Perfect Purim Pastries

Celebrate the holiday of Purim with your kids! It’s a festive Jewish holiday that involves good stories, masquerading in costumes, and yummy food. In honor of Purim triangular pastries called Hamantaschen (“Haman’s pockets filled with lots”) are served. This is because Haman is the villan in the story of Esther. A sweet cookie dough is rolled out, cut into circles, and traditionally filled with poppy or prune filling, then wrapped up into a triangular shape with the filling showing. Here is a simple recipe that you can try with your kids at home this Sunday, March 20th… —

Ingredients
4 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Oil

1/2 Lemon (zest and juice)

1 Tsp. Vanilla

5 Cups Sifted Flour

2 Tsp. Baking Powder

1 Egg to Brush

Jelly for Filling (Raspberry or Apricot)

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs and sugar. Add oil, lemon, vanilla, flour, and baking powder.

2. Divide the dough in 4 parts and stretch it on a floured surface about 1/2 cm thick. Cut out circles with a cup.

3. Put a half a teaspoon of jelly in the middle of each circle. Lift the right and left sides of the circle and put them together in the middle on top of the jelly forming a triangle. Then lift third side toward the center and press it together with the other two.

Put them on a greased cookie sheet, brush with beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes. Enjoy! And don’t forget your graggers!!

–Jessi Walter, tastebudscook.com.

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