Sarina’s Rum and Raisin Hamantaschen

Mmm hamantaschen. In this part of the hemisphere, hamantaschen is probably the most recognizable symbol of Purim. These three-cornered pastries are usually stuffed with jams and sweet pastes of various flavours. My favourite base recipe comes from Joan Nathan’s Jewish Cooking in America ,however my own twist is to use a filling of traditional ‘set fruit‘, combined with some chopped apples. This gives the hamantaschen a lovely rummy aroma, with the intense taste of Black Cake that is so familiar of Trinis of all ages, shapes and sizes.

Adapted from a recipe in Jewish Cooking in America
Yield: 36

INGREDIENTS:

Fruit Filling:
1 1/2 cups ‘set fruit‘ (Recipe follows)
1/4 apple with peel
Juice and rind of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp. sugar

Pastry:
2/3 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 to 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Dash of salt

METHOD:

Pulse the set fruit and apple in a food processor. Add the lemon juice and rind and sugar and mix well.

Make Pastry:
Cream the margarine or butter with the sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and continue creaming until smooth. A food processor is great for this.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Process until a ball of dough is formed.

Chill for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Take one fourth of the dough and roll out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8″. Cut into 2-1/2″ circles. With your finger, brush water around the rim of the circle. Drop 1 tsp. of filling in the center. Then bring the dough around the filling and press 3 ends together.

Bake in a 375°F oven on a well-greased cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes or until the tops are golden.

 Setting the Fruit: “Set Fruit”

Whenever I buy dried fruits I set aside half of what is leftover into the jar and top it up with rum or cherry brandy (depending on what I have on hand). The fruits are so macerated that they almost melt on my tongue upon contact. This is the first time that I am soaking my fruits this far in advance and I’m already finding it a rewarding (and economical) experience.

Comments:

Wonderful "set fruit" looks like the source of German "rumptopf." To create: at the beginning of summer, choose in one-lb. increments fresh ripe colorful "stone fruits" (e.g., cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots; fuits that have one central pit or "stone") in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add equal amount of sugar (e.g., for one pound of fruit, add one pound of sugar). Cover with rum. Store jar in a cool, dark place (I put mine in the basement). Keep adding fruit throughout the summer, adding equivalent amount of sugar and keeping fruit covered with rum (fruit may float to top of rum; that's OK). At Christmas, I pack this in sterilized jars (I use half-pint jars and their lids run through the dishwasher rinse cycle). Decorate jars with ribbon and a pretty label directing giftee to use rumtopf as a sauce over ice cream, pound cake, etc. This should be refrigerated. I'm not sure how long it should last because mine is always gone within a week! 

Recipe Source: http://www.trinigourmet.com/index.php/sarinas-rum-and-raisin-hamantaschen-recipe/