Move over poppyseed, prune and raspberry. Make room for apple, lemon lavender and s’mores. Those flavors are among the favorite varieties made by Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen, a charity-driven project run by an enterprising group of Tufts University students who live at the Bayit, a Jewish cultural residence on the Medford-Somerville campus.

Hamantaschen are triangular, filled pastries enjoyed at the Jewish holiday of Purim, beginning this year on the evening of March 16th. The joyous one-day holiday dates back to Ancient Persia, when the heroic Queen Esther foiled the king’s advisor, Haman’s evil plot to murder the kingdom’s Jews.

Not Your Bubbe’s Orange Blossom Hamentaschen

As Purim approaches, a small band of merrymaking, industrious students are gearing up to temporarily trade their textbooks for measuring cups and rolling pins, turning out trays of the customary hamantaschen in a round-the-clock baking spree. The name of the pastry, “Haman’s pocket” in Yiddish, is a nod to the three-pointed hat worn by the villain in the Purim story. The holiday is focused on charity and caring for others.

The group is turning tradition on its head with its tempting, inventive flavors. This year, in keeping with their innovative, playful vibe, they are adding orange blossom, bananas foster and Mexican hot chocolate, among others. The Ashkenazi treat is often made with cookie dough but there’s also a yeast dough version.

Not Your Bubbe’s Hamanstaschen sells thousands of the cookies to raise money for charities, cleverly linked with the cookie flavors, or to help support the Bayit’s programs. Proceeds from the Lemon Lavender hamantaschen will go to The Trevor Project for queer youth, while Orange Blossom benefits the Bee Conservancy. In its first year, the group donated more than $500 to charities, according to Jacob Shaw, a Jumbo senior who first brought the idea to the Bayyit in 2020.

“The driving values behind Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen are the values of Purim, tzedakah (charity) and Tikkun Olam, making the world a better place,” Shaw told Edible Boston.

Shaw is no stranger to baking hamantaschen at Purim. As a young kid growing up near Chicago, his family’s hamantaschen were so popular with neighbors and teachers that it blossomed into a full-scale Purim endeavor. His father perfected the dough, a well guarded secret recipe described as buttery, with a slightly crisp outside and soft on the inside. He and his younger sister were responsible for the flavors. Now, Shaw has helped take it on the road.

“It’s just meaningful to put smiles on people’s faces,” Shaw said about the project at Tufts. “That what we do.”

The cookies are available by pre-order only (deadline is Friday afternoon, March 4) on the Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen website and can be picked up beginning on Monday, March 14 on the Tufts campus or delivered nearby for a small fee.