Hamantaschen Cookies
Updated
Updated
When Purim rolls around, I always look forward to baking Hamantaschen. Made with buttery shortbread dough stuffed with sweet jam, these popular Jewish cookies are a holiday tradition, but I can never resist making them for Hanukkah, too.
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The Best Hamantaschen Cookies
Like mandelbrot, hamantaschen are a treat I grew up enjoying. These cookies, which are made with a shortbread dough and jelly center, are typically served on Purim. But I love them year-round and especially during Hanukkah.
Hamantaschen are triangular cookies made of shortbread dough that’s folded to form a center pocket stuffed with anything from poppy seed filling, jams, and Nutella to savory fillings like smoked salmon.
Hamantaschen are said to represent the villain Haman’s hat. Haman was the King’s advisor who planned to execute all the Jewish people, and it’s said he always wore a triangle hat. Eating hamantaschen is meant to represent defying Haman.
I find hamantaschen quite simple to make. The dough can even be prepared a day in advance. While you can fill these cookies with any jam you like, I typically fill half with apricot jam and half with raspberry jam. Apricot is a pretty traditional filling, and I love raspberry, but use your favorite.
Hamantaschen Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp grated orange or lemon zest
- 2¼ cups flour, spooned and leveled
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 tbsp raspberry jam
- 5 tbsp apricot jam
Instructions
- Cut the room temperature butter into cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add in the powdered sugar and cream together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg, vanilla, and orange zest; beat until thoroughly combined.
- Sift the flour and salt into the bowl.
- Blend until the dough forms large clumps. (To test, take a little bit of the dough and press it together with your fingers; if it holds together, it’s good to go. If it feels crumbly, add water, 1-2 tsp at a time only if necessary. Be careful—too much water will require more flour, which will make the pastry tough.)
- Using your hands, begin to knead dough until it comes together into a smooth soft ball. (Try not to overwork the dough. It should be slightly tacky, but not at all sticky, with a good texture for rolling.)
- Flatten the ball of dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and have your jam ready to go.
- Unwrap the dough and place on a clean work surface that's lightly dusted with flour.
- Using a heavy rolling pin dusted with flour, roll the dough between ⅛ to ¼" thick. The chilled dough will be firm and initially a bit tough to roll out. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to soften. (Don't worry too much if the dough breaks along the edges as you're rolling, since you will be re-rolling the scraps.) Lightly re-flour the rolling pin occasionally to prevent sticking, if necessary.
- Using a 3" cookie cutter or glass with a 3" rim, cut as many circles out of the dough as you can.
- Collect the scraps of dough, re-roll, and cut more circles. Repeat this process until you can't make any more circles from the dough. You should end up with about 30 circles (the thickness of your dough will determine how many you get.)
- Using a thin spatula, gently slide under each circle to release it from the work surface and transfer to the prepared baking sheets, 1" apart.
- Put 1 rounded tsp of jam in the center of each circle, do not overfill, then fold up the edges to form a triangle, pinching the 3 corners together gently but very well to secure the shape and prevent filling from leaking while baking, leaving the center of the filling exposed. (Use the warmth of your fingers to smooth out where the dough has been joined or if there are any cracks.)
- Transfer baking sheets to the refrigerator to chill while you preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to brown around the edges. (Because the thickness of the dough can vary and can cook quite fast if rolled thin, start checking them at 12 minutes and watch them carefully, especially if your oven runs hot.)
- Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. They'll firm up as they cool.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How to Make Hamantaschen Cookies Step by Step
Form the dough: Cube ¾ cup of butter, then cream it with ¾ cup of powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add in an egg, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 tsp of orange zest. Beat until well combined and then sift in 2¼ cups flour and ¼ tsp salt. Blend until large clumps of dough form.
Knead the dough: Knead the dough until it turns into a smooth, soft ball that’s slightly tacky but not sticky.
Chill: Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Roll out the dough: Dust your rolling pin with flour and roll the dough to between ⅛” and ¼” thick. Using a 3″ cookie cutter, cut as many circles as possible. Collect the scraps, re-roll, and cut circles until you use up all the dough.
Transfer to a baking sheet: Slide a spatula under each circle and transfer them to a baking sheet.
Shape the cookies: Add one teaspoon of jam to the center of each cookie; do not overfill. Fold up the edges of the dough to form a triangle and pinch the corners gently but securely while leaving the center of the filling exposed.
Chill: Place the baking sheets in the fridge while you preheat the oven.
Bake: Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, until they just start to brown around the edges.
Cool and serve: Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!
How to Store
You can make the dough for these cookies up to a day in advance. Just keep it wrapped in plastic in the fridge until you’re ready to begin working with it.
Hamantaschen are best served the day they’re prepared, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You may want to put parchment paper between layers to keep the jam from sticking to the other cookies.
You can freeze hamantaschen for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely, then transfer them to an airtight, freezer-safe container. Use parchment paper between layers. Thaw completely on the counter and enjoy.
What to Serve With Hamantaschen
When we celebrate Purim, I like to round out our holiday meal with a bowl of matzo ball soup, with challah or kugel on the side.
Better than my version from bible study! First time making with orange zest and loved that additional ingredient. Thank you!
Love these so much, and this recipe makes it so easy to make at home with various flavors of jam.
Perfection! My whole family loves this recipe. I did 3 different jams – apricot, raspberry, and blackberry.
These little gems are worth the time and effort, especially since they are hard to find and store bought just don’t compare. You just need to dedicate the time to prepare, bake and eat!
Love this recipe!