Hamentashen (Cookie dough)

Hamentashen are a pastry that's traditional for the Jewish holiday of Purim, which celebrates the events described in the Biblical book of Esther.

The name of the dish is supposed to mean "Haman's Hats", where Haman is the villan of the story of Esther.

My own hypothesis starts with the fact that "mohn" is the Yiddish word for the traditional poppyseed filling of hamentashen. From there it's strictly guesswork, but I suspect that there was once a pastry called "mohn taschen", "poppyseed pockets." My guess is that some enterprising Eastern European baker had a large supply of mohn around Purim time and said to himself, "If I labeled these 'mohn taschen' as 'Ha-mohn-taschen' I would have a holiday tie-in and I could sell a bundle of 'em next week."

• 1/2 lb salted margarine, or unsalted and add 1 1/2 tsp salt to dry ingredients
• 2 C sugar
• 4 eggs
• 4 C flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream margarine and sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (don't forget salt if not using salted margarine).

Add dry ingredients to sugar-shortening-eggs and mix well.

If you planned ahead, refrigerate the dough overnight or as long as practical today.

Roll out with an additional cup of flour.

Cut circles with a drinking glass or biscuit cutter.

Put a spoonful of filling (see below) in the center of each circle.

Fold three arcs up to form a triangle shape with a small open center.

Bake about 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Traditional fillings are mohn (poppyseed, milk, and honey) and lekvar (prune butter). Modern alternatives include apricot preserves, raspberry preserves, nutella, and lemon curd.