Purim is one of the most accessible Jewish holidays to celebrate. Like Halloween, a big part of it is dressing up and being silly. (All-night reading of The Scroll of Esther and lots of drinking are the other parts.) Unlike Halloween, there’s a beautiful part of Purim that involves the giving of gifts to friends and tzedakah (charity) to the poor. If you’re just dipping your toes in the holiday for the first time, a great way to celebrate is with delicious food. Hamentaschen, symbolizing Haman’s hat, from the story of Purim (which has an interfaith story line), are cookies traditionally made with jam or poppy seed filling, but who doesn’t love chocolate?

I was inspired to do a hamantaschen based on my favorite Girl Scout cookie, the Thin Mint. It focuses on that sweet, decadent chocolate and the mint is brought in via a subtle peppermint glaze. And, if peppermint isn’t your thing, just leave it out and you have yourself a delicious chocolate hamantaschen that will please all your friends and family and maybe just introduce the holiday of Purim to a newcomer.

Ingredients:

Makes 2 dozen (give or take a couple)

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 6 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon strong coffee
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup large chocolate chips (semi sweet or milk will work. I used milk chocolate)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp peppermint oil
• 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat Oven: 350°F

2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla.

3. Next, add baking powder and flour to the bowl and mix well to combine. Finally, add the cocoa and strong coffee and give it one more good stir (dough should be thick, almost like bread dough).

4. Knead the dough until smooth.

5. Flour a rolling pin and roll out to roughly 1/8 inch thin on a floured board.

6. Using a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass with a wide opening, cut out circles (use the scraps to make cookies as well, just keep forming into a large ball and rolling out thin and repeat process until dough is done).

7. Drop a handful of chocolate chips (should be roughly 10 chips or more) into the center of each circle.

8. Have a glass or small bowl of a little bit of cold water near by so that you can dip your fingers in to help fold the dough into three sides over the filling forming a triangle (water acts as a glue to the dough and will help edges stick).

9. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes on a lined cookie sheet.

10. Once fully cooked, let cool for at least 5 – 10 minutes. While cooling, place the powdered sugar, peppermint oil and milk into a small bowl and stir until milky consistency.

11. Once the cookies are cool, brush the sugar/oil mixture over the tops.

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