Originally posted on JewishBoston.com.

Ten years ago, I taught my very first Sunday school class, a group of awesome sixth-graders who came twice a month to the (late, lamented) Silverlake/Los Feliz Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles. That particular JCC primarily served families with little other connection to the Jewish community, so we felt a special obligation during classes to give the kids the best possible taste of Judaism we could.

When Purim rolled around, I knew that meant we’d be making our own hamentashen, those triangular, fruit-filled cookies we trot out for Purim. However, as a recent college grad only starting to understand what to do in the kitchen, I needed to find the simplest recipe possible–and then make several batches of it together with a dozen 12-year-olds. I scoured the Internet and came up with this one, chosen primarily for its lack of overnight refrigeration or zesting of any citrus fruit. [Please note: I love citrus zest, but 23-year-old David wasn’t quite as savvy as the David who’s writing this today.]  Continue reading →