[Sca-cooks] Fig Newtons from God?

[Susan Fox]

The three-sided filled cookies are called Hamentashen, and it is an 
Asheknazic [European] Jewish treat for Purim, which was March 21-22 this 
year but that doesn't keep folks from making these cookies until it's 
time to clean up for Passover.  Maybe it's not quite as old as Abraham 
but it is very old, possibly dating to the 1400's.  Here's a good web 
page on the subject:  
http://seforim.blogspot.com/2008/03/origins-of-hamentashen-in-jewish.html

Haman was the genocidal villan of the story and the triangle shape is 
supposed to represent the pointy hat he wore.  Why we eat his hat, or 
his ears according to others, is not explained.  [In a thousand years, 
will we be serving Hitlertaschen?  Little black moustaches?  Hmmm, got 
to start developing that recipe now, I'm thinking dark chocolate.]

Yom Tov, y'all
Selene



Stefan li Rous wrote:
> Aldyth asked:
>
> <<< This morning at work a wonderful older jewish lady brought in a  
> care package to say thank you for taking such good care of her  
> terrier.? She knows I like to cook.? Her words were, "The little  
> basket is full of Fig Newtons from God.?Just for you. Guess what they  
> are. They are as old as Abraham"
>
> So, I sampled one.? Very light outside butter cookie dough that was  
> rolled out or flattened. Inside one was what I thought would be fig,  
> but was poppy seed goo.? Another one was strawberry I think.? The  
> edges of the cookie were folded up on the filling, leaving a finger  
> print sized hole. Mostly round, or sort of 3 sided. They also had  
> been dusted with powdered sugar, (I hope that was what it was).
>
> Surely not a cuskeynole.? Google was helpful with various versions of  
> thumbprint cookies. If this is?a period cookie, it would be wonderful  
> to include on a dessert sideboard.? Ideas? >>>
>
> No, not a cuskeynole. I'm afraid that there are probably quite a  
> number of cookies and variations which match the description you've  
> given so far. My guess might be mamouls.
>
> mamouls-msg       (20K)  1/ 9/02    A Middle Eastern date/nut/dried  
> fruit filled
>                                         cookie embossed with patterns.
> http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-SWEETS/mamouls-msg.html
>
> <<< That's a great new gadget you picked up, but I'm afraid it's NOT  
> a couscous mold!  :o) You could certainly use it for that if you  
> want, but that's not what it's intended for.  It's actually a cookie  
> mold - there's a special kind of cookie made in the Middle East  
> called "mamoul," and it's usually made for Easter.  The flavorings  
> vary; the dough is unsweetened (butter, flour, rosewater and orange  
> blossom water), and it can be filled with a mixture of chopped dates  
> and butter, or chopped nuts (walnuts or pistachios) with sugar and  
> rosewater.  You take a bit of the dough and flatten it out into a  
> cirle, put a spoonful of filling inthe middle, and close the dough  
> over it, so it's a little round ball.  You then squish this ball into  
> the mold so it's flat, and smash the mold on the table really hard to  
> get the cookie to pop out :-)  The cookie has the same pattern as the  
> mold, and you use a different mold for each type of filling so you  
> can tell what's inside.  After they're baked, you sprinkle powdered  
> sugar on top (except for the date ones).  Yum!!  They are wonderfully  
> delicious, and tons of fun to make.  I've had these every year for my  
> entire life, and can confidently say they are the most scrumptious  
> cookies I've ever had :-)  (Making them is also even more fun than  
> dyeing Easter eggs!)
>
> Vittoria >>>
>
> For those wondering what a cuskynole is and how it differs from this:
> cuskynoles-msg    (44K)  8/21/00    A medieval fruit-filled pasta dish.
> http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD/cuskynoles-msg.html
>
> Stefan
> --------
> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
>     Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
> StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
>
>
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