Hamentaschen: A Cookie Everyone Should Know and Love
Photo by Annie B. Copps
Some people wait for asparagus or fiddlehead ferns as a sign of spring. For me, it’s hamentaschen.
“Hamen” what?
I was in my 30’s when I got my first taste of hamentaschen cookies from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, the sweet arm of Ann Arbor’s famous Zingerman’s Deli, so I’d lived three decades missing out on one of the all-time-great cookies. They’re in league with the chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, peanut butter and—for some of you—oatmeal raisin. I couldn’t figure out how I’d missed these light, yet rich and buttery cookies shaped in triangles and filled with sweet jam, until I learned their story. Traditionally, they only come out of the oven during the Jewish holiday of Purim (this year March 9th and 10th), a very short window.
Purim celebrates Queen Ester’s intervention against the evil Haman and most people agree the triangular shape represents Haman’s tricornered hat. But there are, of course, other stories about their etymology.
Depending on whom you ask, hamentaschen can be made with butter or margarine (margarine if you prefer pareve); it can also be a yeasted dough; and the fillings can range from traditional poppy seeds, prunes or apricots, to all flavors of jam or chocolate or—gasp—Nutella. Baking these cookies is a delicious and fun exercise and you don’t have to wait until Purim to make them—use my recipe below and get creative with the filling!
If you can’t get to the mixer but want to try some professionally-made hamentaschen this season, they are available now at many bakeries across Greater Boston: