Haman's Ears, Adam's Pot Holders, and Saral's Paper

I had so many different ways I wanted to go with today's post. First off, it is my opportunity to introduce all of you, dear readers, to my newest sponsor, Saral Paper Corporation and to feature a project made with one of their products. But, it's also about two days before Purim. Did I hear you say, what's that? Click here to learn more. And, because it's close to Purim, I just this week got together with my buddy Adam with whom I often share culinary adventures and made these:

 

Mmmm...hamantaschen. Can you smell them? Of course you can't because: a. this is a computer screen and b. they're all gone. 

Don't despair, I've found a way to combine Saral Paper, Purim, Hamantaschen, and Adam all into one post.

The story begins with Adam and I getting together to bake Hamantaschen. These are the traditional cookies eaten on Purim. Why? Hmmm...I'm not exactly sure, but they do refer both in Hebrew and Yiddish to the villain of the Purim tale, Haman, though in Yiddish hamantaschen means Haman's pockets and in Hebrew, Oznei Haman literally means Haman's ears.  

I have been making hamantaschen for years and eating them even longer. In the past few years I've added a little twist to these cookies by replacing the traditional poppy seed filling with nutella. This substitution makes for an incredible tasting ear and I introduced Adam to this variation. He hated it. No, of course not. He loved it. And that got me to thinking about how to creatively pass on this recipe to him so that next year we can make them at his place and he can wash all the dishes. Also, Adam just got a new gas oven which I think we all agree he should hire a professional to install rather than assuming this is a DIY project. Are you listening, Adam?

Anyway, as I pondered these myriad issues, Saral transfer paper, hamantaschen, a gift to welcome Adam's new stove should he survive its installation, I came up with this project:

 

It is one of a pair of potholders with a hamantaschen cookie applique and the recipe for the hamantaschen dough written using Saral transfer paper and free motion quilting. 

I began by piecing and appliqueing the triangular fabric cookie to some charcoal gray fabric.

I cut out two small pieces of Saral transfer paper and positioned them on my potholder top. With the transfer side of the paper facing the fabric and with legible penmanship as my goal, I wrote out the ingredients and process for making the cookie dough. The fabulous thing about this paper is that it's fine enough to let me write as I normally would and still have that crisply and accurately transfer to the fabric. Add to that it comes in several colors so you can transfer onto dark or light fabrics.

Are you copying this down? Those are the ingredients you'll need, machine stitched onto the potholder using nothing more than white thread and a free motion foot.
My mind is racing with all the possibilities to add text to fabric projects this product affords. I'm thinking fabric journals, stitched, yet handwritten quilt labels....
What might you come up with?
While you're cogitating on that, here's the rest of the dough recipe and instructions for assembling the cookie. Adam, you'll have to wait for the second potholder for that part.

Hamantaschen:
Adapted from The Jewish-American Kitchen by Raymond Sokolov

Making the Dough:
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Work in the butter using a pastry blender. Add the eggs. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Assembling the Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide the dough into portions you can easily roll out. On a floured board, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Cut the dough into 3-4 inch circles using the top of a glass or cookie cutter. Fill each circle with a heaping teaspoon of filling(think nutella) and pinch the dough around into a triangular shape. brush the dough with an egg wash and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.