Jewish Celebration

Hubby and I were both teaching the story of Esther for the past 4 weeks.  We finished the story on Sunday and it coincided with a Fellowship Dinner.  The kindergarten teacher within me raised its head and I had to see if I could make a delicious Purim Cookie (known as Hamantaschen).  Hubby was thrilled with the idea (and the results).  It was a little labor intensive (but not too bad) and the dough would make a very good sugar cookie without the filling.

Gluten Free Hamantashen

Ingredients

• 11 oz Prunes (dried plums), pitted and chopped
• 1 cup Raisins
• 3/4 cup Water
• 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
• 2 cup Blanched Almond Flour
• 1 cup Arrowroot Flour, plus 1/2 cup for dusting
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup, + 1 Tbsp to add to the filling
• 1/4 cup Organic Coconut Oil, melted

Process

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, add the prunes, raisins, water, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Heat over medium heat.
2. Bring filling to a boil, while stirring. Continue to stir frequently, while "mashing" the filling with a wooded spoon.
3. Once the liquid has reduced, and you have a thick filling of plump prunes and raisins, remove from heat and set aside for filling the cookies.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, arrowroot, and salt.
6. Add in the vanilla extract, maple syrup, and melted coconut oil. Stir until all ingredients are combined and you have a ball of cookie dough. **You can use your hands for this as well.
7. Place ball of dough on to a sheet of parchment paper, adding additional arrowroot flour and kneading the dough until it is firm enough to be rolled and cut into shapes.
8. Place another sheet of parchment paper over the dough, and roll into a 1/4 inch thick layer.
9. Dust dough with additional arrowroot, as well as dip the cookie cutter in arrowroot flour, so the dough does not stick.
10. Carefully cut circles in the dough, and remove the excess dough from around the circles.
11. Add about a teaspoon (give or take) of filling to the center of the cookies, and carefully fold three sides in, making a triangular shape. Pinch the corners in to seal the cookies.
12. Transfer the parchment to a baking sheet, and bake cookies for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
13. Repeat this process using a fresh sheet of parchment, for the remainder of the dough, until you have used all of the cookie dough.
14. Any remaining filling can be frozen and saved for future use.