Name: Fruit-Filled Hamantaschen from Philadelphia
Yield: Yield: 36 cookies (P) with margarine; (D) with butter
Ingredients: 3/4 cup pitted prunes; 1/3 cup seedless raisins; 1/4 cup water; 1/4 cup shelled walnuts; 1/4 apple with peel; Juice and rind of 1/4 lemon; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2/3 cup pareve margarine or butter; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 large egg; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 1/2 to 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; Dash of salt

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle

Haman's pockets, or Hamantaschen, were brought to this country by Jews from the eastern part of Germany and Eastern Europe. Hamantaschen are so popular here that at many academic institutions there is an annual Hamantaschen versus latke debate. The filling for the following Hamantaschen recipe comes from the Taste of History: Recipes Old and New put out by Philadelphia's Historic Spanish and Portuguese Congregation, Kahal Kadosh Midveh Israel, founded in 1740. With the filling I used my own butter cookie dough, which everyone in my family loves. Although adults like fruit or poppy-seed fillings, my children do not, and they fill the dough with chocolate chips and even make a Hamantaschen with chocolate chips and peanut butter. I'll stick to this prune filling and leave the chocolate-chip Hamantaschen to them.

Regional Variation: A similar and equally delicious Hamantaschen filling comes from Natchez, Mississippi. Naturally, it includes pecans rather than walnuts.

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