Hamantaschen
5.0
(1)
When I was growing up, I eagerly awaited the cold March morning each year when my Hebrew school class huddled in the synagogue’s kitchen to make hamantaschen. We baked the triangular cookies each year for Purim, a holiday celebrating the salvation of the Jewish people from the Haman, the royal vizier to ancient Persian emperor Ahasuerus. Modeled after Haman’s three-pointed hat, these triangular cookies—traditionally stuffed with poppy seed filling, but often with jam or jelly—are a signature of the holiday. As kids, we didn’t do any of the actual baking; our job was to fill and fold, arguably the most challenging task.
There are many hamantaschen-shaping techniques out there (and lots of YouTube tutorials). I tried a few of them for this recipe, but the method below is the easiest and most foolproof. First you’ll roll and cut the dough; be sure to roll it while still cold to keep it from sticking to the counter. Wiggle an offset spatula beneath the cut rounds to slide them off of the counter and onto a baking sheet. Next, fill the cookies. You could go for the classic canned poppy seed filling, but homemade lemon-poppy seed filling (inspired by everyone’s favorite muffin) is much brighter and more flavorful. This easy poppy seed filling recipe—which takes all of 15 minutes to make—yields enough to fill a half-batch of hamantaschen. Feel free to double the recipe, but I prefer to make an assortment with various jams and jellies. Go for the classics—apricot, strawberry, blueberry—or venture outside the box, stuffing the cookies with Nutella, cookie butter, ube halaya, or guava paste and cream cheese.
Now for the fun part: shaping. At this point, you want the dough to be slightly soft so it’s easier to fold. If the dough cracks when folded, it’s probably a little too chilly; let it sit at room temperature for another minute, then try again. Your first few triangle-shaped cookies might not look perfect, but that’s okay. Smooth over any cracks with your fingers and carry on. The most important thing is to fold the dough over most of the filling, leaving only a small triangle revealed, then press the dough flaps down until flush with the filling; this will prevent the hamantaschen from unfolding or leaking in the oven. To further ensure the hamantaschen hold their shape, freeze them for 10 minutes before baking. Remember: This holiday is all about fun, so get the kids involved. They too might remember those cookie-baking sessions long after.
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What you’ll need
Fluted Cutter Set
$7 At Amazon
Almond Extract
$11 $10 At Amazon
Sheet Pan
$28 At Amazon
Stand Mixer
$450 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes (plus chilling)
Yield
Makes 24
Ingredients
Dough
Filling and Assembly
Special equipment
Preparation
Dough
Step 1
Whisk together 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, and ¼ tsp. almond extract in a second medium bowl.
Step 2
Beat ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, and ½ cup (55 g) powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually stream in egg mixture; beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl. Increase mixer speed to medium and continue to beat until mixture is thick and smooth (it might look curdled at first), about 1 minute more. Scrape down slides of bowl, then reduce mixer speed to low. Add half of dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated with some floury streaks remaining. Add remaining dry ingredients and beat until incorporated (no floury bits) and dough is homogeneous.
Step 3
Turn dough out onto a surface and form into a ½"-thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.
Do ahead: Dough can be made 12 hours ahead. Keep chilled.
Filling and Assembly
Step 4
While the dough is chilling, stir 1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest and 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice in a small bowl to combine.
Step 5
Bring ½ cup whole milk, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, and ¼ cup poppy seeds to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking occasionally and scraping bottom of pan, until mixture is thickened and reduced by about two thirds, 10–12 minutes. Whisk in lemon zest mixture and cook, whisking occasionally, until poppy seeds have absorbed most of the liquid, about 2 minutes. Scrape poppy seed filling into a clean medium bowl and chill at least 30 minutes.
Step 6
Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface to ⅛" thick. (If dough is very firm, let sit at room temperature a few minutes before rolling.) Punch out rounds with cookie cutter and transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing at least 2" apart. Gather scraps, reroll, and punch out more rounds; transfer to baking sheets. (You should have about 24 rounds total.)
Step 7
Place 1 tsp. poppy seed filling in the center of 12 rounds; place 1 tsp. jam (from ¼ cup apricot, prune, or raspberry jam) in the center of remaining rounds. Lightly brush edges of dough with 1 large egg white, lightly beaten. Working with 1 cookie at a time, fold in left and right sides of dough so they partially cover filling and overlap at bottom corner. Fold in top side of dough so it partially covers filling and overlaps left and right sides of dough at corners, forming a triangle. Pinch corners and overlapping edges to seal. Freeze cookies 10 minutes.
Step 8
Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until golden brown, 15–20 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets.
Do ahead: Filling can be made 1 week ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and keep chilled.
Recipe notes
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