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Happy Purim! Decided to make Hamantaschen this year (as I have most years of my life) just to keep up with tradition. Unfortunately there was no Purimspiel or noisemakers...well not toy noisemakers = )

Ingredients (makes about 32 cookies)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
2 eggs
Filling (Any kind of preserves, poppy seeds, chocolate chips, mini M&Ms...)

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Directions
  • Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder in large bowl. Cut butter in until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
  • Mix lemon zest, vanilla extract, and eggs in a separate bowl. Stir into flour mixture until dough forms a ball (you may have to use your hands. Don't be afraid to get dirty! It's the best part of baking...I'm still covered in flour = )  )
  • Cover and refrigerate dough for about 2 hours or until firm.
  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Roll half the dough at a time to 1/8" thick on a lightly floured cloth-covered surface. Cut into 3" rounds (I use the top of a tall tumbler as my cutter. It's a quick and easy trick!)
  • Spoon 1 level teaspoon of the filling you choose onto each round (We used apricot and strawberry preserves..and some chocolate chips for fun). Bring up 3 sides and pinch corners to form a triangular shape (which mimics the shape of Haman's *noisemaker!* tri-cornered hat).
  • Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 - 15 minutes and remove to rack immediately. Voila tower of hamantaschen = )

 
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Welcome to a Weber/Galloway family tradition (Copyrighted! So no copyright infringement, kiddies!) that has lasted for the past 21 years!!

When I was younger, my dad and I used to bake pretty frequently. One Groundhog Day when I was in kindergarten, my dad decided we should make a batch of cookies and shape it into a groundhog so I could bring it in to school...This turned into a yearly tradition! We also added groundhog shaped pancakes the morning of (though that has changed to an evening tradition for me, since I started college anyway).

Unfortunately, for those who hate winter, our beloved Punxsutawney Phil has predicted another 6 weeks of winter. I'm kind of ok with that because I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a big blizzard!

Read on for our family secret chocolate chip cookie recipe...; )