Hamantaschen is a popular dessert served on the Jewish holiday Purim. The name of the dessert has several possible meanings and origins. Certainly part of the name comes from Haman, who is the bad guy in the Purim story, which appears in the Book of Esther. As it is a circle whose sides are folded in to make a fruit-filling filled pocket, it may mean “Haman’s pockets.” It may also mock Haman as “Haman’s ears” or even “Haman’s hat.” Hamantaschen fillings include poppy seed, the oldest and most traditional, prune, various fruit marmalade, chocolate, caramel or even cheese..

But there’s a common problem with hamantaschen; it’s often very dry and crumbly. After tirelessly looking for the best recipe for these challenging cookies, the online consensus lean toward none other than Betty Crocker, who created one of the most popular recipes back in the 50’s! In true American fashion, many people apply Betty’s delicious recipe for sugar cookies to making hamantaschen! No wonder we made to the moon first! (you can find the URL for a charming story about applying Betty’s recipe to hamantaschen and Betty’s original recipe at the end of this blog)

May your hamantaschen be moist and delicious this Purim! And remember to send a loved one a fun Purim e-card from our selection!

Here’s the Betty Crocker hamantaschen recipe: http://pizzabagelschmaltz.tumblr.com/post/3638673195/rachels-hamantaschen