Boy oh boy, pass the good stuff. It’s Purim season, and we love a good hamantaschen recipe. This one from Amy Kritzer does not disappoint. You may want to double the filling because you are going to steal some nibbles. And if you really want to impress, try a salted rum caramel drizzle. Oh my.

Bananas Foster Hamantaschen Recipe

Author: Amy Kritzer

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Purim

Prep time:  45 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 15 cookies

INGREDIENTS

For Hamantaschen Dough:

• 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg plus 1 for egg wash
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder (use 1 teaspoon if you want crispier cookies)
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For Banana Walnut Filling:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon rum
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 very ripe medium-size banana (1/2 cup mashed)
• For Salted Rum Caramel:
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon rum
• Pinch salt

Instructions:

1. Make the dough first. In a large bowl with a stand or hand mixer, blend butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then add vanilla, 1 egg and orange juice and combine. Then add flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and mix just until combined. Dough should be slightly sticky.
2. Form dough into a large ball, flatten slightly, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
3. Then make the filling (you can do this the next day or chill it overnight)
4. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt butter. Immediately add brown sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add a little water if the sugar is clumping. Then add nuts and stir to coat and toast nuts a bit, for a few minutes.
5. Add the rum and let it burn off- be careful! The rum may or may not flame up a bit. Once the rum burns off, add in the mashed banana and combine. Set aside to cool, can be made 3 days ahead of time.
6. Lastly, make your caramel. Put brown sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and boil until the mixture darkens (do not let burn) and thickens.
7. Remove from the head and mix in cream- carefully this will bubble up a bit. Then mix in butter, rum and salt. Let cool. The caramel will thicken more as it cools. If it is doesn't get thick, you can simmer more until it reduces and thickens.
8. If you make the caramel ahead of time, you will need to reheat it to get it to drizzling consistency.
9. When you are ready to make your hamantaschen, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is ⅛ inch thick. Use a 3-inch circle cookie (a wine glass works too) cutter to cut circles in the dough. Roll out the scraps and re-cut into circles.
10. Then take a teaspoon of the filling and put it in the center of each circle. Don’t add any more- the filling will spread to fill the cookie, and anymore would just run over the top making for an ugly hamantaschen.
11. Fold two sides together overlapping at the bottom, and then fold the top down to make a triangle.
12. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheets 1-inch apart and freeze for 30 minutes to prevent spreading.
13. Whisk 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water to make the egg wash. Wash with egg wash. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden on the bottoms of cookies. Cool and enjoy!

For more great Jewish recipes visit What Jew Wanna Eat