Hamentashen are delicate cookies with delightful fillings. You can fill these triangle-shaped cookies with anything your heart desires. They are traditionally filled with poppy seeds, prune preserves, or apricot preserves.
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Hamentashen Cookies
This Hamentashen cookies recipe is for a very deliciously filled triangle cookie that is also very symbolic in Jewish culture. It is a delicate cookie but is actually a very simple recipe to prepare.
The History of Hamentashen
This recipe for hamantaschen is generally made in the springtime to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. The hamantaschen cookies themselves were known to be named after a villain named Haman in the Purim story in the Book of Esther.
They are also supposed to be a symbol for Haman’s ears as they were cut off after being defeated.
While the name of the cookies comes from a not-so-sweet man, these are definitely a sweet treat and a good reminder from when the enemy of the Jewish people was defeated.
Why This is the Best Recipe for Hamentashen
Not only will you get great instruction on how to make these triangle cookies, but this is also the best Hamentashen recipe because it is super simple and made all in one bowl.
No need to dirty extra dishes when you can make the dough for these Hamentashen cookies in a large mixing bowl.
Why is this Recipe Different?
One of the things people love about this recipe is that since it is made without dairy, it is considered to be made parve. Which is perfect for when you are observing specific Jewish dietary restrictions.
Also even though this recipe is made with oil instead of butter, it does not lose the flavor, rather people love the flavor and consistency of the Hamentashen cookies.
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!
- Large eggs
- Vegetable oil (by using oil the recipe is considered to be parve)
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Salt
- All-Purpose flour
- Filling of your choice like fruit preserves, nuts, or non-dairy chocolate chips, or even canned poppy seed filling
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.
Recipe Variations
One of the other nice things about this recipe is that you can make it suit you and your family’s taste buds.
While this recipe does not call for any form of lemon or lime zest, you can always add some in to give extra flavor.
Or you can change these cookies up simply by using different fillings. Here are some I like to use:
- Poppy seeds
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Chocolate
- Lemon pie filling
- Cherry pie filling
- Apricot jam
- Strawberry jam
There are so many options! A great reason to make a variety instead of just one flavor.
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.
How to Store Hamentashen Cookies
After the cookies have cooled down, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 to 7 days. These could be left out at room temperature but will last slightly longer in the fridge.
How to Freeze Hamentashen Cookies
If you know you will not need all of the cookies, the best way to freeze these cookies is BEFORE you bake them. Form the cookies and then put the tray in the freezer for an hour or two.
After the cookies are frozen, you can remove them from the tray and keep them in an air-tight container or zip-top bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. They will stay fresher and will not dry out as much as if they had been frozen.
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
- Reeses Cup Cookies
More Purim Recipes
Check out more of my easy recipes for cookies and the best seasonal and holiday recipes here on CopyKat!
Hamentashen
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.
Richard
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.
Stephanie Manley
I am glad you liked the recipe.
Maskit Moalam
my dough is coming out crumbly any advice?
Stephanie Manley
I would add a little more oil to the dough if it is a little crumbly, your other option is to add some egg.
sweetpea123
Can I use butter in place of the oil?
Stephanie Manley
This recipe is designed for oil so the cookies will be parve. I have not tested the cookies for using butter.
Rachael
Do you use all 4 eggs in the dough or 3 in the dough and 1 for the egg wash?
Stephanie
3 eggs to into the recipe, 1 egg goes into the egg wash.
Steve
They remind me of my Grandma’s date filled cookies which I loved.
Deborah
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!
Stephanie
It is nice that this recipe is parve, if you watch which chocolate chips you buy, you can make them with chocolate chips.
Stephanie
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!
julea
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.
C
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! 🙂
Stephanie
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.
Fran
Nice Hamentashen. I’m particularly fond of apricot Hamentashen — and Rugelach for that matter.
Lora
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!