Chocolate Hamantashen!?

[rebbetzin]

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No, I have never seen the poem myself, I got the information that the cookies are mentioned in a poem, while looking on line for recipes one time. Never looked up the poem. It might be on the web somewhere.

I am in Tucson AZ. We have visited Israel, and I have many friends living there. It is about time for us to go over, this would be a good year for it, since a good friend, whose huband is doing some research over the summer in Rehovot, at the Wiezmann Institute, has invited us to come stay with them, if we go over for a visit. That would be great to do that.

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The recipe is from my Betty Crocker Cookbook. That I have used since 1968!!!
This is my absolute favorite cookie recipe for doing rolled and cut out shapes.

Mary's Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
granulated sugar

Mix together sugar and butter. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract; mix well. Blend in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours. Heat oven to 375 F. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 3/16 inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into desired shapes; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown on edges.


To make them Chocolate, I added two melted squares (1 oz) of unsweetened Ghirardelli 100% Cacao to the butter and powdered sugar when I added the egg and vanilla. And I added a bit more flour to compensate for the chocolate. I probably should not have added the extra flour, it made the dough stiffer and harder to make into a triangle without breaking. But, even though the cold dough would break, the filling stayed in them and they rose up to fill in any cracks in the dough.

I used Solo brand fillings, found in most grocery stores in the baking section. I used Apricot, Poppy Seed, Cherry and Raspberry this year. And added the mini chocolate chips in with the fillings for the chocolate Hamantashens.

It is really not the best dough for Hamantashen. It works, and they are great fresh out of the oven. But the dough gets really too soft from the fillings by the next day or so.

It was an experiment this year to try the Sugar Cookie dough, if they stayed like a sugar cookie, with a fruit filling, for a few days, I would have been happier with them. I just ate one of the chocolate ones, and the dough is more like a cake dough now than a nice light and crisp cookie, like they were when they were first out of the oven.


So, if I ever try this again, I will have to have eveyone over to eat them right as they come out of the oven.

 

[rebbetzin]

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We dress up in costume. We have a play. The script is from a children's version of the book of Esther. It turns out as a comedy. People at the party are picked at random to play the different parts. NO rehearsals, The play is narrarated, by my husband the Rabbi, who was once a disc jockey, so he does a great job of reading the script! He uses different voices for each character. There are no other speaking parts, the "actors/actresses do the actions as the narrator says what is happening in the story. It is all done in pantomime. Each person is able to "improvise" on their parts.

We have some "props"... Burger King crowns for the King and Queen Vashti. We have a very nice crown for Queen Esther, but, Queen Esther is also required to wear Groucho Marx glasses with a nose and mustache. Haman is required to wear a pig nose. Some spears made from old wooden broom handles, with foil covered cardboard for the head of the spears for the Kings Guards. A very nice scepter for the king, I made it back in 1993! It is from an old wooden curtain rod, a screwed on wooden ball, spray painted with gold paint and with jewels glued on with gold T-Shirt type paints. A stick horse for Mordecai to ride though the town being honored for saving the life of the King, being led by Haman as the king commanded Haman to do, to honor Mordecai. A noose to hang Haman. Modecai has a pad and pen, with which he makes paper airplanes to send messages to his neice Queen Esther. I made some "stuffed" arms of flesh colored fabric, so when the line is read, "And the Jews 'took up arms' to defend themselves." People in the audience use the "arms" to ward off the Persian Soldiers near the end of the play.

We have some years prepared foods that are from Persia/Iran or the Middle East. Here are some Purim Photos from 2008 when we had a Purim Party at a Kosher Restaurant here in Tucson. It was a really fun night.

Me (in the pink veil) as Tamar, Daughter in Law of Judah, son of Jacob, from Genesis chapter 38. and my friend Pam, as Queen Vashti.

This fellow came as "Jonah and the Whale"

My Husband the "Ninja Rabbi" singing with his good friend and the owner of the restaurant.

One of the soliders, as you can see he is "armed" singing Karaoke!!

This is Queen Esther,

Here she is without the Groucho glasses

Here is Haman, May His Name Be Blotted Out, being hung...

So, as you can see we have a good time on this Holiday!

 

[mom'sfolly]

Looks like you had a rare good time!!! I like hamantashen, but then I like any filled cookie. The chocolate ones look good, especially with raspberry filling.