This was a recipe I found in the search to replicate the cookies my mom and I made as I was growing up. I have seen many versions but overall this seems the closest to what she used. As for the filling there are the traditional prune or poppy seed fillings but my mom left tradition and often used homemade jam instead. Everyone liked that better, so I just added your favorite jam as the filling!
Hamantaschen
Ingredients:
Cream cheese pastry:
3-ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
3-ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of kosher salt
1 Tbsp sugar
Filling:
Jam of choice
For sealing:
1 egg, beaten
Directions:
Place cream cheese, butter, flour, salt and sugar in a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Remove from processor and form into a ball. Chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 3-inch circles, gathering and re-rolling scraps as necessary. You should have about 12 pastry bases.
Place a heaped teaspoon of filling mixture in the center of each pastry round and brush edge of each circle with a little beaten egg. Bring pastry edge up around filling on two sides and pinch together to make a point of sealed pastry; repeat two more times (pinching pastry well to ensure that it seals together) so that filling is almost enclosed and cookie looks like a three-cornered hat.
Bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 12.
~Sarah