Hamentaschen for Purim

Time to celebrate Purim!  To learn the background of this Jewish holiday, read my post here.

This year, I decided to try my hand at making Hamentaschen.  These are cookies shaped like Hamen's three-cornered hat.

 One of the ladies in our synagogue gave me a great tip:  to use pre-made pie crust.  I love it!  I'd wanted to make cookies that weren't too sweet and this dough is perfect. 

All I had to do was lay the crust out on the counter and cut the circles out.  The dough is so easy to work with, I didn't even have to put flour on the counter.  Could not find my biscuit cutter, so a small cup did the trick.  (note - I now recommend using a larger circle.  A can the size of the pie filling in the picture below works well. The larger circle makes a better cookie)

Next, I put a small amount of filling in the middle of the circle.  I used pre-made fillings:  poppy seed, cherry, and sugar-free apple.

Next, I turned over a flap, to form the hat.

Next, is the tricky part.  Using my thumbs, I folded up the two other flaps, 

then pinched the corners to form the hat. 

Now, here are the cookies ready to go in the oven.  

I baked these at 350 for 20 minutes.  They turned out well, my husband said.  He's my official taste-tester, since I don't eat sugar.  I did taste the apple ones, and they were very good.  (Click HERE to see how much better they turned out when I used bigger circles.)

I didn't take a picture of the finished product and now it is too late.  I will be making another batch for our Purim party and will post some pics of them along with pics of the children in their costumes and playing the games. 

Happy Purim to you all and I hope you have a wonderful holiday.