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 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-5 tsp water (if needed)
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
Notes
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.
Isaac says
easy to make and always great to share them as a gift. I used persimmon preserves from our tree the first time and spiced fig preserves made from our figs with Tori’s recipe this time. both were excellent. the dough recipe that uses butter is really good, but the texture of the dairy free cookies is a little softer, which I prefer.
Diane says
These were amazing. Even a week later they were soft and delicious. I had to reduce the temperature in my oven though because the original batch at 350 burnt the edges. Thanks!
Mimi says
I made the prune filling. So delicious. I’m not much of a baker, and this was the first time I made dough. They taste great, but they don’t look quite like the pictures. But that’s ok. I’ll try again next year. That prune filling – yum!
Tonya says
Easy, yummy recipe -and thanks for the tutorial on shaping them!
How I made it GF:
Bob’s Paleo Baking Flour 3-1/4 c
Xanthan Gum 1 t.
I like Bob’s Paleo Flour -which is basically almond flour – b/c there’s no grittiness in the cookies.
I needed the extra cup of flour b/c the dough was too wet without it.
Baked for 16 minutes and they were done. Cookies were soft inside and crisp outside.
I also used an egg wash and baked them on parchment paper.
Tonya says
Easy, yummy recipe -and thanks for the tutorial on shaping them!
How I made it GF:
Bob’s Paleo Baking Flour 3-1/4 c
Xanthan Gum 1 t.
I like Bob’s Paleo Flour -which is basically almond flour – b/c there’s no grittiness in the cookies.
I needed the extra cup of flour b/c the dough was too wet without it.
Baked for 16 minutes and they were done. Cookies were soft inside and crisp outside.
I also used an egg wash and baked them on parchment paper.
Cynthia says
Was happy to find this recipe since it did not require chilling the dough. Also, I modified it using a gluten free all purpose flour. The texture was a bit challenging, but the flavor is absolutely amazing! That orange zest along with the honey flavor really pops! I did find though, that the baking time was less than the recipe called for. Thank you for posting this recipe, and Happy Purim!
Jamie Friedman says
Recipe worked perfectly as written! Delicious and easy. Thank you Tori for fabulous recipes that never let me down.
Snowmegh says
I love this recipe, I am a shiksa who grew up in a primarily Jewish town and my first job was in a Jewish bakery.
I am requesting you suggest a brand other than Nutella, which is owned by Ferrero which uses palm oil produced using child labor encouraging a system of slavery and child marriage and worse. Whole Foods makes their own brand which is really good and a bit thicker than regular Nutella. Rigoni di Asiago makes a great chocolate hazelnut spread too that is similar in consistency. I realize not everyone may have access to a Whole Foods or gourmet market but palm-oil free products can also be ordered.
Thanks for the great recipes and beautiful website!
Tori Avey says
Thank you for sharing this information, Snowmegh. The brand can easily be swapped out.