Hamantaschen - Buttery Poppy Seed Pockets

The Recipe

Makes: 16 large pastries (10cm in size)
Preparation: overnight for Mohn and 40 minutes for pastry
Baking Time: 10-12 minutes

Hamantaschen in Hebrew translates to "Haman's Ears" which were apparently cut off before he was hanged. The three points of the crumbly cookie possibly represents the Fathers of Judaism - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob maybe it just represents the shape of Haman's hat.

Hamantash (singular) was originally known as Mohntash in Germany, translating directly as poppy seed pockets. These crumbly, buttery pastries filled with black paste have existed since the Middle Ages, yet somehow, their identity was adapted by the Ashkenazi Jews and became a popular cookie celebrated at Purim. 

The Megillah of Esther (Book of Esther), is a series of scrolls written by the heroes of the events of Purim. Purim is celebrated at the end of February and beginning of March to symbolise the triumphant overthrow of Haman, the Prime Minister of the Persian Empire (4th Century, BCE) who convinced the King to kill thousands of Jews. The Jews retaliated, Haman was hanged and now Purim symbolises that defeat every year. It is celebrated with costumes, gift giving and of course, lots of food.

The triangular pastries symbolise a variety of things - depending on who tells the story. Hamantaschen in Hebrew translates to "Haman's Ears" which were apparently cut off before he was hanged. The three points of the crumbly cookie possibly represents the Fathers of Judaism - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob maybe it just represents the shape of Haman's hat.

With a wonderful story and an even more amazing taste and texture, Hamantaschen, in my eyes should be tried and eaten all year round. Traditionally filled with Mohn, a poppy seed paste - you are most welcome to add your own spin using a thick jam, Nutella or even try a savoury filling.

I made my Hamantaschen slightly larger than they traditionally are (because I'm greedy like that)..... I hope you enjoy biting into this Purim cookie which has a wonderful story behind it!

INGREDIENTS

Sweet Pastry Dough
500g plain flour
Pinch of fine salt
200g white caster sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
230g unsalted butter
Zest of 1 lemon rind
3tblsp/25g cream
½ tsp vanilla extract

MOHN – Poppy Seed Paste
160g black poppy seeds
1/8 cup/45g unsalted butter
100g honey
¼ cup/65g brown sugar
½ cup/160g milk
1 medium egg
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Egg Wash
1 egg
2 tblsp milk

METHOD

Cream the butter, salt, and sugar until pale, and then add the lemon rind.
Whisk the eggs, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl and add slowly to the butter mixture.
Gradually add the flour and baking powder to the wet mixture and incorporate until combined. Make sure you do not overwork the dough.
Wrap in cling film and allow to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Blend the poppy seeds until fine
Melt the butter, honey, sugar, salt and milk in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and turn off the heat
Whisk the egg in a separate bowl
Add about 100mls of the liquid into the egg and whisk together
Slowly add this mixture back into the saucepan and whisk until combine
On medium heat, whisk the mixture constantly until thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
Add the ground poppy seeds and mix until combined
Allow to cool and place in the refrigerator overnight.

ASSEMBLY
Preheat the oven to 180’C.
On a floured surface, roll out the pastry until about 5mm thick.
Cut out circles of pastry using a 10cm cookie cutter.

Brush the outside of the pastry discs lightly with water and place a tablespoon of the poppy seed paste in the centre of the disk, flatten it out slightly.

Fold the pastry edges over the sesame seed paste, to form a triangle shape. The corners of the pastry should overlap and be pinched slightly together.

Place on a tray lined with baking paper.

Brush the pastry with egg wash and place in the oven

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the pastry is golden.

Allow to cool slightly before enjoying with a hot cup of coffee!

Deep Dish Spiced Apple Pie

Whether you serve it with ice cream, custard, double cream or even American cheddar - you can't deny that apple pie is a classic. It's a comforting warm dessert that conjures all sorts of romantic notions of sitting by the fireplace, rugged up in your warm woolies, indulging in a giant slice of crumbly pastry and spiced sweet apples.....

Each country has their own version of apple pie whether it be the tarte tartin (France), a latice style pie (Dutch), a crumble topping (Sweden) or a good classic top and bottom pastry pie (USA & UK).

Original recipes, found in the 1380's, of any sort of sweet pie actually contained a rather inedible bland pastry. It was merely a casing called a 'cofyn' to hold the internals of the pie. Although sugar was available during this time, it was an expensive ingredient and not commonplace until mid 16th century when the apple pie in it's entirety could be consumed.

Depending on apples types and size of your pie will depend on cooking time. Some recipes call for a blind bake approach but you can throw everything in at the one time and allow your oven to do the magic.

The Recipe

Makes a 22cm deep dish round pie which will serve 6-8 people, depending on the slice size.

The Ingredients - Pastry
500g plain unbleached flour
140g icing sugar
zest of 1 lemon
270g cold, unsalted butter cut into cubes
2 medium egg yolks
3-4 tblsp cold water
pinch of sea salt

The Method - Pastry
Put the flour, icing sugar, lemon zest and salt into a large bowl.
Rub in the cold butter until it becomes a fine bread crumb consistency
Add in egg yolks and combine through the flour mixture
Slowly add cold water and mix until dough is combined and pliable
Shape into a flat disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before using.
If you have a mixer at home you can make this pastry quite easily with a paddle attachment. I personally like to use my hands because nothing beats the feeling of flour and butter in between my fingers!

The Ingredients - Filling
1kg green apples
1 tblsp lemon juice
150g brown sugar
2g/1.5 tsp ground cloves
4g/1tsp ground cinnamon
60g plain unbleached flour
egg, lightly beaten for brushing the the pastry

The Method
Pre heat oven to 180'C
While the pastry is chilling in the fridge, brush a 22cm pie dish or cake ban with butter and lightly dust with flour. Turn out the cake pan to get rid of the excess flour and place the pan into the fridge until the pastry is ready.

Core and peel the apples, slice to about 5mm thick and place in a mixing bowl
Throw the rest of the ingredients in with the apples (except the egg!!) and mix until combined. Set aside

When the pastry is chilled, cut off about three quarters and roll out onto a floured surface. Roll pastry to about 8mm thick and large enough to line the base and sides of the tin with a little excess. Press firmly into the tin. If a bit falls off, it's ok.. do a bit of a patchwork job. Leave a little bit of excess pastry as overhang on the edges.

Fill the pastry case with the apple mix

Roll the last quarter of the pastry to top of the pie, again at about 8mm thick on a floured surface and place on top to cover the pie. Trim off the excess pastry

Tuck the top layer of pstry under the bottom layer to create a nice clean lip on the rim of the pie tin. Crimp the top edges of the pie with index finger and thumb or you can use a fork.

Poke a few holes in the top of the pie to let out excess steam from the apples when they are cooking in the oven.

Bake for about 20minutes and then brush the top of the pie with egg wash. Cook for another 10-20 minutes until the apples inside are tender and the pastry is nice and golden.

Allow the pie to cool slightly before cutting into generous wedges and topping it with double cream or a good vanilla bean ice cream.

A wonderous winter warmer... Enjoy!

And you can check out the video here