HAMENTASCHEN (ORANGE JUICE DOUGH)
  by Amy Rabb-Liu



Mix 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup oil.  Add 3 eggs, mix
well.  Add 1/2 cup orange juice, mix well.

In another bowl, mix 4 cups flour with 3 tsp baking
powder and 1 tsp salt.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, 1/3 or 1/4 at
a time, mixing well after each addition.

Feel dough.  Add just enough more flour to dough
(mixing well) to make dough rollable, even if still
rather sticky.

On floured surface, roll dough very thin (about 1/8
inch thick).

Cut circles, fill and fold into Hamentaschen shape.
(Scraps can be saved and re-rolled once or twice.)

Brush sides and tops of cookies (not filling if you
can help it) with beaten egg.

Cook on parchment covered baking sheet at 350F for
about 18 minutes, until deep golden color.


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This recipe is pretty foolproof - even a bunch of
second grade boys can "help" make a batch of cookies 
with this dough. 

The fillings come from cans of Solo brand pastry fillings. 
I usually use prune/plum, poppy and apricot. I've also tried 
almond, which works fine but isn't a family favorite. I've 
seen others use nutella or chocolate chips or even M&Ms, but 
I usually stick to the fruity fillings.

The cream cheese dough (also posted on this webpage) 
is a bit harder to deal with; the rolling needs to be 
more precise (evenly thin). But the dough bakes into 
blissfully delicious cookies.  That recipe also includes 
directions for making homemade cherry filling. This is 
usually the only kind of filling I make from scratch. 

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