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
I used to make Hamantaschens at my elementary school whenever Purim rolled around and I had totally forgotten the recipe! I can’t wait to try this! 🙂
Does your recipe freeze well?
Hi Dee, I have never frozen this particular recipe but it should freeze well, depending on the filling. Here is a post with general freezing guidelines that might help: http://theshiksa.com/2013/04/23/freezing-foods-guide/
I used to make these from an egg-free recipe when my daughter was allergic to eggs. Now that she can eat eggs I tried your recipe and it was way better! I LOVE the Nutella filling and your strategy for folding the circles. My old recipe just kind of said to pinch the sides into a triangle shape, but they’d sometimes open. Not one opened with your technique, thanks!
You’re welcome Marianne!
These were delicious! Since some commenters said the dough was crumbly, I poured a small amont of vodka in as I was making the dough. Since the alcohol cooks off, it doesn’t alter the texture or taste of the final product as water would, but the dough was super easy to work with.
I made the cookies…my dad, Mordecai, said they were the best he’s ever had! That really made my day, so thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Thank you so so much for replying!!! The dough did soften up. 🙂
Made these today and they are perfect! I did fig filled and apricot. Both were delicious! Thanks 🙂
Hi, me again, I wrote yesterday asking about the baking pans (ungreased vs lightly greased) went with lightly. I wanted to let you know, they were a hit at the Purim carnival yesterday & I had requests for the recipe. Rabbi Olitzky’s Cream Cheese was popular too. My son who has requested chocolate hamantashan in the past, I use hot fudge topping. I like Nutella but it’s a little pricey and some people have nut allergies. Thank you for a great recipe! I’m looking forward to trying others.
That’s great to hear Sara! Thanks for writing 🙂
Best hamantaschen we’ve ever made, and the dough was very easy to work with. We used your poppyseed filling recipe too, which was also great. Thank you so much.
Great! I’m so happy to hear that Melissa. I’m a big fan of the poppy seed filling, too. 🙂
Tori, left the door in the fridge over night, took it out in the morning and it is rock hard!!! Heeeelpppp!!!! 🙂
Vicky, you did nothing wrong! It is supposed to be hard because the fat (butter) has solidified. Just begin rolling it out, pounding and rolling patiently. It will take a few minutes to soften up at room temperature, but just keep at it– it will soften up soon.
I made this receipe, but when it was time to make the triangles it started to crack, I saw a previous comment who had the same issue and your response was you didn’t add enough water, but in the recipe it says add water if only needed… I didnt need the water cause my dough formed perfectly … So how would I have known to add the water? Please help 🙂
Hi Nelly, butter doughs naturally do crack a little; the dough isn’t as “flexible” as oil and shortening doughs. You can easily smooth any small cracks over once the cookie has formed by smoothing and repairing the cracks with your fingers. If the cracks were large and the dough was falling apart, that’s a different story, and means that there wasn’t enough water in the dough. Small cracks are easily addressed by repairing during shaping.
Love your recipe, your directions and the pictures. Since I am gluten-free I used my cookie dough as the base and followed your direction to make them. Wow, they were delicious – barely made it out of the oven before they were eaten by everyone! I had to hide the rest. Thanks!
Hey Liz, I have just recently gone gluten free and I try to stick with it as much as possible. I am making the regular gluten verson of this for the other people that live in my house. I would love to try this gluten free what kind of cookie dough did you use and how well did it work? DId you have to make any adjustments to the receipie?
Got the dough chillin in the fridge for tomorrow’s prep. Nutella and raspberry (separate) are the filling de jour. But I just read that this dough is “hard to handle” for us neophyte bakers. Gulp. Suggestions? Tips? Hand holding?!?
I made these tonight with my 2 1/2 yr old. I thought the dough was easy to make and work with, thank you! My husband suggested cherry pie filling and it worked really well. Do you do anything to the Nutella or just spoon it in plain? Yummy, too!
Spoon it in plain, super easy. Enjoy!
Just made this recipe! It’s so easy and makes A LOT of cookies. I tried to use jelly for the fillings and they completely spilled out and over. Now I know better for next time!
I just made this recipe today and felt I had to write a review immediately. These are by FAR the best hamantaschen I’ve ever had (homemade or store bought)! I normally find that the dough is flavourless and dry. These, however, were buttery and delicious. Admittedly, I made one substitution: neither I nor my fiance like orange in cookies so I used a tsp of almond extract instead. I also really appreciated your folding 101, it was the first time all my cookies held their shape. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe, I will be using it for years to come!
Ps, Rabbi Olitzky’s Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Filling is wonderful 🙂
So happy to hear that Anneke! Almond extract is a great sub, I love adding that flavor to both cookies and cakes. Thanks for reporting back! 🙂
Hi there, I’m a newlywed, and new to baking (just something I NEVER did until now). Anyways, this is my first try at hamantaschen, and I had a really hard time achieving thin dough and keeping it together at the same time. It would get more crumbly each time I would roll it [the scraps] out, even after adding a little water. So, I had to keep it thick and couldn’t achieve the desired thin-ness. Any tricks/suggestions? Very much appreciated 🙂 Blessings! -Lauren
Hi Lauren! If you are new to baking, I suggest starting with my non-dairy dough (link in the blog above). It is much easier to work with. Butter doughs are a bit of an art form, and can be tricky if you’ve never baked before. With something like hamantaschen, which is a bit advanced in terms of rolling and folding correctly, you’ll have much more luck with the non-dairy dough (it tastes very similar). If you want to try the butter dough again, try adding even more water (ice water works best) and make sure the dough is very chilled as you work with it. You may have “overhandled” the dough a bit– this often happens when you’re not used to working with butter dough, which can easily be ruined by over-kneading.
If you really want to master butter dough, my suggestion is to start with something like a butter pie crust, which will help you learn the basics. Try my tutorial here, it will help get you started: http://thehistorykitchen.com/2011/08/03/old-fashioned-all-butter-pie-crust/ Good luck! And don’t worry, like anything else it will take practice to get it right. 🙂
I was thinking of using browned butter in the buttery dough, which, obviously be melted. Any thoughts on how creaming the sugar with melted butter will impact texture?
Thanks!
Hi Gail– sounds lovely, but I haven’t tried it myself. I’m not sure it will work with this dough. The dough is intentionally chilled to keep the butter cold, so that it will begin melting when the cookie starts to bake. Melting the butter prior to baking may totally change the texture of the cookie. It’s worth a try, but I would test a small batch first to see how it goes before fully committing to a larger batch.
I soften the butter with about 10 seconds in microwave
Did you leave out leavening for the buttery Hamentashen? There is salt, but no baking soda. I think it was omitted in error. Please let me know.
Nope! There is no leavening in this dough recipe because leavening tends to make the cookies burst open during baking; they keep their shape better without the leavening. The salt is there for flavor.
The best dough I have EVER tasted!
Now that is high praise! 🙂 Thanks Karen! xo