Friday, March 18, 2011

Chocolate Hamentaschen for Purim

This year the Holiday of Purim starts on March 19 (lunar calendar). The traditional food served during this Jewish Holiday is Hamentaschen. They're made to resemble Hamen's (the villain of the story) hat!  Traditionally, hamentaschen were filled with prune, apricot or munn (poppyseed). But what's to say that Hamen's Hat couldn't be made of or filled with chocolate? I must mention that this holiday is about a Jewish woman who saves her people. How can you not love a holiday that honors a strong clever woman?


The holiday of Purim appears in the Book of Esther. The story is read from the Megillah. So as not to give you the whole 'megillah' here, the story goes that Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as a daughter, was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of Ahasuerus' harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was Jewish. The king’s aide, Haman, wanted to kill the Jews. Esther tells the king that  Hamen is plotting to have her killed-- well he's plotting to have all the Jews killed. When she tells the King that she is Jewish, the king kills Haman instead and saves the Jews. During Purim, everyone eats  hamantaschen. They are supposed to be modeled after Haman’s three pointed hat. In Israel it's said they're shaped like Hamen's ears (oznei Haman), but I feel better about eating hats than ears. :-) So on with the Chocolate!

Following are two great recipes for Chocolate Hamentaschen for Purim. You'll find them quite different, and I suggest you try both. Although the holiday starts this weekend, there's no reason that these great pastries (cookies) can't be made and consumed now!


Before you begin, here are some tips for making good hamantaschen.
Dough: Be sure and chill your dough. If you're not quick about it, put the dough back in the fridge for a short time. Be sure and refrigerate the dough before rolling it out. Roll out dough between pieces of parchment or wax paper rather than adding more flour, so the final product isn't too dense and doughy.


I. Decadent Chocolate Hamentaschen
Recipe from Victoria Sutton at MyJewishLearning 

Chocolate Pâte Sucree:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 egg
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup DARK cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate Ganache Filling:
8 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
8 ounces heavy cream
Dash salt
Rum to taste (optional)

Chopped cherries, cranberries, nuts, or toffee (optional)








Recipe originally adapted from Coconut and Lime
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup DARK cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of any flavor jam, divided

2. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and mix until a thick dough forms. Refrigerate the dough for about 10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle a clean work area with powdered sugar. Roll out the dough until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 2 to 3 inch rounds. Place them on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
4. Spoon 1-2 tsp of jam (or peanut butter) in the middle and fold the sides to create a triangle shape. Pinch the corners and lightly smoosh them down so there isn’t a visible seam. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Photo 2: Chocolate Hamentachen: Voila!Adventures with Emily


Lauren at Keep It Sweet said...

I've never seen chocolate hamentaschen before!

Janet Rudolph said...

Lauren, the NYT has a great chocolate filling for Hamentaschen this week. I need to try it!