Low-Fat, Delightful Hamantaschen Cookies

These cookies are traditionally made for the Jewish holiday of Purim, and the traditional filling is made of prunes or poppy seeds. However, I've found these are tremendously popular anytime, and can be spiffed up by using any kind of jelly, jam or preserves as filling. This recipe is lower in fat than my normal recipe (for the full-fat version, replace the banana with another stick of butter and the low-fat yogurt with sour cream). Enjoy! I always get lots of great comments on these.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Yields: 40-50 cookies

Ingredients

• 3 1⁄2-4  cups flour
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup sweet butter, cut up
• 1  ripe banana
• 3  eggs, separated
• 1⁄2 pint low-fat vanilla yogurt
•  jam or   jelly or   preserves, for filling

Directions

1. You really need to do this with clean bare hands (or gloves, if you prefer)--mash the butter and banana into all the dry ingredients in a large bowl until the mixture is crumblike.
2. Smush in the egg yolks and yogurt. If it's very sticky, add more flour a bit at a time until it is a good, doughy texture.
3. Divide it into four parts and stick them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
4. When you take out the first part, transfer the others to the fridge.
5. Roll the first part flat, but not too thin.
6. Flour the rim of a drinking glass and use it to punch out circles of dough, placing them on a greased cookie sheet.
7. Put a spoonful of filling in the center of each circle and squish up the edges in the shape of a triangle, leaving some of the filling exposed in the middle.
8. Brush the dough with the egg whites and bake at 350º for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Repeat this process with the other three sections of dough.
10. Remove from cookie sheets, let cool on a wire rack and enjoy.