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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 28 |
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Rae: We wanted to come up with a version of this Purim pastry that was light and crumbly but not dry, and these really fit the bill. At Mile End we make the three classic kinds: apricot, poppy seed, and prune. If you want to make a mixed batch, just make all three fillings, using a third of the amount of each of the filling ingredients called for below. Mile End's baker, Rich Maggi, swears by his tortilla press for flattening the dough, though a rolling pin will also do the trick. Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour |
1 teaspoon baking powder |
2 teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt |
zest of 1 lemon |
4 large eggs |
1 cup sugar |
1 cup canola oil |
1/4 cup lukewarm water |
2 cups dried apricots or dried prunes |
1 cup sugar |
1 cup water |
1 cup poppy seeds |
1 1/2 cups dark raisins |
1 1/2 cups golden raisins |
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves |
1/2 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt |
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon |
1 cup sugar |
2 cups water |
Directions:
1. Make the dough: Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix them together with your hands until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and oil together vigorously until thoroughly combined. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix them together with your hands for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the water and continue mixing with your hands until the dough comes together, another 30 seconds or so.
2. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface, adding a little more f lour if the dough is too sticky. Use your hand to flatten the dough slightly into a thick disk, and wrap the disk very snugly in aluminum foil. Refrigerate until the dough is firmly set, about 3 hours.
3. Make the apricot or prune filling: Combine all the filling ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Set the mixture aside until it is just cool enough to handle, then transfer it to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate the filling until it's completely cooled before using.
4. Make the poppy-seed filling: Combine all the filling ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture has reduced somewhat, 15 to 20 minutes. Set the mixture aside until it is just cool enough to handle, then transfer it to a food processor and process until the poppy seeds have broken down and are thoroughly incorporated, 5 to 6 minutes. Refrigerate the filling until it's completely cooled before using.
5. Shape, fill, and bake the cookies: Remove the dough from the refrigerator (it will look and feel quite oily) and transfer it to a floured surface. Tear off a small piece of dough and roll it between your hands into a ball roughly the size of a Ping-Pong ball; use your hand to flatten the ball into a thick disk. Repeat with the remaining dough to make roughly 28 disks and hold them in the refrigerator. Then, pull one disk out at a time and place it onto a sheet of floured parchment paper. Fold the edge of the paper over the top of the disk, and use a tortilla press or rolling pin to flatten the dough until it's roughly doubled in width. Using the same sheet of parchment and adding flour as needed, repeat with the remaining dough pieces. Working with 1 flattened piece of dough at a time, dollop a heaping tablespoon of the filling of your choice in the center of the dough. Then gently fold 1 edge of the dough over the side (but not over the top) of the filling and press the edge slightly against the filling so it stays in place. Next, bring up a second edge the same way. Finally, bring up the third edge and pinch the 3 seams together, creating a triangular pastry with a little of the filling still exposed at the top. Transfer it to a 10-by-15-inch baking sheet that's lined with parchment paper and greased with oil or cooking spray (use a bench knife or a metal spatula to gently scrape the bottom of the filled cookie off the work surface, if necessary). Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Cover the filled cookies with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for about 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the cookies, rotating the tray halfway through baking, until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
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