I nearly skipped HameI nearly skipped baking Hamentaschen making this year

I just didn’t have the energy

And making Hamentaschen is work.

A lot of steps.

First comes making a dough, then rolling it out, cutting it over and over and over again and then finally filling it, pinching it into triangles and watching it bake.

That’s a lot of steps.

Why bother when the bakery does a perfectly good job.

But then my conscience started to nag.

“You have kids at home,” it said. “How can you not make Hamentaschen?.”

How can you say no to that?

Last night at 8:30 pm I made the dough in the mixer (thank G-d for machines) Then I went for a walk in the rain while the dough took a nap in the fridge..

When I came back I rolled out it out . The kids, were so immersed in their ball game that they scarcely noticed .

Not much time passed before the boys (yes I bake withk pre teen boys!) came. They took over and I went into my bedroom to read a book. Eventually, three dozen hamentaschen got baked.

And now they are in the freezer waiting to be stuffed into Mishloach Manos bags. I’m thinking of making my theme edible Haman body parts, but more on that later.

For now, here’s the Hamentaschen recipe adapted from The Kosher Palette

1/2 cup margarine (you can use butter of course)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/3 cup orange juice

I t vanilla extract

3 cups flour (I used rye but you can use regular, whole wheat, spelt of a mixture)

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

Blend marg and sugar in mixer and then add eggs, oj and finally flour, baking powder and salt.

Shape dough into flat disk.

Cover in plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least 15 minutes (you can make this up to 2 days ahead)

Roll out chilled dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut three inch circles with drinking glass.

Place 1/2 t jam in center. (I used sugar free plum jam but I’d use Simon Fischer Lekvar if I could. That is the best. I don’t like mohn)

Shape into triangles by folding sides of the circle to the center and pinching.

Bake 20-35 minutes on medium heat

Freezes well.