They're lining up over at our house, getting ready to get "strung up", on our door and on our chandelier and to have their heads bitten off by a whole bunch of excited little children.
GOOD CHODESH EVERYONE.
20 comments:
Good Ideaman?
said...
Kinda makes you wonder why people don't make hitler cookies. You know the ones with a black licorice moustache. Its the same idea as hamantashen except not as PC
here's our trick we discovered to avoid the battle of the rope not quite staying around the neck= punch a whole in the general throat area before baking, with a regular straw. you will have a neat hole for hanging.
and share your recipe with me, every year I try a different cookie recipe and they are all awful to work with
SA - The eyes are made from silver dragees, that I have only been able to find w/ a hashgacha in Israel. I am running incredibly low and the last person who brought me, came back with a bunch that were far too tiny. If anybody out there knows where to find dragees w/ a hechsher, I'm all ears. I do make the frowny faces myself. I cut a gaping hole which closes up as they bake. I used to use a grapefruit spoon to use the cutting but now I just use a pointy paring knife. Since they grow together anyway as they bake, it is very forgiving.
Cuzzin - I never had trouble hanging them ever since I abandoned the use of licorice strings. Those used to break and slip. I know use curling ribbon or raffia and find they hold just fine.
Hasya - You are so right as to the anticipation. I love to see the gleam in the children's eyes who come to our door each Purim, all eager for this special treat and the excitement when I remind them to bite the head off first ;)
G6, the last time I got them here in the US I made nice to someone in the bakery and bought a small sack from them--cost an arm, two legs and a couple of vital organs. Then I find out that the FDA here in the states doesn't classify them as edible and doesn't recommend eating the dragees because at least here in the states they are coated in real silver. Don't know about the ones from Israel.
I'm not sure how that is possible since NUMEROUS SITES like this one, this one and this one, just to name a few, sell lots of uncertified dragees. It's just finding them in the U.S. with a hechsher that is the problem.
G6, It's not illegal to sell the dragees here but the FDA compliance manual says "When small silver balls known as "silver dragees" are sold exclusively for decorating cakes and are used under conditions which preclude their consumption as confectionery, they are not considered to be in the category of a food or confectionery." Trying to wade through the government language is tortuous but basically I believe it says that you can use the dragees to decorate something but not to eat.
Rafi - Most definitely not "instead of"... Each year I make both hamantaschen as well as haman men. The haman men get strung up on our lights and our door and get handed out to very eager children who come visiting. In fact, I posted the same photo on Facebook and received this response from a now 23 year old young mother of two: "omg! childhood memories...save one for me...yum!"
It's a simple sugar cookie recipe. Really; any one will do. Here's mine: (rotfl to cuzzin' - I just looked up this recipe in my recipe book and it says that it originally came from you!!!
3 1/4 cups flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 2/3 cup shortening 2 eggs 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 2 Tablespoons milk -- (or parve milk or even water) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Blend in the rest of the ingredients, (adding the milk/water as needed).
Roll out dough and cut as desired. (If dough is too moist, chill. If dough is too dry, add a bit more water)
Bake at 400° on a well greased cookie sheet 8-13 minutes.
OMG-I had forgotten all about these Haman cookies. I am not from the Heights but my mother is and as kids we spent almost all of the chagim (and many Sundays) there with my Oma and Opa.I still feel a strong connection to the Heights which is why I read -and enjoy-the blog. My Oma z"l was actually a caterer for many years-maybe some of you remember the name? Irma Hirschfeld.
Your Oma was a "fixture" in the Washington Heights community. She catered both my husband's bar mitzvah as well as my in laws' wedding!
She was not only a good cook, but a big baalas chessed. My husband tells the story of how his grandmother (Rebetzin Breuer) would hear of a newly emigrated family and merely pick up the phone and call Mrs. Hirschfeld and before you knew it, there was food on their doorstep.
Glad I could bring back some nice memories for you.
Perhaps some of my other readers can share their recollections of your Oma with you as well.
Although I'm younger than perlsand (I'm her sister and Irma Hirschfeld's grandaughter too!) and don't remember these cookies, I have lots of other wonderful food related memories of our Oma! The greenkorn soup, for example, that you posted a while ago.
I have your blog on my Google reader and enjoy reading your posts whenever they show up, and I think I've gotten my sister hooked too!
They're lining up over at our house, getting ready to get "strung up", on our door and on our chandelier and to have their heads bitten off by a whole bunch of excited little children.
20 comments:
Kinda makes you wonder why people don't make hitler cookies. You know the ones with a black licorice moustache. Its the same idea as hamantashen except not as PC
What are the eyes made of? And do you do the frowny faces yourself?
Such fun.
here's our trick we discovered to avoid the battle of the rope not quite staying around the neck= punch a whole in the general throat area before baking, with a regular straw. you will have a neat hole for hanging.
and share your recipe with me, every year I try a different cookie recipe and they are all awful to work with
I can imagine the anticipation to start eating those cookies.
SA -
The eyes are made from silver dragees, that I have only been able to find w/ a hashgacha in Israel.
I am running incredibly low and the last person who brought me, came back with a bunch that were far too tiny.
If anybody out there knows where to find dragees w/ a hechsher, I'm all ears.
I do make the frowny faces myself. I cut a gaping hole which closes up as they bake. I used to use a grapefruit spoon to use the cutting but now I just use a pointy paring knife. Since they grow together anyway as they bake, it is very forgiving.
Cuzzin -
I never had trouble hanging them ever since I abandoned the use of licorice strings. Those used to break and slip. I know use curling ribbon or raffia and find they hold just fine.
Hasya -
You are so right as to the anticipation. I love to see the gleam in the children's eyes who come to our door each Purim, all eager for this special treat and the excitement when I remind them to bite the head off first ;)
good thing they are cyber-only by me! They look (fattenly) delicious!
G6, the last time I got them here in the US I made nice to someone in the bakery and bought a small sack from them--cost an arm, two legs and a couple of vital organs. Then I find out that the FDA here in the states doesn't classify them as edible and doesn't recommend eating the dragees because at least here in the states they are coated in real silver. Don't know about the ones from Israel.
ProfK -
I'm not sure how that is possible since NUMEROUS SITES like this one, this one and this one, just to name a few, sell lots of uncertified dragees.
It's just finding them in the U.S. with a hechsher that is the problem.
G6,
It's not illegal to sell the dragees here but the FDA compliance manual says "When small silver balls known as "silver dragees" are sold exclusively for decorating cakes and are used under conditions which preclude their consumption as confectionery, they are not considered to be in the category of a food or confectionery." Trying to wade through the government language is tortuous but basically I believe it says that you can use the dragees to decorate something but not to eat.
ProfK -
I think what it is saying is that it's all a matter of quantity.
Consuming them "as a confectionery" is quite different than using them "as decoration" by putting two dragees on a cookie.
It's all a matter of moderation.
is this instead of the classic hamantashen?
Rafi -
Most definitely not "instead of"...
Each year I make both hamantaschen as well as haman men.
The haman men get strung up on our lights and our door and get handed out to very eager children who come visiting.
In fact, I posted the same photo on Facebook and received this response from a now 23 year old young mother of two: "omg! childhood memories...save one for me...yum!"
recipe please?
Cuzzin and Deb -
It's a simple sugar cookie recipe.
Really; any one will do.
Here's mine: (rotfl to cuzzin' - I just looked up this recipe in my recipe book and it says that it originally came from you!!!
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons milk -- (or parve milk or even water)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Blend in the rest of the ingredients, (adding the milk/water as needed).
Roll out dough and cut as desired. (If dough is too moist, chill. If dough is too dry, add a bit more water)
Bake at 400° on a well greased cookie sheet 8-13 minutes.
NOTES : Makes about 23 Haman men.
OMG-I had forgotten all about these Haman cookies. I am not from the Heights but my mother is and as kids we spent almost all of the chagim (and many Sundays) there with my Oma and Opa.I still feel a strong connection to the Heights which is why I read -and enjoy-the blog.
My Oma z"l was actually a caterer for many years-maybe some of you remember the name? Irma Hirschfeld.
perlsand -
Your Oma was a "fixture" in the Washington Heights community. She catered both my husband's bar mitzvah as well as my in laws' wedding!
She was not only a good cook, but a big baalas chessed. My husband tells the story of how his grandmother (Rebetzin Breuer) would hear of a newly emigrated family and merely pick up the phone and call Mrs. Hirschfeld and before you knew it, there was food on their doorstep.
Glad I could bring back some nice memories for you.
Perhaps some of my other readers can share their recollections of your Oma with you as well.
Although I'm younger than perlsand (I'm her sister and Irma Hirschfeld's grandaughter too!) and don't remember these cookies, I have lots of other wonderful food related memories of our Oma! The greenkorn soup, for example, that you posted a while ago.
I have your blog on my Google reader and enjoy reading your posts whenever they show up, and I think I've gotten my sister hooked too!
Annette -
Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know what you enjoy about the blog. It's always fun to get to know the readership!
Now if I can only convince my shy readership to come out of hiding to tell you THEIR memories of your Oma.... :D
Looking forward to it.... :-)
And I know my mother would LOVE it.
This note is for Mrs.Hirschfeld's
granddaughters:
Mrs. Hirschfeld was one of my very good friends. She not only catered almost all our family events, but was always ready with good advice.-
She was very proud of her grandchildren.
I always think of her on her Jahrzeit on the 15th of Teves.
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