MangiaMore: HAMANTASCHEN

RER 3.4.15

As I usually do when I want to feel envious, I visited My Name is Yeh. When I saw her beautiful Halva and Jam Hamantaschen post, I immediately wanted to make my own (I know, I just made jelly-filled cookies, but it’s Purim!). She links to funfetti hamantaschen on Lil Miss Cakes and I knew I wanted a smattering of sprinkles in mine. Despite disapproval,  I was still excited to use the basic dough.

RER 3.4.15

RER 3.3.15

RER 3.3.15

My desire intensified as I decided what flavor hamantaschen to bake. I took an informal survey— raspberry, chocolate, blackberry, strawberry (raspberry and apricot were the winners), but I was dying to try the more traditional flavor, poppy seed. After I rejected recipes with eggs and liqueurs, a conversation with one of my besties resulted in the perfect poppy seed filling recipe from Bon Appétit.

RER 3.3.15

RER 3.3.15

RER 3.3.15

Per usual, I was intimidated, but eager to try a new recipe (or two) and use ingredients I had yet to work with.  Like, honey. Sure, I put it in Greek yogurt, but I hadn’t put it in cookie dough. Unlike many other hamantaschen recipes I saw, this one used honey instead of sugar. And poppy seeds—I don’t think I’ve even made lemon poppy seed muffins without a mix, so it was invigorating to use the real thing.

RER 3.3.15

RER 3.3.15

RER 3.3.15

Making these cookies was no easy task. Whipping up the dough and the poppy seed filling was a breeze; rolling and forming the cookies proved to be difficult. My dough was sticky and  impossible to roll even after 3+ hours in the fridgy, so I threw it in the freezer. Even then, it was still tricky. Then, creating the triangle shape was a challenge. Maybe, I took the easy (read: lazy) way  and didn’t pinch the corners for a 3D hamantaschen.  I was close…ish.

RER 3.3.15

RER 3.3.15

RER 3.3.15

They still turned out tasty. The dough isn’t sweet, but the glob of saccharine jelly or adult poppy seed filling (my fave), makes the cookie complete and utterly addictive. Maybe next year I will be defiant and make those funfetti hamantaschen.

RER

3.3.15

RER 3.4.15

MangiaMore: KAMISH bread

RER 12.22.13

Snowed in today? Baking cookies is a fun cold weather activity anyway, and when you have to be cooped up indoors, why not take advantage of the time and bake some delicious kamish bread. I never had these wildly addictive jelly filled cookies until I was dating my boyfriend. Compared to recipes online, his family does it a little differently.

RER 12.21.13

It goes something like this:

3 cups flour

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Combine all ingredients to form dough. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Roll out the dough and add toppings. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Cut the cookies while still warm.

RER 12.21.13

RER 12.21.13

Boom.

Many recipes that I have seen call for chocolate chips, but the ones I know are filled with jelly, and toppings ranging from coconut to raisins and almonds. After refrigerating the dough, we roll it out and creating “loaves.” We run a thick stripe of jelly down the middle, toss the toppings on that sweet jelly, and fold up the sides. Bake those badboys and cut the loaves into long, biscotti-shaped cookies.

RER 12.21.13

RER 12.21.13

Kamish bread is also often thought of as Jewish biscotti, because in some recipes it is baked twice. The end product is something more crunchy and crispy like the Italian cookies that have to be dunked to be chewed. The family recipe that I have come to love, does not instruct for a second bout in the oven. We often opt for underdone and initially soft. Once the cookies are cut and cooled, they do become more crumbly and drier, even without that last step of toasting.

RER 12.22.13

So simple and so satisfying. Much of the time the necessary ingredients are already in the house, which makes kamish bread the perfect snowed in snack.What do you make or do on snow days? Is baking high on the list? It is for me! Check out my snow days on instagram, facebook and tumblr!

RER

1.22.14

RER 12.21.13