Fig Hamantaschen
Filling adapted from Hedy Goldsmith and dough from Melissa Clark

For the Filling:
1 1/2 scant cups chopped, stemmed, dried black figs (about 9 ounces)
3/4 cup (177 ml) pomegranate juice
1/3 cup (66 grams) sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 clementine
1 star anise

For the Dough:
4 cups (500 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt
1 cup (16 tablespoons; 226 grams) unsalted butter
1 cup mascarpone
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of 1 clementine
Whole milk, for brushing the dough

Make the Filling:
1. In a saucepan, combine the figs, juice, sugar, zest, star anise, and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until the figs are softened and the liquid is syrupy and is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Let the figs cool in their syrup, then puree in a food processor until smooth. [If you dislike the taste of star anise, you should remove it before pureeing, but if you do, leave it in.]

Make the Dough:
2. In a food processor fitted with a blade, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt, and butter until it forms a coarse meal. Add the mascarpone and pulse to combine. In a small bowl, stir together the yolks, vanilla, and the zest. Add the yolk mixture to the dough and pulse until the dough barely comes together – it should look pretty scraggly.

3. Dump the dough onto a work surface and gently knead into a ball. Divide the ball into even quarters, flatten each quarter into a disk, and wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Make the Hamantaschen:
4. Position the rack in the middle and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out a disc of the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out the dough. Brush each circle with a thin coat of milk. Chill the scraps, if planning to re-roll as the dough gets soft.

5. Place a generous 1/2 teaspoon of the filling at the center of each of the circles, and press up the sides to form triangles, pinching to seal. Brush the tops with more milk. Chill the formed hamantaschen for 10 minutes. I advise against folding this dough as it has a tendency to come undone a bit – which won’t make your hamantaschen leak or anything, but in case you want them to be perfect triangles, pinch away and pinch well!

6. Bake on parchment-lined sheets for about 15 to 20 minutes until golden. If baking on several trays, switch them at the halfway point.

Makes 48 hamantaschen if reusing scraps; 36 if not.