Earlier today I posted my Dairy Free Hamantaschen recipe. I also wanted to offer a butter-based dairy hamantaschen dough for those who prefer a more buttery flavored cookie. This dough produces a tender, sweet hamantaschen. While many who keep kosher prefer dairy-free cookies (so they can be served with a meat meal), others don’t mind adding butter to the mix. This dough provides a dairy hamantaschen option for your Purim menu.
I like this dough because it produces a rich, buttery, orange-scented cookie that is full of flavor. The dough will work with any hamantaschen filling, and it won’t open up/expand in the oven during baking, as long as you don’t overfill your cookies and your filling has the proper texture.
There are a few drawbacks–it needs to be thoroughly chilled before rolling out (it’s too sticky to roll at room temperature), and it is not as flexible to work with as my dairy free dough. That is the nature of butter doughs; when cold, butter becomes stiff, which in turn makes the dough somewhat stiff and tougher to shape. That said, if you have some experience with baking and working with butter dough, this one should pose no problems for you… in fact, it’s one of the easier butter doughs that I’ve worked with.
Note: if this is your first time making hamantaschen and/or butter dough, I recommend starting with my Dairy Free dough. It’s easier to work with than the buttery one, and the flavor is similar.
You can use any hamantaschen filling you like with this dough; I’ve linked to the filling recipes available on my site below. The key to a good filling is to make sure it is thick enough to prevent running, but not so thick that it bakes up dry or tough. All of these filling recipes are tasty, and they all have the proper texture for use in hamantaschen. I will update this list of fillings as I add new ones to the site.
Hamantaschen Fillings
Rabbi Olitzky’s Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Filling
For my Dairy Free Hamantaschen dough, click here. To learn more about the holiday of Purim, click here.
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Buttery Hamantaschen
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-5 teaspoons water (if needed)
Instructions
- Slice room temperature butter into small chunks and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Add sugar to the bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together for a few minutes till light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest to the bowl. Beat again till creamy and well mixed.
- Sift flour and salt into the bowl.Mix with the electric mixer on low speed till a crumbly dough forms.
- Begin to knead dough with hands till a smooth dough ball forms. Try not to overwork the dough, only knead till the dough is the right consistency. If the crumbles are too dry to form a smooth dough, add water slowly, 1 teaspoon at a time, using your hands to knead the liquid into the dough. Knead and add liquid until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky to the touch (not sticky), with a consistency that is right for rolling out. It can easily go from the right consistency to too wet/sticky, so add water very slowly. If the dough seems too wet, knead in a little flour till it reaches the right texture.
- Form the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 3 hours to overnight.
- Before you begin to assemble the hamantaschen, choose and make your filling and have it on hand to work with. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly flour a smooth, clean surface. Unwrap the dough disk and place it on the floured surface. The dough will be very firm after chilling.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. At the beginning, it will be tough to roll out-- you may need to pound it a bit. A heavy rolling pin works best. As you roll, cracks may form on the edges of the dough. Repair any large cracks with your fingers and continue rolling.When the dough reaches 1/4 inch thickness, scrape the dough up with a pastry scraper, lightly reflour the surface, and flip the dough over. Continue rolling the dough out very thin (less than 1/8 of an inch thick). The thinner you roll the dough, the more delicate and crisp the cookies will turn out-- just make sure that the dough is still thick enough to hold the filling and its shape! If you prefer a thicker, more doughy texture to your cookies (less delicate), keep the dough closer to 1/4 inch thick. Lightly flour the rolling pin occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Use a 3-inch cookie cutter (not smaller) or the 3-inch rim of a glass to cut circles out of the dough, cutting as many as you can from the dough.Gather the scraps and roll them out again. Cut circles. Repeat process again if needed until you've cut as many circles as you can from the dough. You should end up with around 35 circles (unless you've kept your dough on the thicker side, which will result in less cookies).
- Place a teaspoon of filling (whichever filling you choose) into the center of each circle. Do not use more than a teaspoon of filling, or you run the risk of your hamantaschen opening and filling spilling out during baking. Cover unused circles with a lightly damp towel to prevent them from drying out while you are filling.
- Assemble the hamantaschen in three steps. First, grasp the left side of the circle and fold it towards the center to make a flap that covers the left third of the circle.Grasp the right side of the circle and fold it towards the center, overlapping the upper part of the left side flap to create a triangular tip at the top of the circle. A small triangle of filling should still be visible in the center.
- Grasp the bottom part of the circle and fold it upward to create a third flap and complete the triangle. When you fold this flap up, be sure to tuck the left side of this new flap underneath the left side of the triangle, while letting the right side of this new flap overlap the right side of the triangle. This way, each side of your triangle has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under-- it creates a "pinwheel" effect. This method if folding is not only pretty-- it will help to keep the cookies from opening while they bake.
- Pinch each corner of the triangle gently but firmly to secure the shape. If any cracks have formed at the places where the dough is creased, use the warmth of your fingers to smooth them out.Repeat this process for the remaining circles.
- When all of your hamantaschen have been filled, place them on a lightly greased baking sheet, evenly spaced.
- Place them in the oven and let them bake at 350 degrees for 10-25 minutes, until the cookies are cooked through and lightly golden. Start checking them at 10 minutes; because the dough thickness tends to vary on these cookies they can cook quite fast if rolled thin. In most ovens it will take around 15-20 minutes, but best to keep a close watch over them as they cook to avoid overcooking or burning.Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store them in a tightly sealed plastic bag or Tupperware.
NOTES
Nutrition
Hi,
I’m really interested in making these beautiful cookies. I’d like to have a variety, but I’m afraid if I make 2 or 3 filling recipes, I’ll have way too much filling. Is each filling recipe meant for one recipe of cookie dough?
Thanks very much.
Amy
Hi Amy, each filling batch will make enough for between 2 and 3 batches of hamantaschen (except for Rabbi Olitzky’s cream cheese filling, which makes considerably more, and the caramel apple which makes slightly less). This is because when Purim rolls around, most people are making a large quantity of cookies to put in baskets, bring to parties, and give away to family/friends. Think about it this way– you need about 1 teaspoon of filling per cookie. Each filling recipe lets you know the estimated quantity it will make (2 cups, 1 1/2 cups, etc). If there are 2 cups of filling, you can make close to 3 batches.
The good news is, if you seal the apricot or plum (prune) filling in a tupperware, those fillings will last for a couple of weeks (at least). They are similar to jam and make great “spreadables” for crackers or toast. If you decide to go this route, make sure to separate an amount of the filling (about 1 cup) before you begin filling cookies, so you’re not dipping a spoon into the leftover filling and touching the raw cookie dough with it– this can contaminate the filling.
Mine seem pail what should I do?
Pale, meaning they don’t have a lot of color? It’s not a very “brown” cookie, but it should be light golden brown around the edges.
I tried my hand at this butter dough recipe.It was very delicious and the dough seemed to work well until the end. When I did the folding, the dough continued to crack so although they tasted great, they looked terrible. The homemade lekvar ones seemed to work best as the filling was rather thick but still looked all pinched together. Any suggestions on what went wrong.. Also I still have some dough left. Rather than fooling around with Hamantasen, any suggestions for another cookie to make with this dough. thanks
Hi Jo, if the dough was cracking it likely means you didn’t add enough water to it. You could try kneading in a few drops to see if that helps, but you’ll need to chill it again for a few minutes before shaping. As I noted in the blog above, if you’re not used to working with butter doughs, they can be challenging… I really recommend using my dairy free hamantaschen recipe if you’re having trouble with this one, it’s a lot easier to work with. As for another use for this dough, you might try making thumbprint cookies. Good luck!
Wonderfully buttery and perfect in every way! We all loved these, especially my two-year-old daughter 🙂
So happy to hear that Anna! 🙂
I use to get the most delicious apricot hamantaschen from a bakery by me. When they closed, I was so sad thinking I would never have awesome apricot hamantaschen again. Well, I was wrong! I made them with the dairy dough and they came out amazing! The orange zest in the dough and the orange juice in the filling compliment each other perfectly and add such a refreshing touch. Thanks so much…you are amazing Tori 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I am in the process of writing a book about PURIM and would like to include the recipe in my book. I can put a link to your site in the book or a brief bio of you and a link to the site. Please let me know asap if you are interested.
Blessings,
Deborah H. Bateman-Author
Hi Deborah, I will email you…
Hi I just have one question, when you use the cup measurements, are you using US cups or metric cups? I’m trying to convert your recipe to grams, so it’s easier for me to measure. Thanks a bunch!
Hi Abigail, I’m using US cups.
My husband spoke so fondly about the hamantaschen his grandmother would make I decided to give this receipe a try. I was a little nervous because who can make cookies as good as ones grandmother. Glad to report they were not only awesome tasting they wère soooo easy to make. Simple ingredients, fantastic results! Thank You for sharing this recipe!
I made these for a Holiday cookie exchange. I sampled a couple of them and they’re wonderful! I made the buttery recipe with the apricot filling. To die for. Thanks for publishing this.
I think this is my favorite recipe on your website. I have never made these cookies before, but I love them and I love that you give a variety of options for filling them.
I am glad I found your blog and your Facebook page and of course I am following you on Pinterest.
I love hamantaschen. When I had them the first time, I realized that in taste and concept, they sort of resemble Polish Kolacky. My grandma, who is Italian but grew up in a multiethnic neighborhood with a lot of Polish and Czech people, makes open-faced Kolacky with the jam in the middle. But hers are round and obviously don’t have the shape of a hamantash. LOL. Also, she uses cream cheese for her dough, not butter. But I’m fascinated by the similarities and differences.
SOOOOOO pretty! They look like little stained glassed windows!
Mmmm, I adore the poppy-seed filling! Looks amazing 🙂
I love all your recipes, congratulations for the great work. 🙂
The butter recipe doesnt require baking powder?
Hi Shira! No, the butter recipe does not require baking powder. When experimenting with these doughs, I found that adding baking powder to the butter dough made it more prone to spreading/opening during baking. It doesn’t need the baking powder for texture– the cookie is soft and tender without it.
These look absolutely amazing! I would prefer the butter version – I love the flavor of REAL butter in cookies…thank you, Tori and I hope you have a great weekend!
These are wonderful Tori. I would definitely go for the butter version myself.
SO excited to have these recipes! My 4 yr old will be home from school for spring break, so we are going to try making BOTH types of dough, so we can decide which one will be our favorite 🙂 She LOVES to help me cook! Can’t wait to try them!
Hamantaschen are absolutely my favorite cookies but I’ve never been able to make them properly. There are two types of dough. One is softer and is most typically found in pre-packaged cookies. The ones from a bakery tend to be crunchier, firmer and more crumbly and that’s the one I like. Any idea if either of your recipes resembles the bakery style?
Hi Anita, the Buttery Hamantaschen is a bit more tender/soft than the Dairy Free, so you should use the Dairy Free recipe. One of the most important things in achieving your desired texture is the thickness of the dough. Roll it out to 1/8 inch or less (the thinner they are, the crunchier they become), and be sure to bake it till the edges and tips of the cookie brown. This will give you the texture you’re looking for. Let me know if any questions come up while you’re baking!
These look very cute – the shape and filling colours make this a fun sweet for sure 😀
Nice one!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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