HAMANTASCHEN FILLING RECIPES

Steps:

• Combine honey, lemon juice, and prunes in a small saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until prunes are softened, about 10 minutes. Remove prune filling from heat and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Beat sugar, butter, and shortening together with a wooden spoon until creamy. Add eggs; stir until smooth. Stir in orange juice and vanilla extract. Gently fold in flour mixture, mixing until a dough forms. Divide dough into 3 balls.
• Roll out 1 ball of dough on a floured work surface to 1/4-inch thickness, using a piece of parchment paper under the rolling pin to prevent sticking. Use the rim of a glass to cut dough into circles.
• Place 1/2 teaspoon prune filling in the center of each circle of dough. Pinch edges together to secure filling and form triangular pockets. Transfer cookies to baking sheet. Repeat rolling, cutting, and filling remaining balls of dough.
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 18 minutes.

Steps:

• Put the confectioners’ sugar and the egg yolks in a food processor and blend. Add butter and lemon zest and process to blend. Gradually add the flour and the salt, pulsing until it forms a ball. Divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Put milk, sugar and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat. Grind poppy seeds to a fine powder in coffee grinder, taking care not to over-process to a paste. When milk mixture is warm, turn heat to low and add poppy seeds and raisins. Cook at a low simmer stirring frequently 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 let cool completely, or chill until needed, up to 3 days.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Unwrap one of the chilled dough disks and place on a piece of parchment paper that has been dusted lightly with flour. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Cover with a second piece of parchment paper. Let stand at room temperature until malleable, about 5 minutes. Use a rolling pin to press and roll out the dough into a 1/4-inch- thick round between the sheets of parchment, flipping the dough occasionally. Use a plain biscuit or cookie cutter or glass to cut 3-inch circles, placing the circles on the prepared baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill until firm while you repeat the rolling/cutting process with the second round of dough.
• Remove the first pan of dough rounds from the refrigerator. Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each, and press up the sides to form triangles, pinching the ends closed. If the dough is too firm, let stand a minute or two to soften; returning the baking sheet to the refrigerator if the dough becomes too soft. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds.
• Brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake until golden and dough is delicately firm all the way through, about 13-18 minutes, rotating the racks front to back and top to bottom after about 10 minutes.
• Place trays on wire racks for 10 minutes before transferring cookies on parchment to racks to cool completely.