My friend recently commented to me that she is really enjoying all of the unique hamantaschen she sees popping up on her newsfeed. “Is it like a competition between you guys?,” she wanted to know. Well, no. OK, maybe a little.
It’s not a competition as much as it is a desire to come up with the most brilliant, out of the box, knock-your-socks-off kind of hamantasch that outshines all the rest. So it’s not really about the others. It’s just about yours being THAT GOOD. And it’s not just about hamantaschen either. It’s about always being at the top of your game because that’s what food bloggers do. We try to stay ahead of the trends, create cool hybrid dishes and wow our readers so they keep coming back for more.
So how did I do? Is this corndog hamantasch hybrid mindblowing enough to explode on your newsfeed?! Just wait until you taste them. They’re nice and crispy, with an amazing texture from the coarse cornmeal that’s unlike any hamantasch you’ve ever had.
People always ask me how I come up with this stuff and the answer is, I have no idea. Sometimes it hits me in the dead of night, when insomnia rears it’s ugly head. Sometimes, I’m lacking inspiration so I browse the web for ideas on popular food trends. And sometimes it’s because I’m a mom, and when I can get my kids to eat something, I go all out viral with the idea.
These particular hamantaschen did not take a lot of convincing. My kids are huge fans of Abeles & Heymann’s hot dogs and they are equally obsessed with my nondairy cornbread. I’ve only made homemade corndogs once, as a midnight snack when they were fast asleep (I may or may not have been pregnant at the time) but I often make mini corndog muffins filled with hot dog chunks. Corndog hamantaschen are definitely new in this house, but as I tested different batches of dough, they seemed to disappear as each tray came out of the oven.
What I love about this recipe is that you can easily use it for sweet applications as you can with savory hot dogs. I tested a batch with strawberry rhubarb jam and they were incredible. I’m definitely going to try it with blueberry jam too. and of course, after Purim, you can just make them into thin round cookies and forget the whole triangle thing.
But for now, the triangle thing is super fun and I already have a frozen batch to serve up for the Purim seudah! I might make a batch of baklava hamantaschen for dessert. Or, another special recipe that I’ll be sharing up on the blog soon!
What are some of your favorite creative hamantaschen to make on Purim? Or are you more of a traditionalist? I don’t think I have ever made traditional hamantaschen in my life, can you imagine? If I want apricot or raspberry hamantaschen, I just buy them at the bakery. That’s what they’re there for, right?!
In the meantime, I’ll be savoring the rest of this savory batch, if my kids don’t get to it first. Happy Purim Prep!
Corndog Hamantaschen
1 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
4 Abeles & Heymann beef hot dogs
mustard, for dipping, optional
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and almond milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a fork until the dough is the texture of wet sand. Using your hands, knead the dough together until soft. Flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll out the dough until about 1/4″ thick. Cut circles out of a dough using a round cookie cutter (see note). Cut the hot dogs into 1/4″ thick slices and put a slice in the center of each circle of dough. Fold corners in to create a triangle shape and pinch to close. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes, until crispy and just starting to lightly brown underneath.
NOTE: I used a 2.5″ cookie cutter, but this fits the hot dogs just/just and makes small hamantaschen. For more traditional size hamantaschen that have more room for folding, use a 3″ cutter.
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: serve alongside sauerkraut, pickle relish and other hot dog toppings of your choice.
SERVING: these are best served fresh, however, they may be frozen after baking and rewarmed in a 350 degree oven until the hot dogs are warm and the cookie crisps up, about 5 minutes.
YIELD: 30-40 hamantaschen, depending on size.
This post was sponsored by Abeles & Heymann
Related Recipes:
savory hamantaschen trio
hot dog eggrolls
vegetarian chili and cornbread
