Well, this recipe almost made it up in time for Purim. I did St. Patrick’s Day, okay? What more do you want from me? I can’t do everything! Deep breath.

Purim is really the most fleeting of the Jewish holidays. Every other year it comes and passes without my noticing, a shame since I love hamantashen and couldn’t possibly eat it at any other time, just as I wouldn’t eat latkes outside of Hanukkah or matzoh outside of Passover or Cadbury Creme Eggs outside of Easter, not that they sell those year-round. I’d have to stock up.

My favorite hamantashen have always (always since I’ve lived in New York) been from Moishe’s, a super Jewish Kosher bakery in the East Village that makes huge (and mini), dense cookies that are about 3/4 cookie, 1/4 jam filling. As with most Jewish foods, eating one makes you feel like you’ve just consumed a brick. (Maybe this is actually the main reason I’ve always felt they’re better left as once-a-year treats.)

I like this here version much better than Moishe’s. They’re somewhat of a revelation. Who knew hamantashen could be so generously filled, the cookie so light and delicate and buttery and easy to digest? (Butter, btw, is not the norm in hamantashen dough, but this recipe contains two sticks.) A year ago I would never have made the poppy seed version, but I’m totally into poppy seeds now. This must be because I’m getting old.

Do I wish these hamantashen had held their shape in the oven instead of spreading into vaguely triangular-shaped blobs? Yes. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for something to be both beautiful and delicious. Popping these babies into the freezer for about 30 minutes before baking would probably have gone a long way toward helping this problem. It would’ve been nice for the recipe to suggest this, to maybe anticipate this issue? But please don’t even get me started on recipes that are lacking in detail even though they’ve presumably come from reliable sources and have been submitted to some sort of editing and testing process so as not to fail the home cook.

I won’t focus on this little spreading-in-the-oven issue though. I will focus on the fact that these are the best hamantashen we’ve ever tasted. Eating them warm from the oven was quite the treat (who could wait for them to cool?). Eating them the next day and the next day, too, was just as much of a treat. They keep very well.

Poppy Seed Hamantashen, adapted from Schmaltz by Shmil Holland via the New York Times

Makes about 15 cookies if using a 5-inch cutter, about 30 if using a 3-inch cutter

Ingredients:

For the dough

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten, for the glaze

For the poppy seed filling

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• grated zest of 1/2 orange
• 1 cup poppy seeds
• 1/3 cup raisins
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 Tbsp brandy (I used port instead)
• 1/2 Tbsp orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Put the confectioners sugar and the egg yolks in a food processor and blend. Add the butter and lemon zest and process to blend. Gradually add the flour and salt, pulsing until it forms a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Grind poppy seeds in a coffee or spice grinder and set aside. Put the milk, sugar, and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture is warm, turn the heat to low and add the poppy seeds and raisins. Cook until the seeds absorb the milk and the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice, brandy, orange liqueur, and butter. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the vanilla extract, remove from the heat, and cool. (Filling can be made a day in advance and refrigerated.)
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and use a round cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass to cut circles out of the dough. (My cookie cutter was 5 inches wide; the original recipe calls for a 3-inch cutter.) Transfer the circles to the parchment-lined baking sheets. Place a heaping teaspoon (for a 3-inch circle) or a heaping tablespoon (for a 5-inch circle) of filling in the middle of each circle and fold up the sides to form a triangle shape. (At this point, I’d suggest freezing the unbaked cookies, on the baking sheet, for at least 30 minutes before baking as this may prevent them from spreading in the oven.) Before baking, brush the dough with the beaten egg.
4. Bake until dough is golden brown and delicately firm all the way through, about 15 minutes for 3-inch hamantashen, closer to 25 minutes for 5-inch. Allow to cool on the baking sheets on a wire rack.

These cookies keep very well stored at room temperature for at least 3 days.