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.
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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
I made these over the last weekend, very very good. A couple comments. I didn’t roll the dough out thin enough so I didn’t get as many as I would have liked. Also, I used almond extract, real nice flavor. Finally, before baking I brushed with an egg wash then sprinkled a pinch of turbinado sugar. The cookies browned up really nice and had an added little crunch with the sugar. That’s a step I’ve added to my rugelach recipe too.
This is the best cookie recipe I have ever made! I have made them many times over the past 3 years and they consistently come out beautiful and so so good. I make them with homemade loquat jam and they are beyond delicious! I do have one question- how long can I keep the raw dough refrigerated before rolling out? Is it ok to keep it refrigerated for 2-3 days before baking? Thanks!!
Hi Larissa! I would say 2 days max for refrigerating the dough, wrapped very well — longer than that and it may start to become dry.
This recipe worked extremely well. The dough was easy to handle and it was delicious.
Loved so much! The recipe was so clear❤️
I have not tried it yet with one to one gluten free flour. Think it will work? I have use flour on this recipe and have loved this recipe for the last handful of years. The dough is so delicious. Love the additional citrus too! I could eat the dough just as is even minus the filling.
Let me know about the gluten free flour.
Thanks!
Hi Tori!! I’ve been following you for years and always love your recipes!! This past week I made these buttery Hamentaschen along with two of your fillings, the apricot & prune…actually, this all came out INSANELY DELICIOUS!!! We couldn’t stop eating them…the fillings were easy peasy…the dough a slight challenge but it came out amazing…thanks for sharing these amazing recipes!! L’chaim!!
Glad to hear it, Jack!
I’m gluten intolerant and will try 1 for 1 flour and/or other suggested flour blends if 1/for ! doesn’t work well. Will let you know. What I like is using different fillings for cookies are not same and I will have a choice of a variety.
I love these! Can they be made with gluten free flour instead of all purpose ? Has anyone done that?
Very dry compared with other hamantaschen recipes I’ve made before.
Hi Sally, I’m sorry you didn’t have a better experience. This tells me they were either overcooked, or you didn’t add enough water to the dough. Many readers have had a positive experience with it, I do with I knew where it went wrong for you!
Love this recipe so much it is super easy and tastes amazing! The dough is really hard after chilling though so id recommend taking it out and letting it sit a bit before rolling it.
I only did 2 hours in the fridge a they turned out great! They were almost like a shortbread cookie. I will definitely make this again.
Oh, my! My stature in the family catapulted to top baker with your buttery hamentaschen recipe! Thank you so much! What a winner!
What would happen if I were to only put it in the fridge for 2 hours instead of 3?
Should be ok, just maybe more sticky and difficult to roll out.
refrigerating after assembling helps keep shape when bakin
I made these for a friend for the Jewish holiday…she said folks often just put jam in the cookies. So, that is what I used. I found that the jam boiled before the cookies were done…and I only put 1/2 teaspoon in each (or perhaps just slightly more). Perhpas if I had tried to make some of the fillings you have listed they would not have boiled out? Other than that, for a first timer, the cookies turned out well and are quite tasty. I’m sure Sally will be quite happy with these….thank you.
Hi Phil! I find jams to be too runny for filling. I suggest trying one of the filling recipes linked above for best results. Glad they turned out well for you, regardless!
I can’t wait to make these! Thank you for sharing.
A member of my family has an egg allergy. What would you recommend substituting for the egg in this recipe? Would more butter to reach the right consistency work? Should I add more leavening do you think? Thank you!!!
Hi Christine! I haven’t tried subbing egg in this particular recipe, but you might find the following post useful:
https://toriavey.com/how-to-make-a-vegan-egg-substitute/
Your hamintashan recipe did not call for baking power or soda. Just wondering why. Thanks, Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, I tested my hamantaschen recipes extensively, both with leavening and without. For the buttery version the texture was the same for both doughs, and the one with leavening tended to pop open more often, and wouldn’t keep its nice triangular shape. Since there was no real difference in terms of texture, I opted to omit the leavening entirely. The dairy free version does contain baking powder for texture.
This was just the recipe I had been searching for except that it did not have cream cheese in the dough. I swapped out 1/4 cup of butter and replaced it with 1/4 cup of cream cheese. I also added more orange zest as well. The dough was amazing and the apricot filling was fabulous. I used maple syrup as the sweetener instead of sugar for the filling. Your directions for folding the hamantaschen really helped to hold them together. I am going to make them with a friend who wants to take some to her father in a nursing home. These reminded me of the hamantaschen I made with my mother. Thanks for your always amazing recipes.
So happy these brought back memories of your mother, Aileen!
Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe to the letter. Chilled more than 3 hours. Added extra flour. The dough was limp, mushy, too soft. I barely formed them anyway and they were delicious but totally misshapen. My family and I had a good laugh! But help – what did I do wrong?
This means the flour to butter ratio likely wasn’t correct. You should have continued adding flour until you achieved a more shape-able consistency. Butter dough is tricky, it takes a few tries to get a feel for it sometimes! If you want to try an easier recipe with a very similar flavor, I recommend my Dairy Free Hamantaschen recipe.