The name given to these cookies is a little strange, at least to me. Haman was a man mentioned in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible/Christian Old Testament. He was the political advisor of a King (rendered as Ahasuerus, but believed to be Xerxes I) who decided to commit genocide of the area's Jews due to a perceived personal slight from one individual, Mordecai. However, eventually the King took Mordecai's side (and his peoples') and instead executed Haman on the very gallows that Haman had devised for Mordecai. So this explains the front of the name. The back part has a couple of linguistic theories. Some think it's because "tash" is the Yiddish word for "pouch," or "pocket," a shape the cookies usually resemble. It could also be a double meaning, as an insult to Haman's love of ill-gotten money, stored in his pockets. Or, "tash" in Hebrew means to "weaken," so it may be a reference to the enemies of the Jews (in this case Haman) being weakened and defeated. The cookies are also sometimes called oznei Hamans, which is Hebrew for the "ears of Haman." In some versions of the story, in addition to being hung Haman had his ears cut off. The spelling of the cookie's name is also varied, and a bit confusing. It can be spelled "hamantashen," "hamentashen," "hamantaschen," "humentashen," and others. Also, technically one cookie is a hamantash, and many are hamantashen, but English speakers commonly use the plural name for one or several of them. Finally, some claim that the cookie's usual three cornered shape is after Haman's alleged three corner hat. (But some historians point out that this kind of hat was probably not worn during Haman's time.) Others say it's a fertility symbol, to represent female genitalia. And the more practical ones think it's because the shape is a convenient one to hold in a tasty filling. Anyway, I still kind it weird to name a fun dessert after a would-be psychotic mass murderer, but others clearly disagree. I mean, as far as I know there's not Leopold Licorice, or Vlad Tepes Tarts, or Pol Pot Pies. Maybe the key point is that Haman didn't succeed in his genocide.
These cookies are part of the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, and have a lot of different varieties and ingredients. Some are dry and crumbly, like shortbread (see my January 11, 2020 post), others are firm and crisp, and still others are soft and cake-like. All of them tend to be triangular in shape, with a filling inside. But these fillings vary tremendously as well. The original one is thought to be poppy seeds, but other common fillings are lekvar jam (see my February 15, 2020 post), apricots, raisins, vanilla, apples, dates, figs, cherries, halva (see my June 8, 2016 post), and caramel. But some have savory fillings--anything from potato, cheese, spinach, lamb, or even pizza. The prune kind was reportedly invented by a David Brandeis, of Jung-Bualan, Bohemia, in 1731. A Christian bookbinder fell ill and died after eating some of Brandeis's jam, and the deceased's daughter claimed it was a poisoning, so Brandeis was jailed. However, an investigation revealed that the bookbinder had died instead from consumption (an old timey expression for several diseases, such as tuberculosis), so Brandeis was freed, only a few days before the Jewish holiday of Purim. So Brandeis made some prune-filled hamantashen to celebrate, and his Jewish kindred and descendants made it a Purim tradition.
I can't tell you much about the makers of the hamantashen I tried, Lilly's Baking Company out of Brooklyn, NY, since their official website was very terse, and other online information was lacking. The company has been in business for over 75 years. Alternate cookies and baked goods made by them include babka, black and white cookies, macaroons, rainbow cookies, rugelash, linzer tarts, and recently, a gluten-free kind. Not surprisingly, Lilly's products are indeed Kosher.
Plus, I neglected to note, this was yet another Shop Rite supermarket find. Shop Rite doesn't tend to have a lot of Jewish cuisine, but every so often they stock some.
Lilly's Baking Company, assorted hamantashen: According to the ingredient list, and what I could see and taste, the fillings included were apricot, raspberry, and prune, with poppy seeds/butter and apples as well. They were triangular in shape, and measured about 7 cm. (about 2.75 inches) to a side. They were clearly the dry and crumbly kind, as the taste was very reminiscent of shortbread. Which is a good thing. Overall, all the kinds were good--nice cookie outside, sweet and tasty filling inside. I certainly recommend them.
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