Also known as Pantry Pie

one 9” par-baked pie crust of your choice  (traditional or cornmeal)
the recipe makes enough dough for two pies; freeze the second disc of dough for later.)
For the Cornmeal Crust- (yields two 9” shells; you will only use one)
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup ice cold water combined with 1 tablespoon cider vinegar (you will not use all of this liquid) and ½ cup ice
 
Place the ice cold water and cider vinegar in a Pyrex measuring cup with a handful of ice (about ½ cup) and refrigerate.  In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse just until you have coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces of butter. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl. (I never add the liquid to pie dough in a processor- it tends to over mix it.) Drizzle in the ice cold water/vinegar, one tablespoon at a time, up to ½ cup liquid TOTAL, tossing the mixture with a fork until it just comes together. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic. (Freeze one disc of dough for another day.) Refrigerate one disc of dough for at least one hour, then roll out to about ⅛” thickness/12” diameter, and transfer to a 9” pie plate. Roll and crimp the edges. Chill until firm. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line the pie shell with parchment paper or foil or a coffee filter and beans. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the edges are firm and the crust is golden. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees, carefully remove the parchment/beans and bake an additional 10 minutes, until the crust is no longer raw on the bottom. Set aside to cool while you prepare the topping and the filling.
 
For the Walnut Topping-
1 egg, room temperature
​¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons maple syrup
large pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cognac or bourbon (whatever you will use in the filling)
1 cup walnut halves (if you don’t have walnuts, use pecans or cashews or a combination)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, melted butter, maple syrup, salt, vanilla, and cognac or bourbon. The walnuts will be placed on top of the baked pie and the syrup poured over them before another brief spin in the oven. Set aside the walnuts separately from the syrup. Prepare the filling.
 
For the Squash filling-
 
(note: the original recipe calls for 2 cups of canned pumpkin or squash. I had one can of pumpkin in my pantry but it was shy on a full 2 cups. I added some butternut squash (cooked and pureed) to arrive at 2 cups. If you don’t have squash on hand, you can also cook and puree some carrots and add that to the mix. Improvisational times.)
 
2 cups total, canned pumpkin or squash or a combination of both
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons semolina flour OR 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup buttermilk OR ½ cup milk plus ½ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon cognac or bourbon
3 large eggs, beaten
 
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
 
In a large bowl, combine pumpkin and/or squash, sugar, honey, maple syrup, spices, vanilla, semolina or cornstarch, and whisk together until smooth. Add the buttermilk or milk/sour cream and the cognac or bourbon. Taste and adjust for sweetness/spiciness. Whisk in the eggs just until incorporated. Retrieve your par-baked pie shell and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake on the middle rack of your oven for 60-65 minutes. The filling should be slightly puffed and firm around the edges and the center should be just set. Remove the pie from the oven and set it on a cooling rack. Leave the oven on. Carefully (remember the pie is hot!) place the walnut halves (or pecans or cashews) on top of the pan, taking care not to press them into the filling. Slowly pour the syrup so it covers the nuts. Return the pie (still on the baking sheet) to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes until the topping is set and golden. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool. Slice and serve with additional cognac or bourbon, if so desired. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

​(My paternal grandmother, Minnie, used Kuchen dough for all kinds of coffee cakes and pastries, including hamantaschen. She would have opted for poppyseeds in the filling, or sweet prune lekvar. I prefer to spike half of the yeast dough with poppyseeds and fill them with  tart  lemon curd.  The plain dough cradles a cream cheese filling reminiscent of Minnie's cheesecake. If you prefer, good quality, thick apricot preserves can be used as a filling. I like to cut larger circles (4") of dough instead of the traditional 3"- this recipes should yield approximately 2 dozen pastries.)

First prepare the fillings:
For the Lemon Curd-
½ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large egg yolks
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat lemon juice and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale yellow. Gradually add a small amount of hot lemon mixture to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add remaining lemon mixture to egg mixture, whisking, then transfer mixture back to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and just beginning to boil, about 3 minutes. Strain the lemon curd through a fine mesh strainer set over a heat resistant bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold.

For the Cream Cheese Filling-
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons clover honey
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese, honey, and sugar until smooth. Add egg, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest, beating on low speed just until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl making sure the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate.
For the Hamantaschen Dough (makes approx.. 24 pastries)
1 tablespoon instant yeast
⅛ cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
pinch of sugar
½ cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
⅜ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon lemon zest
3½ cups flour
½ cup (4 oz.) sour cream or pareve sour cream
1 egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons poppyseeds
egg wash made from 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or cream

For the dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk with a pinch of sugar. Set in a warm, draft-free corner for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, salt, vanilla, lemon zest, and sugar. Beat on low for 3 minutes until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the egg. Beat on low to combine then add the yeast/milk mixture. Gradually add the flour and the sour cream, (one third at a time) and beat the dough for 3-4 minutes until smooth; the dough should begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide in half. Return one portion of the dough to the mixing bowl and add 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds. Mix the dough on low just to incorporate the poppy seeds. Transfer each portion of dough to its own lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour, until doubled. Turn out one portion of dough at a time and roll on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8” thick. Use a 4” circle cutter to cut rounds of dough. Transfer the rounds to a parchment lined baking sheet. (You can reroll the scraps once- the dough will shrink a bit on the rerolls.)  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you roll out and cut circles from the second portion of dough.

To Assemble:
Retrieve the poppyseed dough circles and the lemon curd from the refrigerator. Place one teaspoon (no more! or the cookies will unfold in the oven) of lemon curd in the center of each circle of dough. Paint the edge of each circle with a bit of egg wash. Fold the left side of the circle over half of the filling, then the right side to meet the left side, then tuck the bottom of the circle upwards, tucking one corner into the right side to hold it in place. Gently brush the edges of the hamantaschen with egg wash. Repeat with the lemon curd and poppyseed dough. Refrigerate. Retrieve the plain dough circles and the cream cheese filling from the fridge and fill (one teaspoon of filling per circle) and fold as you did the poppyseed circles. Brush the edges of the hamantaschen with egg wash and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Place 9 hamantaschen on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15-18 minutes, just until golden. Repeat with the remaining hamantaschen. Let cool before serving or you risk burning your mouth on the hot filling. Any additional lemon curd can be served alongside or on top of the poppyseed hamantaschen. A drop of good quality cherry jam can top the cream cheese filled hamantaschen.
(Note: Both the lemon curd and cream cheese fillings contain egg; it’s best to cover and refrigerate any leftover hamantaschen.)