Kosher Baking from A to Z

The Art and Science of Hamentashen

By: Elizabeth Book Kratz, Center for Kosher Culinary Arts

Few, if any, of our fancy culinary arts textbooks at CKCA include recipes for hamentashen. On the one hand, hamentashen are sentimental little triangular trifles from the old country that are really only popular one day a year. On the other hand, who would be better to keep alive these special Purim treats than the folks at the only kosher culinary school in America? We've got plenty of Jewish grandmothers among us, and we have watched carefully as they rolled out delicious rounds to create the Jewish world's most perfect cookie. So, after much discussion and debate, we present to you our decree on hamentashen, and we think Mordechai and Queen Esther would be proud!

CKCA's decree is that hamentashen are a unique and special cookie, because, unlike rugelach or even babka, the best of the best simply cannot be found in professional bakeries. Instead, the most delectable and mouthwatering of these cookies are found coming out the ovens and perfuming the kitchens of Jewish homes throughout the world, during the few days preceding the Purim holiday, which will be celebrated this year on February 28, 2010.

We feel that bakeries never get hamentashen truly right because the recipes we have, which are overwhelmingly passed down from our European grandmothers, were meant to be made in small batches, with attention given toward the inclusion of fresh ingredients and good tasting fillings, all designed to deliver a delicate, soft, sweet cookie.   

We will share an amazing recipe for hamentashen at the end of this article, but we also recognize that most people have a recipe from their own grandmother tucked away for this time of year. Therefore, we have found that the following five tips will provide our signature A to Z guidance when using any hamentashen recipe.

Prepare Hamentashen Dough in Small Batches

No matter how many dozens of hamentashen you make this year, it is important to prepare your dough in small batches to ensure good consistency. Otherwise, you run the risk of a chalky, heavy, hard pastry; the kind most often found in bakeries. It is key to mix your wet ingredients very well, and then add the dry ingredients alternatively with liquid, and to combine everything well. Don't overmix the final product! As soon as the dough comes together, the mixer should be turned off. We've discussed the same idea before in this column, that there are some recipes in which it is good to keep the mixer on to develop the strands of gluten in flour, but this is not one of those times! It is best to handle hamentashen dough as little as possible so that the dough keeps a light and airy consistency, not chalky, hard or chewy. The dough should also be chilled before you roll it out. This will make it less sticky and easier to manage, and it will ensure that each cookie rises and bakes evenly.    

Shape and Seal

Hamentashen dough should be rolled out on a floured surface, very thinly, to approximately 1/4 of an inch thick. Then, using a floured drinking glass or cookie cutter, cut a circle shape about 2 inches in diameter. After dotting the center of the circle with filling (approximately 1 teaspoon), draw up the bottom of the circle and then each of the two sides, to create an equilateral triangle with a little of the filling showing in the center. Dip your fingers in cold water, and then pinch the three corners with your fingers to seal and perfect the shape of the triangle. (For those who don't know, the triangular shape is made to approximate the three-cornered hat worn by Haman, the bad guy in the Purim story).

Determine Your Precision Baking Time and Temperature

Most recipes we see for hamentashen recommend a 375 degree oven and a 15-minute maximum baking time. This means two things: First, make sure your oven does not run too hot, or else the edges of your hamentashen will burn before the center is cooked. And second, a 15-minute maximum means that there is a very small time period between the time your cookies are done, and ruined. The best way to solve this problem is to hover (like a Jewish mother!) around the oven from about the 12-minute mark until the 14-minute mark. To avoid making too crisp a cookie, take the tray out at about 13 minutes. If you do like a crispy cookie, it makes a difference to line your pan with white parchment paper. This will keep the bottoms of the hamentashen from being scorched when baking a few minutes longer to achieve a crispy cookie. We recommend using parchment paper either way, for easy cleanup.

Flavorful Filling, Measured Precisely

In this day and age, we are very lucky that many kosher supermarkets carry good tasting fillings for hamentashen throughout the year. But that does not mean that you should just add the filling from the container to the hamentashen without tasting it. Take a sample, and remember that a squeeze of lemon juice or some freshly grated zest will take prune, poppy seed, and apricot filling to a gourmet level. Puree a mango and combine it with marmalade or raspberry jam for a tropical treat. Add a drop of peppermint flavoring to chocolate filling for a refreshing, minty surprise. Throw some dark chocolate chips and a dash of vanilla into your tart cherry filling, and your family will know you have baked up something special. Most often, very small changes to your filling will result in a big flavor bonus. Just make sure the filling does not have too much liquid, or else you will end up with hamentashen soup. Achieving the consistency of paste or a very thick jam will be most successful. 

Measuring exactly the same amount of filling into each cookie will also result in a nice looking plate or platter of evenly sized hamentashen. We have found that a slightly heaping teaspoon is the perfect amount of filling for a two-inch-in-diameter cookie. You may decide that more or less is your speed, and that's great. Just make sure to try to keep your measure precise for all your cookies, so that they all bake evenly and end up the same size. Measuring precisely will also cut down on leaky hamentashen.

Airtight Storage

This last piece of advice comes not from the hallowed halls of the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts, or from our grandmothers who grew up before Ziploc and Glad containers, but from my mom, whose fantastic recipe for hamentashen has been in great demand for many years. If you want your hamentashen to stay fresh and soft for several days, store it in a truly airtight container, and, as insurance, cover it with lots of waxed paper. My mom's five children each live in a different state, and we all deeply believe Purim will not arrive until her hamentashen have been received in the mail. The best way to mail these guys is to cover them under and over, with waxed paper, place them in an airtight plastic container, and fill to the top with more crumbled wax paper. This will keep them secure and soft until delivery!

Recipe: Ruth Book’s Famous Hamentashen

Go to Purim Central on Kosher.com

Author Bio:

- Elizabeth Kratz is a staff writer at the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts. She is a graduate of CKCA's professional program in culinary arts and also holds a master's degree in non-fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University. Located in the heart of Flatbush Brooklyn, the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts offers professional culinary training programs and hands-on cooking and baking classes for all ages. Classes are taught by experienced chef instructors and are offered during the day and in the evenings. CKCA is the only kosher cooking school in the US, and offers professional level training programs in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry Arts.

Learn more about the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts by visiting http://www.kosherculinaryarts.com . Visit CKCA's professional baking and pastry program on the web at http://www.kosherbakingandpastry.com