Dried Cranberry and Sour Cherry Filling

For hamantaschen and other pastries

(pareve)

Food Editor's Note:  This is a variation of a recipe in Marcy Goldman's book, A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking (Doubleday, 1998).  This filling is both sweet and tart and will be a refreshing change in hamantaschen.  It is a thick fruit puree and can be used as is in cookie-dough hamantaschen or butter cookies; thin it out a bit with water to use in yeast-dough pastries.  This keeps in the refrigerator for two weeks; if you have extra, freeze it for a future use.

Ingredients

1 medium orange, washed

1/2 cup water

pinch of ground cinnamon

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup dried sour cherries

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup golden raisins

Quarter the orange and process in a food processor until very finely chopped.  Add to a medium saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients.  Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is softened.  Remove the pan from the burner and let cool for at least 5 minutes.  Place the fruit mixture in a food processor and process until it is a thick puree.  Add a small amount of additional water if it seems too thick.  Refrigerate the filling for up to 2 weeks or freeze it for up to six months.  If the chilled filling seems too stiff to use, loosen it with a little warm water or juice.

Yield: 2 1/2-3 cups