Celebrate Pi(e) Day with Strawberry Hand Pies

Tomorrow, March 14, is, of course, International Pi(e) Day! For those of you not sufficiently nerdy, March 14, or 3.14, is when the date correspondents with the first digits of pi, the mathematical figure. So of course we should celebrate with pie! Or, in my case, mini pies!

Here in Israel, strawberries are in season in the winter and hitting their peak right about now, luckily for me! Of course you could follow this basic template for a wide variety of fillings - including even jam if you want to keep the strawberry flavor. I've made them with apples and peaches to great success. 

Caramel Apple Hamantaschen!

Was last week's Puff Pastry Hamantaschen too much of a departure from tradition for you? I'm back now with another fun recipe for the traditional Purim treat - that's a little bit more classic, but with a twist. Yup, here are caramel apple hamantaschen - a classic dough filled with sweet, caramelized apples for an upgrade for your holiday meal. 

My classic sugar cookie dough hasn't let me down yet, and it plays the perfect role here too. Crisp, a hint of crumbly, the right balance of sweetness and easy to work with. I filled them with apples that cooked down in a caramel sauce until just perfect. 

While you don't want to use the liquid from cooking the apples in the filling before baking, for fear it will spill and ooze out of the hamantaschen, keep it for post-baking to add an extra punch of flavor to them. Add a teaspoon or so of the liquid into the center of the hamantaschen right before serving - not before as it could make the dough get soft. Because of the high water content in the filling - as with any made with fresh fruit - these are best day of, but will still be very tasty - just slightly softer - the next day.