Purim, the most raucous holiday of the Jewish year is coming up on March 20-21. The Biblical story goes that once upon a time, Queen Esther of Persia (who was secretly a Jew) saved the Jews from persecution by her husband the King and his evil political advisor, Haman. On Purim, we commemorate being saved with (mandatory!) drinking, dressing up in costume, storytelling (and making loud noises when Haman’s name is mentioned). <br /> <br />I don’t attend Purim festivities every year, but I do make a batch of Hamantaschen cookies. They are triangular, jam-filled cookies that symbolize Haman’s ears or his three-cornered hat. Each year, my tradition is create a new take on Hamantaschen. This year, I’ve created Hawaii-inspired macadamia shortbread cookies filled with guava jam, an ode to my Dad’s upbringing in Hawaii.

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