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Jump to recipe for making chocolate treats

What are hamantaschen? Hamantaschen are the signature treat associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim. For kids and adults alike, it’s a day of reverie. People (especially but not only kids) dress in costumes, celebrate with carnivals, and listening to the Megillah being read as they cheer for the good guys and boo for the bad guy. On Purim, we spin groggers and blow noisemakers to blot out the name of Haman, the villain of the story, and cheer for the good guy everytime his name is spoken. It’s also the only day that Jews are encouraged to have “a few too many.” That said, be safe and drink responsibly.)

So…. since I’ve got my paper party horn handy, I guess I can Toot My Own Horn and tell you that…

An independent panel of judges unanimously agreed! These Lemon and Lavender Hamantaschen have it all—looks, taste, and texture—and so they were awarded the…

Best in Show trophy at the Temple Israel Purim Carnival Hamantaschen Contest!

So what’s this Purim all about? During the Babylonian exile, an egotistical and not-overly-bright king was convinced by his evil advisor to sign an edict to have all the Jews in the land murdered. It was through the brave efforts of his queen, who had kept her Jewish heritage secret, that the Jews were saved.

And so, we celebrate our survival. (We have a lot of holidays that celebrate our survival, again and again. See a pattern here?) Every year at Purim, we are required to hear a reading of the Megilla Esther, the Scroll of Esther. People (especially kids) dress in costume, swing noise-makers, cheer for the good guy and boo the bad guy, and have maybe a few too many drinks.

But the story really can’t be told in one sentence. If you’re not familiar with the story of Purim, with all of the thrills, chills, and intrigue, you can find out more by checking out my made-for-t.v.-miniseries-style version of the story, or by reading a translation of the actual Megilla Esther. Both are worth a read, in my opinion. Hey, it’s history!

What gives these hamantaschen their wonderful floral aroma and taste is the lavender and ginger sugar.

Now, when I say “lavender sugar,” we’re not talking about purple sanding sugar. This is ordinary sugar that’s blended with culinary grade lavender flowers, plus ground ginger from the spice aisle.

The freshly prepared lemon curd made from just-picked lemons gave these a bright, tart flavor, balanced by the sweet drizzle of lavender-colored white chocolate over the top. Sprinkled with Ginger and Lavender Sugar, these delightful treats just sparkled out there in the Florida sunshine. They were out of this world.

I’ve since made them with supermarket lemons, and I have to admit that the difference in flavor is nominal, so if your neighbor doesn’t have a lemon tree that you can pilfer, you’ll be fine.

If you’re really short on time you can even make these with lemon curd from a jar. If you do, stir in a little squeeze of fresh lemon to the curd to brighten the flavor. But like most things, it’s best made from scratch and it’s a quick and easy thing to make.

But . . . this fabulous filling, delightful drizzle, and sparkling spicy sugar need a place to go.

This is where my World’s Best, Brooklyn Bakery Style Hamantaschen recipe comes in.

Now that you’ve got your dough . . .

First, let’s make the lavender and ginger sugar. I bought a jar of this stuff at an industry food show many moons ago, but it doesn’t seem to be available anymore. No worries, because we can whip some up in minutes.

Lavender and ginger sugar

You won’t regret making a jarful of this. A little goes a long way and if you keep it tightly covered in a glass jar it will last a very long time. You might just find yourself sprinkling it over fresh fruit, or buttered toast, or anything. It takes an after dinner coffee treat to another level. Or try it in an iced matcha latte!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon culinary grade lavender flowers. You can find them here.

2 cups cane sugar

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Method:

In the bowl of a small food processor, combine the lavender flowers with the sugar and the ginger. Process until finely ground.

That’s it!

What makes these hamantaschen so beautiful to look at is the drizzle of lavender-colored white chocolate that sparkles with the flavorful sugar. I’m not a fan of white chocolate, generally speaking, but just a touch of it works really well here.

White chocolate is tricky to deal with because it can easily seize up when you try to melt it. I recommend using Ghirardelli white melting wafers because they’re much more foolproof. They taste of vanilla and aren’t horribly sweet like some white chocolate can be. They’re usually available in most supermarkets, in the baking aisle. There’s another brand that starts with “W,” and I’m not a fan of that one. It tastes of chemicals, in my opinion.

You can buy purple candy melts. The only ones I’ve tried are from that well-known brand that starts with “W,” and I’ve already given you my opinion of those. I know there are other brands out there but I haven’t tried them.

Of course, you could just drizzle the hamantaschen with the melted white chocolate and call it a day, but I do love that purple drizzle! Did you notice that I like purple?

Disaster alert! Never try to mix ordinary liquid or gel food coloring into chocolate. Oil and water don’t mix! To color white chocolate you need to use an oil based food color. This is a very nice set for not a lot of money.

You may hesitate to spend the cash on a pack of oil based food coloring that you think you’ll never use, but here’s the thing! Having these on hand can open up doorway into a new creative hobby for you, and turn you into a family celebrity.

Learn how to make chocolate treats for every occasion.

You’ll find this bonus recipe—it’s more of a tutorial than a recipe—at the bottom of the page.

Now, with all of that being said, if you really don’t want to be bothered working with white chocolate, you can whip up a super-fast icing of confectioner’s sugar, with just enough milk or cream to make a flowing paste, and add a drop of lavender food color. I use Americolor gel colors. They’re consistent and it’s easy to control the depth of color you’re looking for. This is a great starter kit. They last almost forever.

Let’s get to the recipe and let’s get baking!

While this Lemon and Lavender filling is super delicious, hamantaschen are only as good as the actual pastry that they’re made of.

Here’s the recipe for the World’s Best, tried and true,

Brooklyn Bakery Style Hamantaschen.

And Now . . . trophy winning, Lemon and lavender hamantaschen filling for The World’s Best Hamantaschen, Brooklyn Bakery-style

For the Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

½ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Method:

• Whisk together the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a medium sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

• Over low heat, stir in butter a little at a time, whisking often, for about 5 minutes or until the curd is thick enough to coat the whisk.

• Take your time. Be careful not to turn the heat too high or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. If you do end up with a few chunks in your curd, don’t panic. Just strain it through a fine mesh strainer to make them disappear.

• Transfer the lemon curd to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour before using. It will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Follow the instructions in the recipe for Brooklyn Bakery Style Hamantaschen to assemble and bake the pastries.

To make the drizzle

• When the pastries are totally cooled, pour your lavender colored white chocolate or your lavender sugar icing into a small ziplock bag. Make a tiny snip in one corner. Drizzle the icing of your choice over the pastries, in any pattern you’d like. It’s best to do no more than two or three at a time before adding the sparkling sugar–once the icing dries, the sugar won’t stick.

• Working quickly, sprinkle a generous amount of lavender ginger sugar over the pastries. The sugar will stick to both the lemon curd and the icing. Let them rest until the icing is completely set, then, shake off the excess sugar over a sheet of parchment paper so that you can collect it and use it over the next batch.

• Arrange the Lemon and Lavender Hamantaschen on a nice plate or serving tray, in a single layer. They have a tendency to stick together if stacked.

Try these other wonderful hamantaschen fillings!

poppy seed (muhn) filling

lekvar (prune or apricot) filling

Chocolate Hazelnut or s’mores filling

bananas foster filling

strawberries (or raspberry) and cream filling

Special Bonus Recipe!

hag sameach purim!

happy purim!

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?