Ursula Siker’s everything rye hamantaschen encapsulate the playful approach to Jewish deli classics that makes Jeff & Judes one of our favorite new lunch spots. These Purim cookies are anchored in tradition but also delightfully untethered from it, thanks to their rye flour dough, savory spicing, and massive size. Siker also notes that the hamantaschen can be “zhuzhed up” with a garnish of trout roe and fresh dill. 1024 N. Western Ave., Humboldt Park
Everything Rye Hamantaschen
Makes:7 cookies
| ½ cup | Milk, at room temperature |
| 2 tsp. | Active dry yeast |
| 7 | Eggs |
| 1 cup | Sour cream |
| 3 cups | Bread flour |
| 1⅔ cups | Rye flour |
| 2 tsp. | Kosher salt, plus more to taste |
| 16 Tbsp. | Unsalted butter, chilled and cubed |
| 16 oz. | Cream cheese, at room temperature |
| 1 | Small red onion, finely diced |
| Zest of 2 lemons | |
| Ground black pepper | |
| ¼ cup | Chopped fresh dill |
| ¾ cup | Everything spice blend (like Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel) |
1. Make the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and yeast. Let rest for 5 minutes, then whisk in four eggs and sour cream and set aside. Briefly pulse flours and salt in a food processor, then add butter and pulse until the mixture has the texture of wet sand. Add the milk-egg blend and pulse just until it’s incorporated. Dump this dough onto the counter and knead a few times to bring it together fully. Wrap it in plastic and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Prepare the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip cream cheese until it’s light and fluffy. Add two eggs and whip until fully incorporated. Fold in onion, lemon zest, and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Form the hamantaschen: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove dough from the refrigerator and let soften slightly, then roll out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. With a 6-inch round cutter, punch out seven circles. Place ¼ cup of the filling in the center of each circle. Shape the cookie into a triangle by folding the left side of the dough over onto the edge of the filling, followed by the right side and then the top. Gently pinch the corners where they meet.
4. Bake the cookies: Beat the remaining egg and lightly brush it onto the cookies. Generously sprinkle them with the everything spice. Bake the cookies until they are deep golden brown and their centers are puffed, 30 to 40 minutes.