Papa Bud’s Hamantaschen
For those who want to make hamantaschen, here’s a recipe from Jim Salinsky, whose grandfather Bud Pollak owned Milwaukee’s Chicago Bakery. This recipe is a reprint from 2018, when Salinsky talked about his home hamantaschen parties.
Makes: 3 to 4 dozen
Ingredients:
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar ¼ cup milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups flour
1 to 1 ½ cups filling (see below)
About ¼ cup powdered sugar
Preparation:
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add milk. Add eggs one at a time and mix well, scraping bowl
regularly. Add lemon juice, orange zest and vanilla. Gradually add flour. It’s OK if some flour or crumbs are left in the bottom of the bowl after mixing. The dough should be sticky when fully mixed. Tear the dough into 3 balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out one of the balls on a lightly floured surface until about 1⁄8 inch thick. Cut into 3 ½-inch circles, then top with about 1 teaspoon of filling and fold up edges to form a triangle, pinching corners so they hold. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool, dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately or store in an airtight container. Poppy seed: Use the canned stuff from Solo, but add ¼ cup chopped walnuts and 1 tablespoon honey. Apricot or raspberry: Best stuff comes in tubes sold at Cook’s Cake Decorating and Candy in West Allis. Prune: If you’re one of those people who likes prunes.
Nutella: Use straight up.