Why This Recipe:

We make and eat hamentashen-- also known as "oznei Haman" (Haman's ears) in Hebrew--during Purim to represent Haman's three-cornered hat. (Although "hamentashen" means "Haman's pockets" in Yiddish, we usually refer to these treats as "Haman's hats", since they resemble Haman's three-cornered hat.)

Ingredients:
(makes about 4 dozen cookies)

Dough:

• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 sticks (1 cup) of margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling-
Your choice- jelly (strawberry, raspberry, apricot, etc.), chocolate chips, honey, raisins, prune butter, pie filling, poppy seed filling, peanut butter, etc.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    
2. Combine all ingredients and knead until dough is smooth.
    
3. Roll out on a floured board to approx. 1/4 inch thickness.
    
4. Using a circle cookie cutter or the top of a glass, cut into circles.
    
5. Place assorted fillings in bowls on a table for children to select from.
    
6. Put about 1 t of filling (jelly, chocolate chips, etc.) in the center of each circle.
    
7. Fold 3 sides over the filling and pinch the corners to create a triangle.
    
8. Place on greased cookie sheet.
    
9. Bake at 350 for approx. 20 minutes or until firm and golden brown.