Lots of Cookies for Purim

Cookies are to Purim what turkey is to Thanksgiving. One is almost unthinkable without the other.

And nothing better suits the carnival aspect of the holiday that celebrates the day Queen Esther saved the Jews from the hands of the villain Haman than inviting friends and family to enjoy platters of cookies from around the Jewish world.

The most traditional cookie for Purim is hamantaschen. And in many places, the best-loved filling for hamantaschen is made from poppy seeds. The recipe for this menu comes from “Faye Levy’s International Jewish Cookbook” (Warner Books, 1991).

Levy recommends grinding the poppy seeds in a spice grinder, then cooking them in milk and honey for a more delicately textured filling. She says the 1-2-3 cookie dough--though Austro-Hungarian in origin--is one she learned in a cooking course in Tel Aviv. It is extremely easy and makes a rich, crisp wrapper for the creamy filling.

In her cookbook “Jewish Cooking in America” (Alfred Knopf, 1994), Joan Nathan says Middle Eastern Jews favor a cookie called ma’amoul for Purim. Shaped much like hamantaschen, they are filled with cinnamon-flavored ground walnuts.

The delicate coconut macaroons from Susan Friedland’s “The Passover Table” (HarperPerennial, 1994) are a perfect foil for the richer stuffed pastries.

But you can’t live on cookies alone, even for a one-day holiday like Purim. To add a little ballast to the menu (and to keep the young ones from bouncing off the walls), we recommend this incredibly simple oven-braised brisket of beef from “Mama Leah’s Jewish Kitchen,” by Leah Loeb Fischer (Collier Books, 1994).

To prevent the meat from drying out, make sure the brisket is covered with liquid throughout the cooking time. Check and turn the brisket if liquid seems to be getting low. Make the brisket the night before and you can cut down on calories by skimming the fat that hardens on top of the liquid.

Menu

Brisket in Natural Gravy

Syrian Stuffed Cookies

Hamantaschen With Poppyseed-Raisin Filling

Coconut Macaroons

Staples

1 dozen eggs

Sugar

Lemons

Flour

Powdered sugar

Baking powder

Salt

Butter or margarine

Oranges

Milk

Sugar

Honey

Raisins

Unbleached flour

Cinnamon

Onions

Carrots

Bay leaves

Garlic

Black pepper

Shopping List

6 ounces unsweetened coconut

1/4 pound poppy seeds

1/4 pound shelled walnuts

1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket

Game Plan

Day or two before: Make macaroons and store in airtight container.

Night before: Make Syrian stuffed cookies and store in airtight container. Make brisket and refrigerate brisket and vegetables separately overnight.

Morning of party: Make hamantaschen.

One hour before party: Skim fat from brisket liquid and reheat meat. Arrange cookies on plate.

30 minutes before party: Reheat vegetables.

10 minutes before party: Slice brisket and arrange on platter with vegetables. Put sauce in gravy boat.

HAMANTASCHEN WITH POPPYSEED-RAISIN FILLING

1-2-3 COOKIE DOUGH

1 egg

1 egg yolk

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 5 tablespoons cold butter or margarine, cut in small pieces

2 1/2 teaspoons grated orange rind

1 to 2 tablespoons orange juice, optional

Beat egg with yolk to blend. Set aside.

Combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt in food processor fitted with metal blade. Process briefly to blend. Scatter butter pieces over mixture. Pulse rapidly on and off until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with grated rind and pour blended eggs evenly over mixture. Pulse rapidly, scraping down sides of food processor occasionally, until dough begins to come together in ball. If crumbs are dry, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon orange juice and process briefly. Repeat if crumbs are still dry.

Transfer dough to work surface. Knead lightly to blend. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap, wrap and push together. Shape dough in flat disc. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.

Makes about 2 1/4 pounds dough, enough for 4 dozen hamantaschen.

FILLING

1/4 cup (1/4 pound) poppy seeds

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup raisins

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

If finer texture is preferred, grind poppy seeds in spice grinder.

Simmer whole or ground poppy seeds, milk, sugar and honey in small saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Add raisins and butter and stir until butter melts. Remove from heat. Stir in grated lemon rind. Chill well before using.

Divide dough in 4 equal pieces. Roll 1 piece out on lightly floured surface until about 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough using 3-inch round cookie cutter. Brush edges lightly with water. Put 1 teaspoon filling in center of each circle. Pull up edges of circle in 3 arcs that meet in center above filling. Close firmly and pinch edges to seal. (Close hamantaschen well and do not be tempted to use extra filling, or cookies will leak during baking.) Put on greased baking sheet and refrigerate. Refrigerate scraps.

Repeat process with remaining pieces. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before baking to firm dough. (Unbaked, they can be kept overnight in refrigerator.)

Bake hamantaschen at 375 degrees until light golden at edges, about 15 minutes. Cool on rack. Hamantaschen can be kept in airtight container for about 4 days. Roll out extra dough and make plain cookies.

Makes about 32 hamantaschen

Each hamantaschen contains about:

192 calories; 132 mg sodium; 39 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.29 gram fiber.

SYRIAN STUFFED COOKIES (Ma’amoul)

This round cookie, often served at Purim, comes from the Middle East. This particular version from White Plains, N.Y., has become three-cornered like a hamantaschen in this country.

1 cup butter or margarine

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup ground walnuts

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Place butter and flour in food processor. Add water and process just until dough forms ball, about 1 minute. Cover with dish towel and let sit for 45 minutes. Roll dough out and cut with 3-inch round cookie cutter or glass.

Combine walnuts, sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Place by teaspoons in center of rounds.

Lift dough on 3 sides and pinch seams to close like triangle.

Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until cookies start to brown, about 15 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Each cookie contains about:

118 calories; 79 mg sodium; 21 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.14 gram fiber.

BRISKET IN NATURAL GRAVY

1 (4- to 5-pound) brisket

4 onions, sliced

4 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks

2 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 quart water, approximately

This brisket is better if prepared a day ahead and refrigerated overnight so that the congealed fat can be easily removed. The brisket and the strained pan juices should be reheated together in the oven. Serve with kasha varnishkes or mashed potatoes. Leftover brisket makes wonderful sandwiches.

Combine brisket, onions, carrots, bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper in Dutch oven or heavy roasting pan with tightly fitting cover. Add enough water to just cover meat. Cover tightly and bake at 375 degrees until brisket is fork-tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Remove brisket to platter. Strain pan juices and save vegetables and serve as side dish. Reheat pan juices in saucepan. Slice brisket and serve pan juices in gravy boat with vegetables on the side.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Each serving contains about:

238 calories; 591 mg sodium; 84 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 29 grams protein; 0.52 gram fiber.

COCONUT MACAROONS

3 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

2 cups (6 ounces) finely grated unsweetened coconut

Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until eggs are stiff and shiny. Add lemon juice and peel. Gently fold coconut into whites, mixing just to combine.

Put batter in pastry bag fitted with large star tip and pipe cookies onto 2 baking sheets that have been lined with lightly greased wax paper. Alternatively, form macaroons with 2 teaspoons and place on prepared sheets.

Bake at 275 degrees until macaroons are lightly colored, 45 to 60 minutes. Halfway through baking, switch baking sheets, top to bottom, front to back.

Cool macaroons on wire rack before storing in airtight container, where cookies will keep several days. Macaroons also may be frozen.

Makes about 40 macaroons

Each serving contains about:

39 calories; 5 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.23 gram fiber.

* Mexican Wilton Armetale serving pieces from Bristol Kitchens in South Pasadena.