Classic, Dairy-free Hamantashen

Every year in the few weeks before Purim I look with great anticipation for new variations on hamantashen. I can’t get over the creativity, not to mention how delicious so many of them sound! Halvah hamantashen (Amy Kritzer). Savory gochujang caramel hamantashen (Sharon Matten). A large, all-in-one, easy-to-bake pear-filled puff pastry hamantashen galette (Leah Koenig). Mazal tov to these fabulous women and the culinary magic they spin.

I also love tinkering and experimenting with recipes, creating new riffs on classics and making up recipes out of whole cloth. I’ve been doing this throughout my food-writing career. In fact, speaking of Purim and hamantashen, one year I won a contest run by Soom foods for my Spiced Lamb Phyllo Hamantashen with Lemon-Tahini Sauce.

OTOH sometimes I just want the old thing.

Like this past week, when I decided to bake some hamantashen for Purim and just wanted plain old apricot.

How about both? Why not!

Have fun baking hamantashen for the holiday — whether you decide to go with something new or the old classic. Or both.

Btw, if you need a good, classic dairy/shortbread version, here it is.

Here’s one for frozen dough hamantashen.

And in case you like prune-filled hamantashen, here’s my recipe for prune lekvar.

Classic, Dairy-free Hamantashen

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into chunks

• 3 tablespoons solid coconut oil

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1/3 cup orange juice

  Combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar, orange peel, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the shortening and coconut oil and work into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Combine the vegetable oil and orange juice and pour into the flour mixture. Mix until a soft dough has formed. Cover and chill for at least one hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough thin (about 1/8” inch thick). Cut out circles with a 3-inch cookie cutter. Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each circle. Fold the dough around the filling to form a triangle. Seal them edges tightly. Place the triangles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-22 minutes or lightly tanned.

   Makes 16-18

Stewed Dried Fruit

I know some people think it’s too old fashioned, but I have always loved — still love — dried fruit compote.

Last year I wrote about it for The Nosher (My Jewish Learning) and got lots of responses! It’s the kind of dish that some people absolutely hate (until they try some updated version) but people like me love not just for the flavor but also the memories this dish conjures up.

I grew up in an Ashkenazi Jewish family so dried fruit compote was a given! My grandmother, who made it basically with prunes and the occasional dried apricot, called it kumput. The young kids, me included, hated it.

Years later I rediscovered the dish after trying something similar (Khoshaf) in Egypt and I’ve been tinkering with the recipe ever since. This is my latest version; a tasty and fitting dish anytime, but especially for the lovely holiday of Tu B’shevat (New Year of the Trees), which comes at the beginning of a new season in Israel when trees bring forth their first fruits of the year (this year the holiday starts at sundown on February 5th).

We eat compote with yogurt for breakfast but I’ve also served it with mascarpone cheese for dessert. It’s really good anytime.

Dried Fruit Compote

• 2 cups orange juice

• 1-1/2 cups water

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1 3” cinnamon stick

• 12 whole cloves

• 2 pieces of orange peel, each about 2-inches long

• 12 prunes

• 8-10 whole dried figs, cut in half

• 1 cup dried cherries, blueberries or cranberries

• 1 cup dried apricot halves

Place the juice, water, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves and orange peel in a saucepan large enough to hold all the dried fruit. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the fruit and simmer another 18-20 minutes or until the fruit is soft. Let the fruit cool in the pan. The sauce will thicken as the fruit absorbs some of it. Discard the cinnamon stick (you won’t find the cloves). Serve with the poaching liquid.

Makes 8 servings

Cranberry-Orange Baked Apples

I realize that Hallowe’en is big business. I’ve said it before — I don’t mind the business of costumes and fun but I don’t like the tons of candy that come with it.

I’ve also written about how it was back in the day — when I was a kid, when we did some minimal trick or treating and spent most of the evening playing games and bobbing for apples.

Before the fun and games my mother would give us dinner (typically macaroni and cheese with a buttered rice krispies crust) followed by either apple pie or baked apples.

My Dad always ended the festivities with a feast of hot chocolate.

To me, macaroni and cheese, baked apples and hot chocolate bring back happy memories and, to this day, I would prefer to enjoy the day the way it used to be for me.

Cranberry-Orange Baked Apples

• 4 large baking apples

• half a lemon

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel

• 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (or plain sugar)

• 1 tablespoon butter or solid coconut oil, cut into 4 pieces

• 1 cup orange juice, apple juice or cider

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples, then remove the core and seeds, leaving about 1/2-inch on the bottom. Peel the apples 1/2 of the way down from the stem end on top, then rub the cut surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Put the apples in a baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the cranberries and orange peel and stuff this mixture into the apple hollows. Sprinkle the apples with the cinnamon sugar. Dot the tops with the butter or solid coconut oil. Bake the apples for 10 minutes then pour the juice over the apples. Continue to bake, basting occasionally with the pan juices, for about 35-40 minutes or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 

Crusted Coffee Cake

We used to have a big gathering for break-the-fast. But this year there’s only about dozen us. Still, we’ll still feast on Mujadarah and Spinach Pie, egg salad, arugula salad, kugel and cheese. Hummus and marinated avocado. Zimsterne cookies.

Tradition.

This year I’m adding a simple dessert: coffee cake with a crusty-streusel top that reminds me of the Drakes cake I used to love when I was a kid.

Crusted Coffee Cake

Crust:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

• 1 cup chopped almonds or hazelnuts

If using a food processor, place the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter into the workbowl and process until crumbly. Add the nuts and process on pulse a few times until the nuts are smaller and well combined with the dry ingredients. If using a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, mix, add the butter and work the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly. Set aside.

cake:

• crust

• 2/3 cup butter

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup sour cream (or plain, Greek style yogurt)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 9” springform pan. Make the crust. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cooled butter and brown sugar for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat for 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream and beat for 2-3 minutes or until well blended and and light in color. Add the dry ingredients and beat for 1-2 minutes or until well blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Cover the top with the crust mixture. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the side of the springform pan.

Makes 8-12 servings

Apricot Puff Pastry Galettes

The fresh apricots have been glorious this summer. We’ve eaten them plain. I’ve used them for poached fruit and, best of all, for these EASY EASY to make tarts using packaged, frozen puff pastry.

The tarts in the photo were glazed with ginger preserves but I’ve also used apricot and peach jams. Occasionally I sprinkle some fresh chopped rosemary on top before baking.

Apricot Puff Pastry Galettes

• 4 puff pastry squares (4-inch)

• 4 apricots, sliced

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• freshly grated nutmeg

• 3 tablespoons ginger (or other) preserves, heated

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the pastry squares on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Prick the dough in a few places. Arrange equal amounts of the fruit on top of each square, leaving a border of 1/2-inch. Sprinkle equal amounts of the sugar on top of the fruit. Grate a small amount of nutmeg on top. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush the top with preserves. Place back in the oven for 4-5 minutes. Eat warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings

Blueberry Torte

I read that blueberries are healthy so I’ve been making all sorts of stuff with them. Here’s one tasty way to eat more blueberries:

Blueberry TORTE

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup unflavored yogurt

• 1-1/2 cups blueberries

• lemon juice (about one tablespoon)

• 1 tablespoon sugar, preferably crystal or turbinado sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Mix the flour, lemon peel, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda and whisk the ingredients to blend them completely. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1/2 cup sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes or until creamy and well blended. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat for a minute or two at medium speed until thoroughly blended. Add the eggs and yogurt and beat at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Spoon the batter into the prepared springform pan. Arrange the berries on top of the cake, pressing them slightly into the batter. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until lightly browned and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings

Peach Streusel Cake

Peaches/nectarines are in my top #5 foods of all time. One of the items I would choose if I had to “live on a desert island with only 5 foods.” So I get excited when they are ripe, ready and in season.

But I overdid it on the peach order recently.

Really, there are just so many I can eat in one day.

After a few days some were softening quicker than I planned and I had to use them. So I baked this cake — based on one that I usually make with apple slices and applesauce. Only I used peach slices and pureed peaches.

Perfect.

Peach Streusel Cake

Streusel:

• 1/3 cup quick oats

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Mix the oats, flour, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs (food processor on pulse is fine). Set aside.

Cake:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1/2 cup pureed peaches

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8” square cake pan. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon peel and set aside. Beat the sugar and butter together with a hand mixer or electric mixer at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the peaches, yogurt, egg and vanilla extract and beat for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until well blended. Add half the milk and beat until well blended. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel over the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan 10 minutes then invert onto a cake rack. Turn the cake right side up to cool completely.

 Makes 8-10 servings

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

I’ve read a lot about the health benefits of blueberries so I’ve been using more of them recently in recipes. More about that in the next month or two —

Meanwhile, this lemon-blueberry cake will do! The sweet berries and the tangy lemon are a perfect pair and the cake’s texture is dense, like pound cake, but also is fabulously moist.

It got rave reviews from my tasters.

I’ve made this recipe with and without the extra lemon sauce. I love the powerful tang of lemon, so I prefer it with —- but it is still delicious without.

This is a good dessert for sure and a good bet for a buffet or brunch meal.

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 pound butter

• 2 cups sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

• grated peel of 2 medium lemons (about 1/4 cup)

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1 cup blueberries

Lemon Sauce (optional):

• 1/2 cup lemon juice

• 1/4 cup sugar

Grease a 10-cup bundt pan, then sprinkle the insides with flour or plain dry bread crumbs. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 4-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the yogurt. Beat after each addition and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon peel and lemon juice and stir into the batter. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 60-70 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven. Mix the Lemon Sauce ingredients and brush some onto the surface of the cake while it is cooling in the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cake rack. Brush the remaining Lemon Sauce over all the remaining surface area of the cake. Let cool and serve.

Makes 16 servings

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

Everyone who knows me knows I am a bourbon drinker. Why? Because when I was young my older brother, who was cool and knew all sorts of stuff, drank bourbon. So, if he said it was the best thing to drink, it was.

There’s something sweet and rich about good bourbon, and it’s not just for sipping but also for flavoring baked cakes and such.

Like this Kentucky Bourbon Cake, with both cake and frosting flavored with my favorite booze. We’ll feast on some while we watch the Kentucky Derby this weekend.

If there’s any left —- we can have another round on Sunday, Mother’s Day!

Kentucky Bourbon Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon grated fresh orange peel

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1-1/4 cups plain Greek style yogurt

• 1/4 cup bourbon

• 1 cup butter

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-cup bundt pan. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, orange peel and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt and bourbon until well blended. Set aside. Beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar together at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Alternate adding half the dry and liquid ingredients, beating after each addition; repeat with the remaining dry and liquid ingredients and beat for 1-2 minutes or until the batter is smooth and uniform. Spoon the batter into the bundt pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. While the cake is still warm, pour the glaze over the top.

Makes 10 servings

Bourbon glaze

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 3 tablespoons bourbon

Melt the butter and sugar together in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly and cook for several minutes until the sugar is nearly dissolved. Add the bourbon and whisk continually to incorporate it into the butter mixture. Cook for several minutes until the sugar dissolves completely.

Strawberry Pavlova

If you’re like everyone else who observes Passover, you’ve used a lot of eggs during the holiday!

Our usual family Passover menus use up more yolks than whites, so I’m always left with a load of egg whites. So, because I am one of those “waste not want not” people, I recently made a lot of meringues and meringue cookies and these Pavlovas.

Pavlovas, which are hard meringue shells filled with fruit, lavished with sauce and topped with whipped cream, are sugary sweet and you can do a lot with them. They’re also easy to make and are terrific for Passover because there’s no flour or any other ingredient we can’t eat during the holiday.

The meringue shell-cream-fruit dessert is named after a famous Russian ballet dancer named Anna Pavlova (1881-1931). Food historians say that a hotel chef in either Australia or New Zealand named the dessert after her visit there in 1926. The white meringue shell is said to mimic her tutu and in the original recipe, the shells were filled with kiwi fruit, in imitation of the decorations on one of her outfits. But any soft fruit will do.

Note: for more on beating egg whites properly, click here.

Pavolvas

Meringue Shells:

• 4 large egg whites at room temperature

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

• whipped cream

• sliced fruit such as strawberries, kiwi fruit, bananas, etc.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment set at medium speed until the mixture is foamy. Add the lemon juice and salt and beat, gradually increasing the speed, until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar (2 tablespoons at a time) and the vanilla and continue to beat, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the mixture stands in stiff, glossy peaks. Spread 8-10 equal amounts of the meringue mixture onto the sheet. Flatten the mounds with the back of a large spoon, leaving the edges slightly higher. Bake for 45 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 250 degrees. Bake for another 15 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet to a cake rack to cool. Gently release the meringues from the parchment. Fill the centers of the meringue shells with whipped cream. Top with sliced fresh fruit.

Makes 8-10