Hamantashen Happiness

Purim is a favorite time of year for me because I have found it to be a great way to share a little piece of what I am learning about Judaism with my family and friends. (And, truth be told, I have a sweet tooth.)

Last year I learned how to make Hamantashen with the Mother's Circle class and then a good family friend shared her recipe with me and helped me work on my triangle making skills. She came over to the house and my mother-in-law joined us and we made a party out of it. Lots of laughter and story telling. It will always be a treasured memory. For anyone new to the world of Hamantashen, they are cookies shaped like triangles usually filled with jam or poppy seeds. The tricky part is making a circle of dough into a triangle. I am still working on that skill, but so far none of the tasters seem to mind eating misshapen cookies, so I think I am doing OK.

Last year I experimented with a lot of fillings - poppy seed, chocolate chip, raspberry, strawberry, apricot and ginger marmalade. I used the poppy seed straight out of the can and they were terrible. Not the traditional cookie my mother-in-law remembered, so I am still on the hunt to perfect that part. However, the jam filled ones were great, as were the chocolate ones which the older family members had not had before, but what I am happily learning now is very common these days. (Wow, that made me sound like a Hamantashen historian!)

My favorite part of all of this is the sharing with friends and family. I am going to make it my goal to introduce them to someone new each year. Last year I mailed them to my parents and aunt, this year I included my siblings. I also gave them to some friends, some of whom had never heard of them before. It was fun watching my son deliver them and then help adults learn to say Hamantashen. My sister called and left a message saying how much she enjoyed the "Hama....Hema...Hamanintash...uh, the cookies." I laughed, happy to know I am not the only one I know who finds some of these new words a bit of a tongue twister.

By the time my son is in college, I should have the triangle shaping down well and I look forward to sending him Hamantashen care packages each winter. After I teach him how to make them, of course...