Hamantaschen in a Hurry

By smclane

These delicious cookies are a traditional treat during Purim, the Jewish celebration of the deliverance from an evil scheme by Haman, advisor to the king of Persia. The cookies’ shape resembles Haman's three-cornered hat.

Ingredients

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated piecrusts
• 3/4 cup apricot preserves

Details

Servings 28

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a big baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray generously with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Place sugar in a shallow dish.

3. Unroll piecrusts, and then roll them into 12-inch circles; cut each crust into 14 (2½ -inch) circles, using a round cookie cutter. Throw away excess piecrust. Gently dredge both sides of each circle in sugar, and place on prepared baking sheet.

4. Place 1 rounded teaspoonful of apricot preserves in center of 1 circle. Brush edges of circle with water using a pastry brush. Lift edges to center over filling, forming a triangle. Pinch triangle points firmly to seal, and press edges of pastry toward center (see tip below).

5. Do the same thing all over again with the remaining apricot preserves and pastry circles.

6. Bake at 375° for 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove baking sheet from the oven using oven mitts. Let cookies stand 5 minutes on baking sheet. Using a spatula, move to wire racks to cool com¬pletely.

Tip: It's important that the triangle points are pinched firmly and that the pastry edges are pressed to lean toward the centers. This helps the cookies keep their triangular shape as they bake.