Purim-Ready Hamantaschen Recipe

Jewish cuisine offers a wide array of delicious food, and while bagels, challah bread, and latkes come to mind, they are only some of the culture's delicious foods. The culture has several traditional holiday foods that are prepared in many households generation after generation. Hamantaschen is one of those recipes that's served during the spring for Purim — a festive holiday full of parades, carnivals, and charitable gifts. 

Recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe for Purim-ready hamantaschen and says, "Whether you're making hamantaschen for the Purim holiday or for another occasion, you will enjoy the rich dough and sweet filling [in] these delicious cookies. I love that you can fill the insides with a standard jam like apricot, marmalade, or strawberry, or opt for a decadent chocolate [filling]. The dough is easy to make, and you can even make it ahead of time, and keep it in the fridge to save [some time]." Read on to learn how to make these delicious, festive cookies.

To make this recipe, you'll need some baking basics like all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, an egg, and butter. To give the dough a citrus flair, pick up an orange as well. For the fillings, pick up a few of your favorite jams and jellies. "I like to use a few different fillings inside the hamantaschen to bring in some different sweet flavors, and it also looks pretty to see the different colors when serving," Hahn shares. Of course, you can make a homemade filling, if you are feeling ambitious.

Pull out a large food processor, and add in the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and egg. Blitz for 1 minute to combine the ingredients, then add the cubed butter, orange juice, and orange zest. Pulse again for at least 3 minutes to break down the butter. You will know the dough is ready when the dough forms a ball, and is roughly moving around the food processor bowl. Remove it from the food processor, and place it on a cutting board. Divide the dough into 2 parts, roll each part into a ball, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Place them in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Take the dough sections out of the fridge, and preheat your oven to 350 F. The dough balls will be very hard, so unwrap each portion and thaw for 10 minutes on the counter. Using a rolling pin, roll out both dough portions into a large, ¼-inch thick circle or rectangle. Cut circles out of the dough using a 3 ½-inch round cookie cutter, glass, or lid. You'll want to cut out 8 circles from each section of dough. 

"Once the dough is rolled out, you'll want to work quickly because the dough will become very soft, and it can be hard to form into triangles that way," Hahn shares. Transfer the dough circles onto 2 baking trays that have been lined with parchment paper, and drop in 1 teaspoon of your choice of filling(s) in the center of each circle.

To create the cookie's triangular shape, bring the left side up towards the filling, angling the dough to create a point at the top. Then, bring the right side over to meet the left, and press the dough together at the top to make a sharp point. Fold up the bottom flap, position it under the right and left flaps, and pinch the corners to sharpen the bottom points of the triangle. "The dough will [form] a flat border around the filling on the cookie top, so be sure to leave some [space for the filling to be seen] when forming the hamantaschen," Hahn says.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. When done, let them sit on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for no more than 10 days.