Poppy seed (mun) filling

for brooklyn bakery style Hamantaschen

(Be sure to try these other fabulous fillings for Brooklyn Bakery Style Hamantaschen)

Prune or Apricot (Lekvar)  Filling

Best-in-Show Award Winning Lemon and Lavender Filling

Strawberry or Raspberry and Cream Filling

Bananas Foster Filling

Chocolate Haztelnut or S’mores Filling

There are so many clever and creative new fillings for hamantaschen these days, and while I sheepishly admit to being a fan of many of them—ok, of all of them—my favorite ones are still the old world fillings of my childhood. And, among the old classics, my all time favorite is what my grandparents knew as “mun,” a sweet filling made of milled poppy seeds.

If the idea of a sweet pastry filled with poppy seeds doesn’t excite you, you’ve probably never tried these.

I enthusiastically recommend that you give them a shot.

Hamantaschen are the signature treat associated with the holiday of Purim. For kids and adults alike, it’s a day of dressing in costumes, celebrating with carnivals, and listening to the Megillah being read as they cheer for the good guys and boo for the bad guy. But the day has deeper, mystical significance as well.

In a nutshell, Purim is the story of how an evil Super-Villain called Haman attempted to have all the Jews of Persia murdered, and how they survived because of the cleverness and bravery of a young Jewish girl named Hadassah who took on the Persian name of Esther and became Queen.

If you’re not familiar with the story of holiday known as Purim, check out my abbreviated, made-for-tv mini-series version of The Story of Purim.

Or, you can click here for an English translation of the actual Scroll of Esther, The Megillah Esther.

But, you’ve come to this page for a recipe for Poppy Seed Filling, so without further chit-chat, here you go!

I’m going to give you two versions. You choose which one you want to make.

One last thing before we get started: You’ll want the recipe to make the absolute best,

Brooklyn Bakery Style Hamantaschen dough.

After all, that fabulous filling needs to go somewhere!

poppy seed filling for

The World’s Best Hamantaschen, Brooklyn Bakery style, Two Ways 

Here’s an easy trick to give canned filling a fresh, home-made taste—Yum.

(I don’t recommend using the filling straight from the can. It’s too thin and it will make your hamantaschen spread too much.

• Ingredients:

• 1 can Solo brand poppy seed filling

• a pinch of salt

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

• ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon

• a small squeeze of lemon

• 1 tablespoon brandy or orange liqueur

• ¼ teaspoon grated orange peel

  2 teaspoons cornstarch

  Method:

  In a small saucepan, combine the contents of the can with everything, except for the cornstarch. Bring the mixture to a simmer.

  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the filling and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is shiny and thickened.

  Remove the pot from the heat, let it cool, and then refrigerate until cold. The filling will thicken as it cools.

  (I admit to often going this route. It’s very good. Just not quite as good as…

  Mun Filling from Scratch—Amazingly Yum.

  The seeds I’ve been buying from Frontier have been consistently fresh and flavorful. They’re organic, kosher, and I like the fact that they’re also climate pledge friendly. You can find them here:

  You’ll need to grind those poppy seeds. I imagine that my great-grandma did this by hand, with a mortar and pestle, back in the old country. If that’s the route you’d like to take, go for it!

  A clean coffee grinder works well for grinding spices. This is my favorite one for this purpose.

  If you love poppy seed breads and desserts as much as I do, you might want to invest in this little powerhouse, made especially for grinding seeds.

  As for grating the orange zest, this is my absolute favorite microplane. It does a super job for finely grating hard cheeses and nutmeg, as well. I like that it has a protective cover so that I don’t accidentally grate my fingers while searching for it in the drawer.

  This recipe is adapted from the New York Times. It’s the one I use.

  Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk

• ½  cup sugar
  Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange

• 1 cup poppy seeds

• ⅓ cup raisins, finely chopped

•  Juice of 1/2 lemon

• ½ tablespoon brandy

• ½ tablespoon orange liqueur

• ½ tablespoon butter

• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

  Method:

• Put milk, sugar and orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat.

• Coarsely grind the poppy seeds, taking care not to over-process to a paste.

• When the milk mixture is warm, turn the heat to low and add the poppy seeds and raisins.

• Cook at a low simmer stirring frequently until the seeds absorb the milk and the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes.

• Add the lemon juice, brandy, orange liqueur and butter. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more.

• Stir in the vanilla paste, then remove from the heat. Let the filling cool completely before using, or chill until needed, up to 3 days.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?