Bibi’s hamantashen

Finally, there is a hamantashen that goes well with cocktails.

Owner Dan Messinger of Bibi’s Bakery and Cafe in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood has devised a savory recipe for the Purim pastry.

The traditional Purim treat is usually made with a sweet cookie crust and an even sweeter filling — apricot or prune jam, poppy seed paste, chocolate cream. It is a kid-oriented dessert, shaped into a triangle to recall the three-cornered hat worn by the evil character Haman. 

Messinger’s bakery turns those out, as well as his signature “doughnutashen”— a fried confection that splits the difference between the jelly-filled Chanukah sufganiyot and a hamantashen.

But for a healthier alternative to all of the above, he’s kept the triangle shape; used a puffy boureka dough for the pastry; and feta, olives and roasted peppers for the filling. The result is something you’d put out warm on a platter for the grownups, while the children are let loose on the sweet stuff.

BIBI’S HAMANTASHEN 

DOUGH:

• Puff pastry (available frozen)
• Beaten egg for egg wash

FILLINGS:

• Feta cheese with sliced green olives
• Goat cheese with smoked salmon
• Shredded mozzarella cheese with jalapenos

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles of the puff pastry. Brush the rounds with egg wash. Place approximately 2 teaspoons of filling in center of each circle (cheese on bottom, second item on top). Squeeze the corners, creating a triangle. Brush sides with additional egg wash.

Place triangles in greased individual aluminum foil rounds. Form the rounds into triangles to help maintain hamantashen’s shape during baking.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.