 |
| Pepper jelly makes these more of an appetizer than a dessert. |
Purim has many food traditions associated with it. Among them is the custom of giving friends
and relatives a gift basket of food known as mishloach manot. The giver is ensuring the recipient has
enough food for a Purim feast. Another
Purim tradition is to donate to the poor, and some have combined the two
traditions into food drives and donations to food banks.
The recipes below were designed to be made for a Purim
basket, or even just made ahead for a Purim party. The crispy Lemon-Olive Oil Mandelbrot cookies
stand up to a dunking in tea or even a bit of sweet wine. Be sure to label the
Spicy Hamantaschen Bites, an appetizer twist on the traditional Purim cookie,
so your recipient knows this treat has some heat.
Hamantaschen are said to resemble the evil Haman's hat and
are usually filled with jam, prune butter or poppy seeds. Filled or
"hidden" foods are also a
Purim tradition since there is so many secrets in the Purim story. For
more on the Purim story and a recipe for the sweeter, traditional hamantaschen,
see my post here.
California Mandelbrot with Lemon and Olive Oil
Makes about 24
Oil spray
2 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon oil
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 Tbs. grated, minced
lemon zest
1/4 cup extra-virgin
olive oil
1 2/3 cup flour, plus
extra
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup blanched, sliced
almonds
Preheat oven to 325
degrees. Use spray to grease two baking sheets.
In a mixer bowl, combine eggs and
sugar on high speed until pale yellow and thickened. Stir in lemon oil, almond extract, lemon zest
and olive oil.
In a separate bowl, stir
together flour, baking powder and salt.
With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the egg
and sugar mixture in three batches, making sure each batch is combined before
adding the next. Beat at medium speed
until smooth, stir in the almonds (dough will be stiff). Sprinkle flour on work surface. Dough will be sticky so oil or wet
hands. Shape dough into two loaves, each
about 10” long, 1 ½” wide and 1” tall.
Using spatula if needed, transfer to center of prepared pans. Pat back into shape.
Bake 25 minutes or
until golden and top crust has small cracks.
Let cool slightly. Transfer
loaves to cutting board and cut into 3/4" slices. Lay slices flat side down on pans, return to hot
oven and bake 15 minutes. Remove from
oven and cool on rack. Mandelbrot will
crisp as it cools.
Spicy Hamantaschen
Bites
Makes 22-24
2 cups flour, plus
extra
2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black
pepper
1/4 lb. margarine or
butter (1 stick), at room temperature and cut in small pieces
2 eggs, beaten
About 1/4 cup strained jalapeño
or other pepper jelly
Preheat oven to 350
degrees. Mix flour, baking powder,
sugar, salt and pepper in large bowl.
With a pastry blender or two forks, cut in margarine until about the
size of lentils. Mix in eggs. Mix until
it forms a ball, using hands to knead together if needed. Sprinkle flour on
work surface and roll out dough 1/4“ thick.
Cut into circles with a round cookie cutter or small glass about 2 ½” to
2 ¾” in diameter. Gather scraps and
reroll them and cut out additional circles.
Fill the center of each
circle with 1/2 tsp. jelly. (Do not
overfill.) Push up 3 sides to form triangles, firmly pinching so the cookies
will maintain their shape during baking.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove
cookies and cool on rack.
----------------
