Israel: Hamantaschen (Haman's Pockets)

Hamantaschen are a traditional sweet of the Purim holiday. Purim takes place in the early springtime and celebrates the deliverance of the Jews long ago in Persia from the plotting of the Persian prime minister, Haman. The cookies represent Haman's triangular-shaped pockets which were filled with silver coins given him to massacre the Jews.

These cookies are baked using poppyseed, prune or apricot fillings and are also known as "Haman's Hats" and "Haman's Donkey Ears".


Hamantaschen (Haman's Pockets)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
one 10-oz can poppyseed filling, lekvar (prune butter) or apricot butter


For the top:
1 egg
1 tbs cold water

In a large bowl, mix together the vegetable oil and sugar. Add the 2 eggs and mix until well blended. Add the vanilla extract and combine.

Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the egg mixture, mixing well after each addition. Wrap dough in plastic wrap or cover bowl and place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour. Roll out the dough until it is approximately 1/8" thick. Cut out as many circles as you can using a round cookie cutter or rim of a drinking glass. With a spatula, transfer six of the circles to the baking sheet. Put a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each circle.

Moisten the edges of the circles with cold water. Pick up the sides of the circle and bring them up and together to form a triangle or pyramid. Pinch the edges together so that there is only a very small space open at the top. Repeat with the remaining circles.

In a small bowl, beat one egg with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Use a pastry brush to brush this mixture on each cookie, coating evenly all over.

Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Israel: Mandelbrodt

Israel's diverse population makes its cuisine unique. People from more than seventy different countries, with many different food and customs, currently live in Israel. Many people began arriving in 1948, when the country, then known as Palestine, gained its independence from Great Britain. At this time, large numbers of Eastern European Jews hoped to establish a Jewish nation in Israel. They brought traditional Jewish dishes to Israel that they had prepared in countries such as Poland, Hungary, and Russia. The Palestinians, most of whom were of Arab descent, enjoyed a cuisine adapted from North Africa and the Middle East.

Mandelbrodt, which literally means almond (mandel) bread (brodt), is a twice-baked hard bread similar to Italian biscotti. It is more common in Ashkenaz (European) Israelies rather than Sefardi (Middle Eastern and others).

Mandelbrot

3 eggs, beaten
½ cup sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup finely chopped, blanched almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl, and use egg beater or electric mixer to blend well.
Add flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and almonds and mix well to blend. Pour into loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and cool before using knife to slice into ½-inch-thick pieces.

Reduce oven heat to 200°F.

Place slices side by side on cookie sheet and return to oven to dry out. Bake for about 20 minutes on each side until very dry and lightly toasted.

Keeps indefinitely when stored in an airtight container.