It’s that time of year again… time to break out the bakeware and get into a “triangular” state of mind! The Jewish holiday of Purim is all about triangle-shaped foods– classic Jewish baked goodies like bourekas, sambusak, and of course hamantaschen cookies.
In the story of Purim, it is said that the villain Haman wore a triangular hat everywhere he went. Triangular foods like hamantaschen have three corners to represent Haman’s hat. My husband grew up in Israel calling these cookies oznei haman, which translates from Hebrew to “Haman’s ears.”Apparently, in some versions of the story, haman has triangular ears.
There is also a theory out there that Haman had triangular pockets, since the word hamantaschen literally translates from Yiddish as “Haman’s pockets” (I tend to think the translation has more to do with the fact that these cookies are filled, like little pockets of dough). A more poetic interpretation links the three corners of the triangle shape to the three founding fathers of Judaism—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Whatever the reason, it’s traditional to eat triangular foods like hamantaschen on Purim… so eat them we must!
I hit upon this Dairy Free Hamantaschen recipe after a few years of experimenting in the kitchen, searching for a foolproof hamantaschen dough. I’m a perfectionist, so my go-to dough needs to be absolutely perfect! I had a long list of criteria for the dough. I wanted it to have the following qualities:
– Easy to roll out
– Easy to shape
– Won’t expand/open around the filling when baked
– Does not include margarine or shortening
– Bakes up delicate with a nice texture (not heavy)
– Wonderful flavor that will compliment any kind of sweet filling
This dough satisfies all the criteria… it is truly a wonderful dough. It does not require refrigeration before rolling out. It’s also very easy to work with– the “feel” of the dough is terrific. It’s the best texture I’ve developed for rolling and shaping. Most importantly, it creates the tastiest hamantaschen ever. My family is in love with these cookies!
You can use any hamantaschen filling you like with this dough; I’ve linked to the filling recipes available on my site below (both dairy and non-dairy fillings). 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
Prefer a butter-based hamantaschen dough? Click here for my Buttery Hamantaschen recipe. To learn more about the holiday of Purim, click here.
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Dairy Free Hamantaschen
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-5 teaspoons water (if needed)
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Before you begin making the hamantaschen, choose and make your filling and have it on hand to work with. This dough will dry out quickly if left to rest too long, so it's best to have everything ready to assemble when you start.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, canola oil, orange zest and vanilla.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet, using a large wooden spoon and using circular motions until a crumbly dough begins to form.
- Knead until smooth and slightly tacky to the touch. 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 until it reaches the right texture.
- Lightly flour a smooth, clean surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. 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, if you need to.
- 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.
- 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.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. You can fit about 20 on one sheet... they don't need to be very spaced out because they shouldn't expand much during baking.Place them in the oven and let them bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, until the cookies are cooked through and lightly golden.
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store them in a tightly sealed plastic bag or Tupperware.
NOTES
Nutrition
Tori,
Tory,
I’ve made them last week for Purim and they came out great – no one guessed they were Parve.
The dough was easy to work with and the texture of the baked cookies was melt-in-your-mouth.
Filled them with homemade poppy filling, homemade date-pistachio filling and Nutella.
Thanks!
So happy to hear that Hannah! Great to know that my hamantaschen are being baked with love in Israel. xo
Hi there,
I’m planning to make these for a family weekend, but am not sure how well they keep. How many days would you say these stay delicious and fresh? I might need to make them a couple days ahead of when I need them.
Thanks!
Hi Felicia, they should keep for up to 5 days in a tightly sealed Tupperware container. Enjoy!
While looking at Hamantaschen recipes online, I saw some with shortcuts using ready-made refrigerated sugar cookie dough or pie crusts, which gave me the idea to make some using frozen puff pastry.
They were delicious. And easy-peasy. Not “authentic”… but then, neither are many of the filling options out there now, from savory to Hershey’s Kisses.
Obviously my batch was treif, as it didn’t come from a kosher kitchen. But for those who keep kosher, there two options for the frozen puff pastry:
Parve = use Pepperidge Farm®, as it is dairy-free.
Dairy = use Trader Joe’s® or Dufour®, both of which are made with real butter.
Both the almond and the poppyseed cake & pastry filling from Solo® are parve. Ditto the egg or Egg Beaters® used to seal the corners and the apricot jelly used as a glaze after baking.
Since you share my love of culinary history, maybe you can help me with a puzzle. Or two, really. When & where is the first mention of Hamantaschen? What foods would have been prepared by Reform Ashkenazi Jews in the US for Purim c.1860-90? MTIA.
I just made these yesterday and they came out FANTASTIC! I will definitely make them again exactly as you recommended. We went with the dairy-free dough recipe and I made the apricot and prune jams the night before. Thanks so much!!!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. This is the first time I’ve made HTn that were both easy and worth the effort/calories. I made your prune filling and it was surprisingly easy and delicious, too. I used coconut oil, since we don’t use canola, and I subbed 1/4 c almond meal for the flour – a trick I picked up at America’s Test Kitchen magazine for “don’t overmix” recipes. The first batch I was a little timid so I only ended up with 27 or so cookies, but the second yielded well over 30. I ran out of filling before dough, so I mixed up a little almond butter, sugar, and a lot of cocoa to match the consistency of your jam. Result – crispy deliciousness. Thank you from all our friends and neighbors 😉
About to try this dough, and attempt a pomegranate filling (from scratch) as well as a strawberry-rhubharb filling (from scratch) if I can find rhubarb in the store later!
These look super easy to make with the kids. We just got a stand mixer as a gift though and I promised we’d make them in the mixer. Will the paddle overdo it with the dough? I can always think of something else to make but this was our designated purim activity for tomorrow!Thanks
Hi Beth, I’d be careful with the mixer… you don’t want to overwork this dough. If you overmix it you could end up with “tough cookies.” I would say go ahead and use the mixer, but use the low setting with the paddle and only mix till the dough just comes together and becomes crumbly (like the picture shows), then switch to kneading. 😉
I just made these with Pamela’s Gluten Free Artisan Flour Blend and they turned out fantastic!!
Good to know Kaye! Thanks for reporting back. I’m sure my GF readers appreciate the information!
I just found your blog. It was mentioned on a machine embroidery site! Every year our Temple sisterhood makes hamantaschen which we then sell during the Purim carnival. (The money goes to the religious school.) Our most popular flavor is the raspberry mixed with chocolate chips.
AMAZING. I run a pseudo-bakery out of my home in Israel, and hamentashen are the one and only cookie that make me absolutely crazy. These were quick, easy, kept their shape, and I will definitely use this recipe over and over again.
Thank you!
Great Aliza! So happy it’s working out for you. 🙂
Hi! I too would love to know if this recipe will turn out well if we swap in a gluten free flour blend for the AP flour.
I’m celiac and have despaired of ever eating yummy hamentaschen again. I’ve thrown away too many batches too count. 🙂 This recipe sounds terrific and I would love your advice.
And would love to see classic jewish recipes made gluten free on your site. Thanks!
I used half regular whole wheat flour when I made them & they were fine. I like a crunchy cookie texture.
Hi! I was wondering if you think this recipe would work using white whole wheat flour? I love that this recipe is margarine-free, and low on sugar.
Thanks!
Hi Adeena! (Adina is my Hebrew name!) I’ve never tried it with whole wheat, but if you want to experiment with it, I think that using white whole wheat (as you’re asking) would definitely be your best bet. If you try it, please report back and let us know how it went!
I made these today and filled some with dried figs that were soaked in water overnight & drained and walnuts. I used mini chop to combine. Really good.
Fabulous Jackie!
That sounds good!My first time making Challah I made it plain. It was great. I will say freezing it was fine but needs to be eaten soon after as I left it frozen for a while and it wasn’t that good. I also did not use a mixer. Doung it vy hand was easy.
Hi
thanks for this recipe. Can the dough be freezed?
I have never frozen the dough before, but it probably can be. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work, as long as it’s only frozen and defrosted once. However, I can’t promise since I’ve never tried it myself.
These look really good. Can I omit the orange zest, not big on that? Also can it be made in a mixer or does it have to be done by hand? This is my second time making Hamentaschen and the last time was not very good so hoping this time I will succeed.
Hi Elana! No need to use orange zest if you’re not a fan. You can use a mixer, but you don’t really need to, the dough is quite soft and manageable. If you do use a mixer, use it till the dough just comes together… don’t overwork it. Enjoy!
My son is on a gluten free diet, do you know if these will come out if I substitute the flour for an all purpose , like king arthur’s gluten free flour?
Thank you
Hi,
Does the pastry work with egg replacement? My daughter has a severe egg allergy. Suggestions welcome.
Hi Tori. I am somewhat new to baking but I’ve cooked fr years and years. Baking about 6 months and EVERYTHING from scratch. I tried your challah recipe and it came out perfect taste and looked good but I couldnt the braiding to work. Everyone loved the taste. Tried the non dairy hamentashen .. FANTASTIC taste.. not too sweet either. Best part, even my extreemly finicky and fussy nine year old enjoyed them. Question thought: i brought the leftovers to my office fr my department to try (Im the only jew and none of them ever had them before) and they really crisped up … I personally prefee a bit of a softer dough. Any suggestions?
One need not be Jewish in order to know and love Hamantaschen (by whatever name). In most large cities many bakeries offer them throughout the year.
I suggest the British-US braiding method for your challah. Sooo much easier, makes a high braid every time.
Those look fun to make and delicious! I just made some whole wheat hamentashen, myself. The caramel apple filling sounds intriguing…