Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love.
This recipe for Hamantaschen Cookies came from my podcast guest, Lauren Kandel. Make sure you listen to her episode Purim Traditions: Honoring A Mother's Legacy of Love while you make her Hamantaschen Cookies with Prune and Apricot Filling!
For Lauren and her sister Jenny, Purim is about two things: hamantaschen and remembering their mother, Maxine. Every year without fail, these two sisters gather to carry on their mother’s tradition of making hundreds of Hamantaschen to share with their expectant, grateful children and community.
And I can see why their children and neighbors treasure this tradition - these soft, flaky, triangular cookies are three bites of perfectly balanced crust and sweet (but not too sweet!) filling.
P.S. Hamantaschen possibilities are endless!!!! Use Lauren's perfect Hamantaschen dough recipe to start and then check out my related recipe round-up post related, 79 Hamantaschen Filling Ideas!
TOP TIP
Why Do My Hamantaschen Open When Baking?
- Overfilling: Do not overfill the Hamantaschen. Use a scant teaspoon for 3 inch circles
- Not chilling the dough: Chill the dough before rolling and cutting.
- Incorrectly folding: After you pinch the corners, fold them down flat.
- Not using fresh dough: Use fresh dough (not frozen and defrosted). The baked cookies freeze beautifully, so if you want to work ahead, bake and then freeze.
How To Fold A Hamantaschen Cookie
- On a heavily floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut rounds using a 4-inch circle cutter.
- Add 1 scant teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle.
- Fold in two sides of the dough to create one point of your triangle shape.
- Then fold opposite side to create two other points simultaneously.
- You can fold your points down for flatter corners. Folded corners take a little longer to bake through. I prefer the points, personally. If you're having trouble with the corners opening, check out the tips in the next section "Why Do My Hamantaschen Open When Baking"
- Brush top edges of Hamantashen with egg wash.
Lauren's Memories of Making Hamantaschen
Lauren’s earliest & most cherished memories of Purim include making these Purim cookies with her mother and sister. Lauren lost her mother when she was just 14 and survived the early loss of her own daughter to a degenerative disease whom she tenderly and selflessly cared for for 17 years. She is a tireless worker and friend, running her own cake decorating and photography business, and is always there for the community. Each year Lauren and her sister get together to make hundreds of these traditional Hamantaschen cookies. They fill bags to the brim for distribution to friends and neighbors – and plenty to stock their own freezers as well.
Listen to Ep. 23 Purim Traditions: Honoring a Mother's Legacy of Love
Ingredients and Substitutions
Dough Ingredients
- Flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Orange juice - You can add orange zest to enhance the citrus flavor even more
- Eggs
- Crisco/Vegetable shortening - Check out this great resource from Kosher.com that tested different methods for making Hamantaschen (oil vs margarine/butter and baking soda vs baking powder)
Apricot Filling
- Solo brand apricot cake and pie filling
- Apricot jam - you can make your own with this recipe from Brooklyn Farm Girl
- Lemon juice
Prune Filling
- Solo brand prune cake and pie filling - if you want to make your own homemade filling, here is a recipe from Reformed Judaism
- Chopped walnuts
- Raisins
- Honey
- Lemon juice
A Brief History of Purim and History of Hamantaschen
The story of Purim is found in the book of Esther. Esther, who hid that she was Jewish, was chosen by King Ahasuerus to be his queen. Meanwhile, the king's advisor, evil Haman, was being blasphemous by trying to get everyone to bow to him even though Jewish people only bowed for God. Mordechai, who helped the king uncover a death plot earlier in the story, refused to bow to Haman.
When Haman learned Mordechai was Jewish, he decided to kill all of the Jewish people because of his refusal. He convinced the king to carry out this plan and cast "purim", a lottery, to determine the day on which he would carry out this deed.
However, Mordechai told Esther of this plan who then told the king her secret of being a Jew and convinced the king to abandon the plan and allow Jewish people to fight back against the soliders trying to kill them. The Jewish people won the battle and Haman was killed. Now, the Jewish Holiday of Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Adar to celebrate Esther and Mordechai's bravery and victory.
source: Reform Judaism
Purim and Hamantaschen Cookies
- The origin of eating Hamantaschen during Purim started in the 18th century in Germany. They called them "mohntaschen" or "poppy seed pockets/poppy pocket".
- In the 19th century, German Jews started calling them "hamantaschen" because "mohn" sounds like Haman, the villain, and were stuffed with a poppyseed filling to represent Haman's pockets stuffed with bribes.
- Later, the shape was said to be Haman's hat.
- In Israel, the cookies are called "oznei hamen" or "Haman's ears" which refers to a criminal getting their ears cut off before execution
source: My Jewish Learning
Lauren's Family Hamantaschen Recipe
- A triangular-shaped cookie that is a mix between cookie and pastry thanks to its special crust, which is rich and short like a shortbread cookie, but softer, cakier, and easier to handle - like a pastry.
- Traditional orange juice in Lauren's dough recipe gives a natural sweetness and slight citrus flavor
- Lauren's traditional Apricot filling begins with Apricot Solo Pie Filling (common in Ashkenazi baked goods) then elevated with honey and freshly squeezed lemon juice. (Don't be afraid to add a little lemon zest as well!)
- Her classic Prune filling also begins with Prune Solo Pie Filling and is elevated with walnuts, dried fruits & lemon juice.
Variations on Recipe
There are so many ways to make these triangular treats as well as variations of fillings to add to these delicious Hamantaschen. There's something for everyone!
See our recipe round-up post with 79 Hamantaschen Filling Ideas for you to pick your favorite fillings to add to your cookies!
Different Cookie Bases/Dough Recipes
Gluten-free
- This gluten-free Hamantaschen recipe from Renana's Kitchen that uses almond flour that is safe for any gluten-intolerant person.
Cream Cheese
- This recipe from Cuisine At Home adds cream cheese to their Hamantaschen dough which adds a little tang and makes your cookies perfectly soft
Yeasted dough
- Adding yeast to your Hamantaschen dough will give the cookie a pillowy look and more of a cake or bread-like texture like the recipe from Vered's Israeli Cooking
Filling Options
Poppy seed filling
- Poppy seeds are the most traditional filling for Hamantaschen from 18th century Germany, try this recipe from Tori Avey
Fruit Preserves
- Raspberry jam
- Strawberry jam
- Apple preserves
A few other filling ideas
- Chocolate chips
- Speculoos (cookie butter), this recipe from Sheri Silver smothers her Hamantaschen with cookie butter and crushed Biscoff cookies for an indulgent cookie
- Cheesecake, like this recipe from Unwritten Recipes that are filled with vanilla cheesecake for a decadent, thick filling
- Fruit filling, such as this recipe from Cooking With Carbs that uses blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries for her Hamantaschen filling
Is Hamantaschen a Cookie or Pastry?
To be honest, I couldn't find a definite answer either way. This article from The Nosher calls Hamantaschen "pastries" in the introduction but then refers to them as cookies in the rest of the article. I would probably consider them more pastry than cookies due to their softer, cakey crust.
Dough Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients.
- Add shortening, mix until crumbly.
- Add eggs.
- Add orange juice.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface, shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Equipment
- Stand mixer with a paddle attachment
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling pin
- Round cookie cutter/biscuit cutter
- Pastry brush (optional)
- Baking sheets/cookie sheet
- Wire rack
Storage
- You can make the dough 3 days in advance and then use the chilled dough like normal, or freeze the dough for up to three months.
- If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.
More Purim Recipes
More Cookie Recipes
Listen To Lauren's Episode
Follow The Storied Recipe in Your Favorite Player
Recipe
Best Hamantaschen Recipe: Dairy-free Dough and Traditional Fillings
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 50 servings 1x
Description
A classic dairy-free Hamantaschen dough. Traditional Prune and Apricot fillings are elevated with fresh ingredients for the best Purim cookies ever!!
Ingredients
Dough
- 6 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups Crisco/vegetable shortening
Apricot Filling
- 1 can apricot cake and pie filling (Solo brand)
- 1/2 cup apricot jam (good quality)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed, to taste)
Prune Filling
- 1 can prune cake and pie filling (Solo brand)
- 1/2 cup walnuts (finely chopped)
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
Cue the Episode!
- Listen to The Storied Recipe Podcast Episode 023, Honoring A Mother's Legacy of Love with Lauren Cooper while you make her mom's Hamantaschen recipe!
Make the Dough
- Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Add shortening and mix until crumbly, about the size of peas, then add eggs.
- Then while the mixer is running on low, pour in orange juice.
- The dough should form a ball, turn the dough out onto the floured surface and shape it into a ball
- Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.
- (You can make it three days in advance, or freeze for up to three months. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.)
Make the Fillings
- For the prune filling, empty the entire can of Solo prune filling into a medium bowl, and add the raisins, walnuts, honey, and lemon juice.
- For the Apricot filling, in a medium bowl, mix an entire can of Solo apricot filling, apricot jam, and lemon juice.
Create the Hamantaschen
- On a heavily floured surface, or lightly floured parchment paper, roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut rounds using a 4-inch circle cutter.
- Add 1 scant teaspoon of filling in the middle of each round.
- Fold in two sides to create one point of your triangle shape.
- Then fold the opposite side to create two other points simultaneously.
- Brush the top edges of the hamentashen with egg wash.
- Place on parchment-covered baking sheets and bake at 350°F / 175°C for 12-15 minutes or until tops begin to turn a light golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
- The filling of these cookies stays hot much longer than the pastry so be sure the middle is cool before giving it to the kids who are undoubtedly waiting to sample them.
- Enjoy! And don’t forget to spread the love.
Notes
Make sure to check out my recipe round-up post, 79 Hamantaschen Filling Ideas to get more inspiration for finding the perfect filling for your cookies!
Listen to The Storied Recipe Podcast Episode 023, Honoring A Mother's Legacy of Love with Lauren Cooper while you make her mom's Hamantaschen recipe!
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi, Jewish
Nutrition
- Calories: 161
- Sugar: 6
- Sodium: 22
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Carbohydrates: 20
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 7
Would love to hear from you!