Monday, March 2, 2015

TBB: Hamantaschen (for purim)



First I must apologise for not making these cookies into traditional triangular shape. Because all my cutters were kept so neatly away during CNY spring cleaning, that I had a hard time trying to locate the round cutters!  In the end, I only had the pineapple tart cutters on hand cos these were the ones I used during CNY to make pineapple tarts.

I made the Apricot Lekvar two days before making these. I was complaining about making apricot lekvar again on Facebook how the previous batch stayed in my fridge for 3 years and when I used up the last bit, I was very happy.  But in the end, after all theat complaining, I still made the Lekvar..LOL! Go figure. I was running a fever that day and high on flu meds. My helper was next to me and telling me that she will do it for me because she was worried I was stirring the pot and the pot was moving out of place, onto the edge and looked like it was going to fall off.  So I timed the timer and she stirred the pot for 20 mins.  I didn't take any photos because I was just too tired. 

I had high hopes for the pastry because of the unusual ingredients like Turbinado sugar and heavy cream. I was hoping that it will be my next shortcrust pastry to go for my pineapple tarts too.  



Blending the sugar, then the butter, flour...etc


Pour into bag and knead it..and wrap in plastic wrap to be refrigerated.


I got tired after trying to use this tiny flower cutter..took me forever and the dough was melting very fast at 1/16" thick. 


So I ended up using this other plunger normally used for pineapple tarts too...(i forgot what it is called!...) but here we call it Nestar shaped, I have no idea why though? This way also, I don't have to add additional flour to roll the dough. 

I added chocolate to my apricot lekvar hoping to add more flavor to it. I find apricot lekvar very bland on cookies (re Ishler), I like them on swiss roll but just not on cookies. So I thought adding some chocolate to it will make it look as if I had poppy seeds in them and everything taste better with chocolate isn't it?


So all these tiny pieces out of the oven. First batch I forgot to egg wash..and the second batch with egg wash looked prettier, more yellow and glossy. 


Honestly, I was very disappointed!! I'm a crust person, so crust is very important to me than the filling. But it tasted bland and had no buttery taste.  I mean our local pineapple tarts pastry just used simple ingredients like butter, icing sugar, cornflour, flour with simple mixing and taste so much better - soft and crumbly and melts in mouth, but with buttery taste. If we wanted milky, we add a little bit milk powder.  Sorry, I cannot help but compare because I was expecting more from this pastry recipe. 

And in case you were all wondering, chocolate didn't help the apricot lekvar. It still tasted pretty bland. :(  I was actually quite thankful that I didn't use up my pineapple jam for this recipe. Pineapple jam took me 3-4 hours to stir it down to a thick jam paste...so would have been wasted on a bland pastry.  

Overall: Bland. 
Nobody in my family really liked or dislike. 
They were like forgettable. 

and I was quite sad the whole day
...and didn't help that I was watching last 2 episodes of the Korean drama in which the father died of cancer.
I cried a lot that night. 









13 comments:

Patricia @ ButterYum on March 2, 2015 at 10:56 AM said...

Awwww... the flu, a tv character died, and the cookies didn't meet your expectations? You didn't have a very good week, did you? I hope you're feeling better now.

Jenn on March 2, 2015 at 11:04 AM said...

Faithy, your post sound so sad! Your cookies look so cute even though you didn't like them. I love that nestar cutter. I hope you're feeling better. I tried watching a couple of korean drama but they are so sad usually.

Mendy on March 2, 2015 at 11:13 AM said...

ב''ה

Sorry you did not like them. Thanks for being honest. Sort of blows my mind to see them in non-triangle shapes. Fun!

Vicki on March 2, 2015 at 11:17 AM said...

Faithy, these are adorable! I like what Mary Poppins said "Pie crust promise. Easily made easily broken." I always said that to my kids and now grandkids when they promise me the moon! Which Korean drama? I've run out of good ones. Seriously, I love Kdrama. Thank goodness for Netflix. Except then I stay up all night because I can't stand not knowing the ending and sometimes there are loads of episodes like Pasta and Boys Over Flowers.

Jenn on March 2, 2015 at 11:35 AM said...

Vicki, which Korean drama is good on Netflix? I don't even know they have kdrama.

Faithy on March 2, 2015 at 11:41 AM said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown on March 2, 2015 at 8:56 PM said...

Faithy, For all that hand work and neither you, nor your family liked them? Now that's sad. In some ways I know how you feel. The flavour combo is very mild and not punchy at all. For the effort, you want to be knocked down, and in love with your creation. Looking at your pictures though, they seemed to be beautiful.

Unknown on March 2, 2015 at 11:48 PM said...

Even though you didn't like them, they look cute. Love the pineapple cutter thing. Hopefully next week you feel better!

Jenn on March 2, 2015 at 11:49 PM said...

Faithy, thanks for letting me know about the Bread Bible bake a long. I joined yesterday! :)

Angie's Recipes on March 3, 2015 at 3:27 AM said...

Sorry that they didn't turn out as good as you expected. But like what you said that you had HIGH expectation. They look pretty cute to me.

orins goodies on March 3, 2015 at 12:04 PM said...

well I am sorry you didn't liked the cookie, but regard they look really good.

Rosa V. on March 5, 2015 at 9:30 AM said...

Faithy, your's are cute indeed. ...

Michele at The Artful Oven on March 6, 2015 at 9:55 AM said...

Faithy, they are so dainty! Oh well, even if they weren't a favorite, you did a great job. We're getting over the flu at my house too. Hope we are all on the mend. I am ready for the season to change!

 

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