, etc). Put a dollop of filling in the center of each cookie and fold up into a triangular shape, pinching the corners and leaving the center open so that the filling peeks out.
• Bake cookies for about 15 minutes until they are beginning to brown. I've always greased the cookie sheet very lightly with non-stick spray, but I don't know that you need to.