Poppy Seed and Charoset Hamentaschen

My son just told me his friend told him he was “crunchy.” (As in “crunchy granola” for those of you who are my age.) I said, “Well, yeah, look at our hamentaschen!” They are big, bold, rough around the edges, full of whole grain power and so far beyond a cookie that they are an event unto themselves. So here is the recipe to have a vegan Purim with traditional hamentaschen.

Purim: Jewish Holiday that celebrates a time in ancient Purim when Jews avoided             destruction by an enemy named Haman.
Hamentaschen: A pastry modeled on Haman’s three cornered hat. Also known in Hebrew as Oznei Haman, or Haman’s Ears.

There are many ways to fill hamentaschen – apricot filling, fruit fillings, poppy seed, chocolate. I chose to make poppy seed, and then on a whim, I ground together apples, walnuts, honey and wine to make “charoset” – a food usually reserved for the upcoming holiday of Passover, and one of those delicious foods that everyone looks forward to. Each family has their own recipe – I usually make mine with dates, walnuts, apples, wine and cinnamon, cloves and cardamon. So in anticipation of the coming holiday, also known as the holiday of spring, and since Purim fell on the first day of spring, I decided to fill hamentaschen with charoset. It was a complete and total hit -my husband said it must go on the blog -and it goes in my permanent recipe file.

Hamentaschen dough:
1/2 cup of slivered almonds
1 seedless navel orange
1/2 cup soy milk with 2 teaspoons of vinegar in it
3 cups of whole wheat flour (a mixture of whole wheat pastry dough and regular whole wheat is also an option)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of oil
2 tsp of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
orange zest (taken off the orange before peeling and throwing orange into the processor)

First grind the almonds in the food processor. Then add the orange and blend in the soy milk. Then sift the dry ingredients together and add them slowly to the food processor, pulsing with each addition.

Take out the dough and work it by hand into a soft, elastic ball. Divide it in two and roll out one half at a time. When a nice thin even dough is obtained, use the top of a water glass or a biscuit cutter to cut out small circles. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle, pinch together one side, then pinch together two opposite corners to make a triangular pouch. Roll scraps of dough out to make more, then use second half.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, until slightly brown at tips.

Charoset filling:
one good sized sweet apple (I recommend fuji)
1 cup of walnuts
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of cinnamon.
up to a quarter cup of sweet Jewish wine to taste

Rinse out food processor. Blend all the ingredients together into a paste.

Poppyseed Filling:
1 cup of poppyseed
1 cup of soymilk
1/2 cup of organic sugar
zest and juice of one lemon

Cook together for 10 minutes in a saucepan. Let cool.

I don’t believe there is any law, Jewish or otherwise, against eating these yummers anytime during the year.