Hamantaschen from the Bakehouse

This year, Erev Purim began on the evening of Thursday, March 13 and continued on through Friday the 14th. The Bakehouse had a head start on hamantaschen season, though; we make them all month long because the truth is that hamantaschen taste great at any time! They’ve certainly been hugely popular so far this month! They also happen to have been my business partner Paul Saginaw’s favorite pastry for as long as I can remember!

If you don’t know it, Purim is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the occasion of the Persian Jews outwitting the wicked minister Haman, who was out to annihilate them. (Parallels, I see now, with Putin and Ukraine and maybe more …) Haman was determined to have all the Jews of Persia put to death, but the queen’s uncle (Mordechai) found out about Haman’s evil intentions and passed word to his niece (Queen Esther), who in turn told the King, who then put Haman to death instead of the Jews. The triangular shape of modern-day hamantaschen was said, in some stories, to be derived from the three-cornered hat that Haman wore.

The beautiful little triangularly shaped, all-butter cookie dough crust pockets are stuffed with an array of fillings: cream cheese (from the Creamery) and vanilla bean, apricot, Hungarian prune preserves, and, Paul’s favorite, Dutch poppy seed. All are excellent. The two newest flavors—both introduced last year—are winning raves: Apple Pie and, yes, you read it right, Chocolate Birthday Cake. Stop by the Bakehouse before the end of the monthWe happily ship hamantaschen all over the country, so log on and place your holiday orders soon to get them there before Purim!