Hamantaschen

2/3 c. butter
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Put the first five ingredients in the food processor bowl. Pulse til butter is incorporated. Add vanilla and egg. pulse until dough is rolling around in the bowl. May need to add more flour.
Cut into 4 parts. Roll out to 1/8" thick, cut out 3" circles. Put a dab of jam in the center of each cookie. I like to use jam that is well beyond it's best-if-used-by date--a little bit dried up is good. I also like compotes, because they tend to be a bit thicker. The European jams tend to be a little thicker as well. This year I failed to prepare for Purim properly by stocking up on perfect fillings, so I used what I had on hand that best fit my criteria--huckleberry jam, fig compote, orange marmalade, and apricot jam this year (all well aged on our pantry shelf). Fold up three sides of cookies to make a pilgrim-like hat. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12 minutes.
I only make these once a year, but this year I made 24 dozen. I am hosting the Purim dinner, and I really want enough hamantaschen for everyone. My third son and I spent an entire afternoon, he making the dough and taking the cookies out of the oven, and I rolling out the dough, then cutting and shaping the cookies. We shared putting them away and taste testing each jam type. I liked the fig the best, and Abe liked the huckleberry.
This recipe is adapted from Joan Nathan's 'Jewish Holiday Kitchen', available for almost nothing on Amazon, and the source of some of my go-to recipes for the holidays. She starts with a bit more flour than this one, but I have a cool and very dry house this time of year and stone counter-tops, so it is easy to roll out with less flour to start. This recipe is also a little bit sweeter than a European butter cookie would be--I like that sweetness, but the sugar can be reduced to 1/3 c. per recipe. The recipe makes 36 hamantaschen.