Hamantaschen

Hamantaschen is a traditional Jewish cookie that is served around the holiday's.  Now I am not Jewish so I hope I haven't butchered the recipe, but these are wonderful.  My husband called them cookie wontons, they are similar to a sugar cookie with a jelly filling.  I have always made these using jam or jelly but I do believe if you want to go traditional you would use a nut or poppy seed filling.  I hope you enjoy this recipe...

Ingredients:

For cookie:

2/3 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Dash of salt

For filling:

Strawberry Jam

Orange Marmalade

Any favorite jam/jelly

Cream the shortening with sugar. Add egg and continue creaming until smooth.

Add the vanilla. Stir in the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt until a ball of dough is formed. Chill for 2-3 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Take 1/4 of the dough, roll out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut circles of dough with a drinking glass or round cookie-cutter. With your finger put water around the rim of the circle. Fill with 1 teaspoon of your filling and fold into three-cornered cookies.

Bake on a well-greased cookie sheet 10-16 minutes, until the tops are golden.  (Without fail you will have some jam leakage, which is why you really want to grease your cookies sheet.)

On a side note, the jam that leaks our tastes just like a really good fruit roll-up.  A nice little treat for the chef or helpers.  But get it off the sheet as soon as possible so it doesn't harden.