Hamantaschen Shakers!
You will need the following:
- Any sized paper plate (white if you want to color it; already decorated if you do not)
- Any small, hard item that will make a loud noise. Options:
- Dry, hard beans (not from the can! Oy!)
- Whole coffee beans (the best smelling choice)
- Trail mix (remove the M&Ms, chocolate chips, or anything that melts)
- Nuts
- Rice (uncooked!)
- Cheerios
- Buttons
- Small-to-medium-sized bells
- Get creative!
- Hot glue gun, stapler, or tape (best option for bigger plates; parents please supervise. Regular glue might work, too, depending on how strong the paper plate is.)
- Tape
- Coloring markers and pencils for decorating
Hamentasch
Hamentasch is a special three-sided cookie eaten during Purim. The cookies resemble Haman’s hat, which Jewish people eat to destroy the memory of what he tried to do to them.
Poppy Seed Filling Ingredients:
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup sugar
- zest of 1 orange
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup poppy seeds
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 oz. lemon juice
- 1 oz. vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Dough Ingredients:
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 8 ounces sweet butter (softened)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs (for the egg wash)
Directions for filling:
- Put the milk, orange juice, sugar, and zest in a saucepan and cook over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- Take the poppy seeds and grind them in a coffee grinder until the seeds are a powder.
- Take the poppy seed powder and raisins and simmer in the milk mixture for 15 minutes making sure to stir the mixture frequently.
- Add the lemon juice and seasonings and mix thoroughly.
- Remove the mixture from the saucepan and place in a bowl and let cool in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Directions for Dough:
- Place the egg yolks and sugar in a food processor and mix well.
- Add the butter and lemon zest and mix gently.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt slowly while you pulsate the processor until it forms a ball.
- Preheat oven to 360°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Take the dough and cut in half and place it on a surface with enough flour so the dough will not stick.
- Roll the dough to a ¼ inch thickness.
- Take a circle cookie cutter (3 inches in diameter) and cut out your hamantaschen cookie and place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.
- Place a tablespoon of the poppy seed mixture in the middle of the cookie dough and fold the sides to form a tri-fold cookie.
- Brush the top of each cookie with the beaten eggs.
- Bake the cookies until golden brown, about 14-18 minutes, being careful not to burn the edges.
- Place the cookies on a wire rack and let cool.
Yield: 16-20 cookies
