Apricot Earl Grey Hamantaschen

Picking a recipe to start with was not a simple task, so I enlisted Jake (my husband) to help out instead. I threw Dessert Person to him and asked him to pick whatever sounded the best to him. The first thing he picked out was a layer cake, but I thought it would be better to start smaller and go with his second pick - hamantaschen.

Dough assembly

He picked these cookies because they looked not-too-sweet. With dough full of cream cheese and lemon zest, plus a sharp fruit filling, they sounded like the perfect bite. I've never made, or even eaten, hamantaschen before. I don't come from a Jewish background, so they are not part of any holiday table spread for me. I was excited to try a totally new cookie. I'm used to rolling, cutting, and scooping, but not putting together a cookie like this.

Putting it all together

The filling was a homemade apricot jam, using dried apricots. It came together quickly and I let it chill overnight so that it would be sure to solidify slightly. The next morning I did the cookie dough, which was all in the food processor and took very little time - the hardest part was waiting for it to chill. Once the dough had chilled out enough I floured my countertops and got ready for assembly. I don't have any circle cutters, but a glass did the trick to cut out the right size rounds. Folding them to the proper shape took a little bit of practice, but overall was easy and fun.

Final product - definitely worth buying poppyseeds for

Jake and I both loved these cookies. They were light, not too sweet, and had a great visual pay off. I kept half out and froze the other, but over the course of the week the entire batch disappeared. The preparation and assembly was more effort than a normal cookie, but that made it better than the average. I like a dessert that lets you work with your hands a little; it can make the final product taste even better.

Recipe #1 = Success!

Bonus pic of me rolling dough