The Queen of Beauty and Courage


Haman rolled the dice!
“In the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes
reign, lots were cast in Haman’s presence (the lots were called
purim) to determine the best day and month to take action.
And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later.
Esther 3:7 (NLT)

An Horrific History

March 7 & 8 is Purim!!! Pur basically means dice, a reminder of how Haman “rolled the dice” in his plot to defy God and exterminate the Jews. His gamble turned out badly, as do all gambles which bet on our plans and desires when they are opposed by God’s plans.

Many have noted the echoes of Purim in the Nuremberg war crime trials. In the Book of Esther, Haman's ten sons were hanged (Esther 9:13); in 1946, ten of Hitler's top associates were put to death by hanging for their war crimes (including the crime of murdering 6 million Jews. One of the men seems to have been aware of the parallel: on the way to the gallows, Julius Streicher shouted "Purim Fest 1946!"

Hamantaschen

To commemorate God’s salvation, observant Jews worldwide may fast for three days, then, while reading the book of Esther, they hiss at the name of Haman and cheer at the name of Mordecai. Then they make and eat little pastries in the shape of the hat that Haman probably wore as a Persian official. Here’s recipe
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup orange juice (the smooth kind, not the pulpy)
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup wheat flour (DO NOT substitute white flour! The wheat flour is
necessary to achieve the right texture!)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• Various preserves, fruit butters and/or pie fillings.

Blend butter and sugar thoroughly. Add the egg and blend thoroughly. Add OJ and blend thoroughly. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating white and wheat, blending thoroughly between each. Add the baking powder and cinnamon with the last half cup of flour. Refrigerate batter overnight or at least a few hours. Roll as thin as you can without getting holes in the batter (roll it between two sheets of wax paper lightly dusted with flour for best results). Cut out 3 or 4 inch circles.








Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each circle. Fold up the sides to make a triangle, folding the last corner under the starting point, so that each side has corner that folds over and a corner that folds under (see picture at right). Folding in this "pinwheel" style will reduce the likelihood that the last side will fall open while cooking, spilling out the filling. It also tends to make a better triangle shape.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown but before the filling boils over!
Traditional fillings are poppy seed and prune, but apricot is my favorite. Apple butter, pineapple preserves, and cherry pie filling all work quite well. I usually use Pathmark grocery store brand fruit preserves, and of course the traditional Simon Fischer brand prune lekvar. I have also made some with Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread); I find it a bit dry that way, but some people like it.
The number of cookies this recipe makes depends on the size of your cutting tool and the thickness you roll. I use a 4-1/4 inch cutting tool and roll to a medium thickness, and I get 20-24 cookies out of this recipe.