This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

Purim Recipes That Go Way Beyond Your Prune Hamantaschen

How To Make Delicious Hamantaschen (And More) For Purim
With Love And Cupcakes

The Jewish holiday of Purim is approach this week on the evening of March 4, as celebrations continue into March 5.

As the "Jewish Halloween," where children and even grown-ups get dressed up and indulge in parades and loud celebrations, there's plenty to be had in the way of indulgent food. While there's no trick or treating, per se, the holiday does encourage "mishloach manot" — literally "the sending of portions" to friends and family.

In recent years, this has transitioned from ensuring people have enough to eat to sending along delicious goodies, including the classic Purim treat of hamantaschen.

The holiday is centred around the story of Esther, who married King Ahasuerus (and kept her Jewish identity a secret), her cousin Mordecai (who raised Esther) and Ahasuerus' advisor, Haman, who hated Mordecai because he refused to bow down to him, according to Chabad. Haman planned a massacre of the Jews, but after a few twists and turns, when Ahasuerus learned of his plan, the king chose to kill Haman instead. The triangle pastries "hamantaschen" commemorate that man, as he apparently wore a pointed hat.

Hamantaschen are traditionally filled with poppy seeds, prunes or cherries, but in recent years, chefs have gone inventive, putting together red velvet hamentashen, tart-like hamentashen and challah hamantaschen. Of course, there are also plenty of other goodies that you can bring to your loved ones — check out the slideshow below for ideas:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Hamentashen

Purim Recipes

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.