CHOCOLATE HAMANTASCHEN
Forget poppy seeds, prunes, or
apricots! Here, Haman’s Hat brims with bittersweet brownie filling and these
cookies should NOT be saved for a Jewish, or any other, holiday
Makes 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients for Filling:
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cups (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large cold eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose
flour
Ingredients for Cookie Dough:
2 cups (9 ounces) unbleached
all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted
butter, softened but not squishy
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Equipment:
Cookie sheets, lined with
parchment paper
A 3-inch round cookie cutter
Make the filling: Melt butter
with chocolate in a stainless steel bowl set in a wide skillet of almost
simmering water. Stir frequently
until the mixture is melted and smooth.
Remove the bowl from the water.
Stir in the sugar, vanilla and salt.
Add the eggs one at a time, stirring in the first until incorporated
before adding the second. Stir in
the flour and beat with a spoon until the mixture is smooth and glossy and
comes away from the sides of the pan, about one minute. Scrape into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate
until needed.
Make the cookie dough: Whisk the
flour, baking powder and salt together thoroughly and set aside.
In a large bowl beat the butter
and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla
extract. On low speed, beat in the
flour just until incorporated. Form the dough into two flat patties. Wrap and refrigerate the patties at
least until firm enough to roll, but preferably several hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Position racks in the upper and lower
third of the oven.
Remove one of the patties from
the refrigerator and let it sit until supple enough to roll but still quite
firm. It will continue to soften
as you work. Roll the dough
between 2 pieces of wax paper or between heavy plastic sheets from a plastic
bag to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
Turn the dough over once or twice while you are rolling it out to check
for deep wrinkles; if necessary, peel off and smooth the paper over the dough
before continuing to roll it. When
the dough is thin enough, peel off the top sheet of paper or plastic and keep
it in front of you. Invert the
dough onto that sheet. Cut cookies
as close together as possible, dipping the edges of the cutter in flour as
necessary to prevent sticking.
Press dough scraps together and set aside to reroll with scraps from the
second patty.
Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on
the prepared cookie sheets. Scoop and place a level teaspoonful of filling in
the center of each cookie. Bring three sides of each cookie up to partially
cover the filling. Pinch the edges
of the cookies well, to seal the corners.
Bake 12 minutes or until pale golden at the edges, rotating the cookie
sheets from top to bottom and front to back half way through the baking. Repeat
until all of the cookies are baked.
Slide the parchment liners onto
cooling racks. Cool the cookies
completely before stacking or storing.
Oh, and sorry, no photos today. I just now realized that it was Purim in the first place.