Hamantaschen

Time: 40 min. prep, 1½ hours to chill, 40 min. cooking

Serves: 40 cookies

Ingredients:

Poppy seeds, 1 cup

Milk, ½ cup

Honey, ⅓ cup

Apricot preserves (chilled), ½ cup

Butter, 2¼ sticks

Granulated sugar, 1 ⅔ cups

Orange zest, 2 tsp

Orange juice, 2 tbsp

Vanilla extract, 1 tsp

Eggs, 3

All-purpose flour, 4⅓ cups

Baking powder, 4 tsp

Salt, ½ tsp

Directions:

• Line two large baking sheets with nonstick parchment paper. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract, then add two of the eggs, one at a time, and beating after each addition until incorporated.
• In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to the thickness of ⅛ inch. Using a round 3-in biscuit cutter, cut out 40 circles, rerolling the trimmings as necessary, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Chill in the refrigerator for ~30 minutes, until firm. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Meanwhile, grind the poppy seeds in a mortar and a pestle and put them into a medium saucepan. Add the milk and honey and cook over medium-low heat for ~20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
• Remove the chilled circles and the apricot preserves from the refrigerator. Pipe either 2 teaspoons of poppy-seed filling or preserves into the center of each circle. Beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the edge of the circles with the egg wash, then fold in the sides to form a triangle. Pinch the dough to enclose the filling.
• Place the pastries on the prepared sheets and bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.