The joyful Jewish holiday of Purim, which begins on Wednesday evening, March 16, celebrates the deliverance of the Jews of Persia from danger and honors the Jewish Queen Esther.

At the synagogue people read the Megillah, known as the Book of Esther, which begins with the story of the Persian king who married Esther and made her the queen. When the king’s evil adviser Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish community, Esther interceded with the king and foiled Haman’s plan. Children come to the synagogue dressed in costumes and are encouraged to make lots of noise whenever Haman’s name is mentioned.

A popular Purim custom is exchanging boxes of sweet treats, especially three-cornered filled cookies called hamantaschen, meaning “Haman’s pockets”, and in Hebrew, “oznei haman” — Haman’s ears.

When I was growing up, hamantaschen usually had poppy seed filling, which might still be the best-loved filling today. In Israel I learned to make it by cooking poppy seeds with milk and honey. I bake it in a buttery, crunchy cookie dough flavored with orange zest.

Along with hamantaschen, many add other favorite cookies to their gift boxes. This year I’m making delicate French lemon cookies and hearty cranberry-macadamia nut cookies. In our family we include a chocolate treat such as brownies, which I frost with luscious chocolate ganache.

The poppyseed-raisin filling for Hamantaschen is cooked with milk and honey. (Photo by Yakir Levy)

Hamantaschen with Poppy Seed-Raisin Filling

Yield: 24 (32 to 36 if using trimmings)

Note: You can buy poppy seeds in bulk at kosher, Eastern European and Middle Eastern markets.

INGREDIENTS

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold unsalted butter (8 ounces), cut in about 32 small pieces

1 large egg, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Poppy Seed-Raisin filling (see recipe), cold

PROCEDURE

1. Combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt in food processor. Process briefly to blend. Scatter butter pieces over mixture. Mix using on/off motion until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add orange zest. Pour beaten egg evenly over mixture. Process with on/off motion, scraping sides occasionally, until ingredients are blended.

2. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon orange juice. Process briefly until dough begins to stick together but does not form a ball. If dough is too dry, add another tablespoon juice and pulse several times to blend. If necessary, add last tablespoon of juice 1 teaspoon at a time, pulsing after each addition.

3. Transfer dough to a work surface. With the heel of your hand, knead it lightly in 4 portions to blend it. With a rubber spatula, transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap, push it together and wrap it. Shape in a fairly smooth flat disk. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

4. To fill: If dough is very firm, let it soften for a few minutes at room temperature. Butter a baking sheet; or line it with foil or parchment and butter liner.

5. Take one fourth of dough. Push it into a rough circle. Tap it firmly a few times with a rolling pin to soften it and begin flattening it. Roll it on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, turning it often and flouring lightly as necessary, until about 1/8 inch thick.

6. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut dough in rounds. Brush water lightly along rim of each one. Put 1 teaspoon filling in center of each. (Do not add more, or filling may come out during baking.) Pull up edges of the round in 3 arcs that almost meet in center above filling, to form a triangular pastry with filling showing slightly. Pinch edges to seal firmly.

7. Put pastries on prepared baking sheet; refrigerate. Push trimmings gently together; wrap and refrigerate.

8. Shape more hamantaschen from remaining dough in 3 portions. Refrigerate trimmings at least 30 minutes; roll and shape. Refrigerate shaped pastries for 30 minutes or up to overnight.

9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

10. Bake hamantaschen until light golden at edges, about 10 to 14 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Creamy Poppy Seed-Raisin Filling:

Yield: About 1 cup, enough for about 3 dozen hamantaschen

3/4 cup poppy seeds (3 1/2 ounces)

1/2 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons mild honey

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

PROCEDURE

1. In a spice grinder grind poppy seeds in 4 portions to fine meal but not to a paste.

2. In a small saucepan combine poppy seeds, milk, honey and 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir over low heat and bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until mixture is as thick as peanut butter, about 10 minutes.

3. Add raisins and butter and stir over low heat just until butter is blended in. Remove from heat. Stir in orange zest. Taste; stir in 1 tablespoon sugar if desired.

4. Transfer mixture to a bowl; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.

Delicate Lemon Cookies are flavored with freshly grated lemon zest (Photo by Yakir Levy)

Delicate Lemon Cookies

These French cookies are shaped with two spoons, then are flattened by tapping the baking sheet on a work surface so they will be thin and crisp.

Yield: 40 cookies

INGREDIENTS

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Grated zest of 2 lemons

3/4 cup all purpose flour

PROCEDURE

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets.

2. Beat butter with a mixer until soft and smooth. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add 1 egg and beat until blended. Beat second egg in a small bowl; gradually beat it into mixture. Stir in lemon zest. Sift flour over mixture. Stir it in with a wooden spoon. Let batter stand 15 minutes at room temperature.

3. To shape cookies, take 1/2 teaspoon batter and use another teaspoon to push batter onto baking sheet. Space cookies about 3 inches apart. Tap baking sheet vigorously several times on work surface to flatten cookies.

4. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until edges of cookies are brown and centers light beige. Transfer to a rack to cool. (If cookies harden and become difficult to remove, return to oven for 30 seconds to soften.)

Cranberry-Macadamia Nut Oatmeal Cookies are seasoned with nutmeg (Photo by Yakir Levy)

Cranberry-Macadamia Nut Oatmeal Cookies

Yield: 36 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

3 tablespoons grape seed oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Macadamia nut halves and pepitas (optional garnish)

PROCEDURE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take out one or two cookie sheets, nonstick if desired.

2. Beat together butter, oil, sugars, egg and vanilla with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Beat for about 1 minute.

4. With a spoon, stir in flour until blended, followed by oats. Stir in macadamia nuts and dried cranberries.

5. To shape cookies, take a round teaspoon of batter and use another teaspoon to push batter onto baking sheet. Garnish with macadamia nuts or pepitas.

6. Bake for 12 minutes, or until just beginning to firm. Transfer carefully to racks to cool.

Source: Adapted from a recipe in “52 Weeks of Cookies” by Maggie McCreath.

Ganache-Frosted Brownies with Pistachios are studded with nuts, dried apricots and candied ginger (Photo by Yakir Levy)

Ganache-Frosted Brownies with Pistachios

Studded with chopped nuts, dried apricots and candied ginger, these brownies are our favorites.

INGREDIENTS

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in pieces

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup chopped raw pistachios

1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/4 cup chopped candied (crystallized) ginger (see Note below)

Ganache and garnish:

6 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped

1/2 cup whipping cream

About 1/4 cup finely chopped raw pistachios

PROCEDURE

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line base and sides of a 9- to 9-1/2-inch-square baking pan with a single piece of waxed paper or foil; butter paper or foil.

2. Combine chocolate and butter in a heatproof medium bowl set above a pan of hot, not simmering, water over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally. Stir until smooth. Remove from above water; cool 5 minutes.

3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl.

4. Beat eggs lightly with a mixer. Add sugar; whip at high speed for 5 minutes or until thick and light. Beat in vanilla. Add chocolate mixture in 3 batches at low speed, beating until blended after each addition.

5. With a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture, then apricots, nuts and ginger.

6. Transfer batter to baking pan; carefully spread evenly to corners. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes; a wooden pick inserted 1/2 inch from center of mixture should come out nearly clean.

7. Cool in pan on a rack to room temperature. Turn out onto a tray; remove paper or foil. Turn over onto a plate.

8. Ganache: Put chocolate in a small bowl. Bring cream to a full boil in a small heavy saucepan. Pour over chocolate all at once. Stir with a whisk until chocolate melts completely and mixture is smooth.

9. On a hot day, refrigerate 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with whisk, until thick enough to spread but not set. On a cool day, cool at room temperature.

10. Spread ganache over top of brownies. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set; for shinier glaze, cool at room temperature 2 hours.

11. Carefully cut in 16 to 20 squares, using a sharp knife. Serve cold, cool or at room temperature.

Note: When chopping candied ginger, sprinkle it with 2 teaspoons of the sugar to help prevent it from sticking to knife.

Faye Levy is the author of “1,000 Jewish Recipes.”

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