Discover the joy of making traditional hamentashen cookies, the beloved triangle-shaped treats that bring sweetness to Jewish celebrations, especially during Purim. These delicate cookies feature tender, slightly sweet dough wrapped around delightful fillings, creating a perfect balance of texture and flavor. Whether you’re honoring tradition or simply craving a unique homemade cookie, this simple one-bowl recipe delivers authentic results that connect you to centuries of Jewish culinary heritage.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
This hamentashen recipe succeeds because it creates the perfect balance between tender dough and structural integrity. The oil-based dough remains pliable enough for easy shaping while providing enough strength to hold fillings without bursting during baking. The single-bowl method streamlines preparation without sacrificing quality, while the parve (dairy-free) formulation respects traditional Jewish dietary laws.
The key lies in achieving the right dough consistency through careful flour integration and proper rolling technique, ensuring cookies that maintain their triangular shape while developing a beautiful golden exterior.
The History and Significance of Hamentashen
These triangular cookies hold deep cultural significance in Jewish tradition, particularly during the spring holiday of Purim. Named after Haman, the villain from the biblical Book of Esther, these cookies symbolically represent his defeat and the triumph of the Jewish people. The triangular shape represents Haman’s ears or his three-cornered hat, making each bite a sweet reminder of justice prevailing over oppression.
While the historical inspiration may be somber, hamentashen has evolved into beloved treats that bring families together, with each generation passing down preferred fillings and techniques.
Recipe Ingredients
There are no crazy ingredients needed for this Hamentashen recipe. Take a look to make sure you have everything in stock in your pantry, and you will be good to go!
For the Cookie Dough:
- Large eggs – Provides structure and richness to the dough
- Vegetable oil – Creates tender texture while keeping recipe parve
- Sugar – Adds sweetness and helps achieve a golden color when baking
- Vanilla extract – Enhances flavor depth and aromatic quality
- Baking powder – Ensures slight lift and tender crumb
- Salt – Balances sweetness and enhances overall flavor
- All-purpose flour – Forms the dough structure and provides stability
For Assembly and Finishing:
- Filling of choice – Traditional options include poppy seed filling, apricot preserves, or prune preserves
- Egg wash – Creates beautiful golden finish and professional appearance
Ingredient Substitutions
While I use vegetable oil to keep the recipe pareve, you can always try using coconut oil or even olive oil in its place and still continue to keep the recipe parve. Though, if you do change the oil used, there is a chance it could change the flavor slightly.
Or if that is not a necessity to you, you can try and substitute the oil with butter as other recipes do use that as well.
Instead of using all-purpose flour, you could try using coconut flour or another gluten-free flour of your choosing to help these cookies fit more appropriately into any dietary restrictions.
How To Make Hamentashen
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a large mixing bowl mix together 3 eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until it is smooth and creamy.
- Next sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. (Do NOT skip this step!)
- Then add the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture and blend it together until the dough comes together. The dough will be a little sticky. If your dough is crumbly, add a little more oil or some egg. If it is too sticky, add a little bit more flour (1 to 2 tablespoons).
- Knead the dough for about a minute before rolling it out.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and roll the dough out until it is about ¼ of an inch thick.
- Now use a small circle cookie cutter or a drinking glass to cut out the dough into disk shapes.
- Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and then move the cut-out circles onto the parchment paper.
- After you have about 12 to 15 circles on each cookie sheet, drop about 2 teaspoons of filling on each cookie.
- Then fold the cookies into triangles, pinching the seams together to make sure they do not pop open while baking.
- Make up the egg wash with the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of water beaten together.
- Use a pastry brush to coat the unbaked Hamentashen with the egg wash.
- Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake the cookies at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until the sides are just slightly golden brown.
Traditional Filling Options
Classic Choices:
- Poppy seed filling: Traditional and authentically flavored
- Apricot preserves: Sweet and slightly tart balance
- Prune preserves: Rich, traditional flavor with smooth texture
Modern Variations:
- Cherry pie filling: Bright, fruity alternative
- Lemon curd: Citrusy and creamy option
- Chocolate chips: Contemporary favorite for children
- Nuts and honey: Textural variety with natural sweetness
How to Fold Hamentashen
To fold these circles into triangles you are going to make three seams.
- First, start by carefully grabbing the top sides of the circle and pinching the top together to create a point.
- Then on the bottom half of the cookie grab one side and bring it together with the top half of the cookie, again pinching the end of the seam together to create a point.
- Now grab the remaining part of the circle that is on the pan, bring it together with the other raised side. Pinch the two together to create the final point of the triangle.
How to Not Overfill the Hamentashen
The best way is to put filling on one of the cookies and attempt to fold it. Generally, it will be about 2 teaspoons but will all depend on the size of the circle cookie cutter you used.
Here’s how to know if the cookies are properly filled after you fold the cookie into the triangle and what to do if overfilled:
- If nothing is coming out of the top then you are good to go.
- If there is filling above the fold of the triangle then remove some and continue with a little less in the rest of the cookies.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Freezing Baked: Wrap completely cooled cookies individually and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Room Temperature Storage: Store completely cooled cookies in airtight containers for up to 5 days. Layer with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Refrigerator Storage: Refrigerate in sealed containers to extend freshness to 7 days. Allow to come to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
- Freezing Unbaked: Freeze-shaped, unbaked cookies are placed on trays for 2 hours, then transferred to freezer bags for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to baking time.
Favorite Holiday Cookies
Here are more holiday cookie recipes for you to enjoy:
- Cake Mix Cookies
- Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
- Cream Cheese Cookies
- Hello Dolly Cookies
- Macaroon Cookies
- No Bake Cookies with Oatmeal
- Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
- Pecan Sandies Cookies
- Pineapple Cookies
More Purim Recipes
Check out my easy recipes for cookies and the best seasonal and holiday recipes here on CopyKat!
Traditional Hamentashen Cookies – Easy Parve Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 eggs divided use
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 1/2 cups alll-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- Fillings of your choice: fruit preserves, chocolate, nuts, poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 4 eggs with the oil, sugar, and vanilla, and beat until smooth and creamy.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture, and mix until combined.
- Knead the dough for about a minute before rolling it out. The dough will be a little sticky, so you may need to add a bit more flour.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out circles using a round cookie cutter, and place the circles onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. You can fit about 12 to 15 cookies on each sheet.
- Add a spoonful of the filling of your choice to the center of each circle.
- Fold the edges in to create a triangular shape, and pinch the corners.
- Brush the unbaked hamentashen with an egg wash, which can be made using 1 egg and a tablespoon of water, beaten with a fork to combine.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies just begin to turn golden brown.
debated using butter over the oil but…… decided to stick with the recipe…… I snacked on the raw dough and commented that if the cookies baked taste as good as the cookies raw, I’ve got a new favorite.
I am glad you liked the recipe.
my dough is coming out crumbly any advice?
I would add a little more oil to the dough if it is a little crumbly, your other option is to add some egg.
Can I use butter in place of the oil?
This recipe is designed for oil so the cookies will be parve. I have not tested the cookies for using butter.
Do you use all 4 eggs in the dough or 3 in the dough and 1 for the egg wash?
3 eggs to into the recipe, 1 egg goes into the egg wash.
They remind me of my Grandma’s date filled cookies which I loved.
This is my preferred recipe as I have dairy allergies and my husband is diabetic. This cookie combines the best of both worlds for us. I use low sugar cherry, raspberry & apricot jam/preserves in mine. We love Hametashen!
It is nice that this recipe is parve, if you watch which chocolate chips you buy, you can make them with chocolate chips.
Lora! – I was just going to leave the same comment as we just finished the Esther study by Beth Moore. What a wonderful coincidence! They were delish!
receipe vary depending on what is available when you are making it and the quality of the fruit or the seedamd the diet restrictions if the peop;e eatomgb ot there d sno wrong receipe you make to your taste what is available and the humidity and temperature you bake at.
It looks alright, but you’re missing a few key ingredients. Where is the orange & lemon zest? they’re supposed to be citrusy cookies! (trust me, I have a recipe handed down from my great great jewish grandmother!). There is supposed to be zest & juice in the dough! 🙂
I have seen some Hamentashen recipes that do include orange and lemon zest, all do not include it. Some are made with yeast and are far more bread like. I think your cookies handed down to you by your grandmother had the extra touch of citrus, but this recipe didn’t have that in there. My Russian family wouldn’t consider these real Hamentashen because they are sweet and these aren’t filled with poppy seeds or prunes. There is something fabulous about family traditions they are all wonderfully different. Why not share your recipe, I would love to try those cookies out.
Nice Hamentashen. I’m particularly fond of apricot Hamentashen — and Rugelach for that matter.
I know these! They’re Hamen Ears. I led a Beth Moore study last summer on Esther and the recipe for these cookies was in the back of the study book. I made these cookies for the ladies who attended…they were wonderful and easy to make. Telling the story behind the cookies made them even more fun to make and share. Thanks for sharing this recipe…I think I’ll make some again this spring!