Steps to fold Hamentaschen: After putting filling in center of flattened circular dough, fold up 1/3 of side, followed by second then third side to form a triangle with filling peeking out.
Named after the villain, Haman, of the Purim story about Queen Esther saving the Persian Jews from extermination, the pastry now comes in many forms. Originally, it was named from the medieval poppy-filled pastry "mohntaschen," in German, poppy is "mohn" and "tash" is pocket. The name for German Jews became "hamantaschen," close to Haman's name. The triangles were supposed to represent Haman's hat, or some people say his ears, but Tirso De Molina's play, "El Sombrero de Tres Picos," talks about the three-cornered hats which only dignitaries like Haman were allowed to wear. One can fill these d...