created at: 2014-03-12

First there was Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. And this weekend, there are two more overlapping holidays: Purim and St. Patrick’s Day. So, St. Patrick’s Day may not be as universal a holiday as Thanksgiving, but a celebration is a celebration—especially when it includes an excuse to eat Irish soda bread, which I love.

When it came to Thanksgivukkah, people celebrated the once-in-every-70,000-years occasion by combining the two holidays’ symbolic dishes. There were latkes with cranberry sauce, challah stuffing, pumpkin sufganiyot and, perhaps the most extreme example, latke-crusted turkey stuffing fritters with liquid cranberry core and turkey schmaltz gravy. That one also wins for the best way to use up all of your Thanksgivukkah leftovers!

Hamentashen is by far the most symbolic Purim recipe, with its representation of Haman’s three-cornered hat. It’s usually filled with a fruity jam filling, but I decided to give it a St. Patrick’s Day spin. There’s no green beer in these, but there is green—in the form of mint. I stopped myself from adding a drop of green food coloring to the dough, but including a bit of mint extract in the dough and a touch of minced mint in the filling made it taste green.

These hamentashen go well with both a little extra wine and a glass of green beer.

Chocolate and Mint Hamentashen

Makes about 10 cookies

You can use a smaller round cutter or drinking glass to make more cookies.

Cookie Dough

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 egg, plus 1 additional egg for egg wash
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon mint extract
1 1/3 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Chocolate Filling

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon mint, minced

1. In bowl of stand mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and continue to mix, then add egg, vanilla extract, mint extract and salt until combined. Add flour and mix until smooth dough forms. (Dough should be a bit tacky, but if it’s too sticky, add extra flour one teaspoon at a time.) Remove dough from mixing bowl and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

2. To make filling, melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave or double boiler. Stir in remaining ingredients. Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust oven rack to middle position. Remove dough and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. On floured surface, roll out dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Stamp out 3-inch circles using round cutter or inverted drinking glass. (Excess dough can be rerolled once more.) Place rounds on parchment-lined baking sheet.

4. Spoon 1 teaspoon chocolate filling into center of each round. In small bowl, mix together 1 egg and ½ teaspoon water. Brush edges of each round with egg wash. Fold in three sides over filling to make triangle with filling in center uncovered. Bake for about 18 minutes, until lightly browned, rotating pan halfway through. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Repeat rolling, filling and baking process with remaining rounds.