Hamantaschen are traditionally associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim (which was February 28th-March 1st in 2018), but there's no law (religious or secular, hah!) against enjoying them any time of the year.

I enjoy making them not only because of the delightful contrast between the sweet fruit jam and buttery dough but also because I get to practice my pinching technique to form the signature triangle shape. Btw, although fruit or poppyseed are standard fillings, more unorthodox flavors of hamantaschen (pistachio and triple-chocolate) are arising all over the interwebs.

The recipe below is adapted from Saveur.

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
5 cups flour
1 1/2 cups strawberry preserves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line at least 2 cookies sheets with wax or parchment paper.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar together in large bowl until foam forms.

3. Add oil, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda and flour. Gradually add this dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients until a stiff dough forms. You may have to knead a bit by hand to thoroughly combine.

5. Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough out onto the surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even ¼-inch-thick sheet.

6. With a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, punch circles in the dough.

7. Fill center of each dough circle with approximately 1 tablespoon of strawberry preserves.

8. Fold in the dough from three sides and press the edges together to seal, leaving a small opening over the filling. When all of the cookies are shaped, place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

9. Bake cookies until lightly brown on bottom (about 20 minutes).

10. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

I have the soundtrack to Hamilton stuck in my head, and all those lyrics about the American Revolutionary War made me think about the Boston Tea Party, which made me think of tea, which made me think of...you guessed it: cookies.

In pondering what type of cookies pair best with tea (and what type of tea), I have decided to eschew pontificating (hah!) on the minutiae of what might define a 'tea cookie' vs. a 'non-tea cookie' and assign only two requirements.

First, the cookie must look reasonably cute/pretty as it functions as much as adornment for a tea tablescape* as it does as a snack. Second, it must benefit (i.e., taste even better) via a dunk in your tea of choice.

Jam thumbprints in my mind satisfy both of these requirements, and making them afforded me a convenient way of using more of my father-in-law's delicious homemade jams. Yes, he makes jam from scratch in multiple flavors. Also, the cartoons for the labels for his jam. And chairs, for that matter. Show-off.

Sesame seeds may seem like an odd choice, but ironically, I like their crunchy "nutty" contrast to the fruity soft jam better than that actual nuts would provide. They also make these cookies smell wonderful in the oven.

*Sorry but if smize gets to be a word, so does tablescape.

Ingredients

1 cup of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup sesame seeds (more if needed)
3/4 cup of your father-in-law's homemade jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.. Using a hand-held mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined and creamy.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.

5. Gradually add in dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture, beating well.

6. Place dough in fridge for 30 minutes.

7. Roll dough into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter. Coat liberally in sesame seeds.

#27. Strawberry Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen are traditionally associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim (which was February 28th-March 1st in 2018), but there's no law (religious or secular, hah!) against enjoying them any time of the year.

The recipe below is adapted from Saveur.

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbs lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking powder

5 cups flour

1 1/2 cups strawberry preserves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line at least 2 cookies sheets with wax or parchment paper.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar together in large bowl until foam forms.

3. Add oil, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda and flour. Gradually add this dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients until a stiff dough forms. You may have to knead a bit by hand to thoroughly combine.

5. Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn the dough out onto the surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an even ¼-inch-thick sheet.

6. With a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass, punch circles in the dough.

7. Fill center of each dough circle with approximately 1 tablespoon of strawberry preserves.

8. Fold in the dough from three sides and press the edges together to seal, leaving a small opening over the filling. When all of the cookies are shaped, place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

9. Bake cookies until lightly brown on bottom (about 20 minutes).

10. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

#17. Sesame Jam Thumbprints

I have the soundtrack to Hamilton stuck in my head, and all those lyrics about the American Revolutionary War made me think about the Boston Tea Party, which made me think of tea, which made me think of...you guessed it: cookies.

In pondering what type of cookies pair best with tea (and what type of tea), I have decided to eschew pontificating (hah!) on the minutiae of what might define a 'tea cookie' vs. a 'non-tea cookie' and assign only two requirements.

First, the cookie must look reasonably cute/pretty as it functions as much as adornment for a tea tablescape* as it does as a snack. Second, it must benefit (i.e., taste even better) via a dunk in your tea of choice.

Sesame seeds may seem like an odd choice, but ironically, I like their crunchy "nutty" contrast to the fruity soft jam better than that actual nuts would provide. They also make these cookies smell wonderful in the oven.

Ingredients

1 cup of butter, room temperature

1/2 cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup sesame seeds (more if needed)

3/4 cup of your father-in-law's homemade jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.. Using a hand-held mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined and creamy.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt.

5. Gradually add in dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture, beating well.

6. Place dough in fridge for 30 minutes.

7. Roll dough into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter. Coat liberally in sesame seeds.

8. Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

9. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Or longer, if you want really toasty, roasty sesame seeds.

10. Enjoy with a mug of milky Earl Gray.