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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
MY OTHER RECIPES– 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 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 to 5 tsp water (if needed)
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
You will also need
- 2 baking sheets, 2 mixing bowls, sifter, wooden spoon, rolling pin, 3-inch cookie cutter or drinking glass with 3-inch diameter rim, pastry scraper
- 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 till 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 till 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, till 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.
Made these for Purim. I used the dairy free recipe so I wouldn’t have to worry about eating them after a meat dish. I used olive oil as the only two oils I use are olive and coconut. They were delicious. I loved the crunchy texture. I used apricot and lekvar and will try the rabbi’s recipe next time.
loved it, came out perfectly!
The best Homantaschen ever.
I made six different recipes this year, trying to find one that was not thick and doughy. My friend sent me this one, which was my final attempt. All of my hamentashen were piled high. The orange zest made a wonderful difference. I was surprised that noone stated that the original mixture was way too sticky to even try to work with. I had to add a lot of flour to get a workable consistency. I shared the recipe with 4 other people and they all said the same thing. I suggest that you add between 1/2 and a full cup of flour, so you have the correct consistency without it sticking to your hands before rolling. After adding the extra flour, it was delicious and definitely will be used next year.
These really came out wonderfully! I made the non-dairy with apricot filling. They all stayed closed thanks to your technique! I love the orange zest in the dough–really is a nice counterpoint to the sweet filling.
Oh Tori, this is the first time I have tried making hamantaschen and I am so glad to have given it a try! I am not good at working with dough and in this case, because it is so humid here, I only added a little of extra flour and the dough immediately came together. And that orange zest really makes it amazing. Fabulous recipe!!!
Terrific recipe and I loved your instructions and pictures. Great to make with kids.
Has anybody used coconut oil instead of canola oil? If so, how did it turn out?
I’m a novice. What type of flour should I use? Someone told me to use bread flour. I want to use King Arthur 100% whole grain whole wheat flour. Thank you!
All purpose flour will work just fine Norma.
Such a great recipe…thank you! I love how quickly you can make these. The taste is wonderful. I followed the directions exactly and they came out delicious.
These turned out fabulous! Easily the best hamantaschen I’ve ever had. The orange zest in the dough really puts them over the top. Thank you!!!
I just took mine out of the oven – and of course had to try and eat one without burning my tongue. They’re so delicious. And the recipe is foolproof. Thankyou Tori for all the photo instructions – that helped a lot. I had made my filling, and the dough, and had rolled it out and cut out all the circles, when I had visitors. I covered them over with a damp tea-towel and 90 minutes later came back and finished them off. They still turned out pretty good – just a few small cracks around the bottom. I used only a half recipe of the poppy seed filling but it was the perfect amount for the full recipe of dough. Shalom to you <3
fantastic recipe. i did these with my grands today and was a little apprehensive about how it would go… we even substituted spelt flour and coconut oil in the place of canola for one of the batches. it was excellent and so easy to handle the dough when following the portions suggested! thank you so much!
Wow, I made the parve version and it is delicious with nutella. I love it and the dough was the easiest to make hamantaschen dough ever. I do have a recipe the previous poster might like that is softer and great with prune filling – a very classic hamentaschen dough recipe, not sure how to get that to her. I also found these crunchier than I might like, but going to put a piece of bread in with them to see if it softens up a little. The flavor is delicious and I am going to make these again with chocolate chips and apple filling. Making hamentaschen has always been my worst food because the dough I have been using is delicious but hard to work with. This is a great replacement! Thank you!
Hi Sally– you can try taking them out of the oven 1-2 minutes earlier, too, for a softer result. The moment it is baked through you can take it out. The longer it bakes the crunchier it becomes.
Great recipe!
Tried it for the first time and it was foolproof!
Thank you so much!
Liat
Tori, this is a wonderful recipe! I made it while the dough was fresh, but I’m wondering if I can refrigerate the dough to use in a few hours (going to make them with my son’s class!).
Thanks!
Yes it shouldn’t be a problem Amy, it may take a bit of time to soften enough for rolling.
I made these yesterday with my husband to bring to a neighborhood dinner party as a dessert! I have made hamantaschen my entire life, but didn’t have a “go to” recipe. My husband had never participated in baking them before. The recipe was easy to follow and the results were very tasty. We particularly appreciated the tips on how to fold the triangles and the addition of the orange zest added a wonderful flavor! They were a HUGE hit among my neighbors who had never even heard of hamantaschen!
The end results produced a hamantaschen that had a hard cookie-like consistency and I, personally, prefer a softer pastry feel for hamantaschen. Would the recipe that uses butter provide a softer cookie consistency or do you have other recipes that would produce that outcome? Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Hi Vivian! Glad you enjoyed them. The butter dough has a slightly softer consistency, but it is very similar. You are likely looking for a yeast dough, which I don’t have on my site (mostly because they don’t seem to fold or keep their shape as nicely). You could also try Rabbi Olitsky’s dough, which is a bit softer due to the vegetable shortening: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2010/02/hamantaschen-and-the-story-of-purim/
Thanks for posting a dairy free, gluten free dough recipe. Can you advise? I made the dough, and followed the recipe to the letter and refrigerated it for two days. I baked them and dough is very dry. I had them in the 350 oven for 12 minutes. The dough is cooked through and has a good taste, but so dry.
I used a 2.5 inch cutter (I know, I know…) and maybe rolled it too thick.
So I’ll bake the rest of them with the 3 inch cutter, and roll thinner. Other than that, do you have any suggestions?
Thanks again for your recipes.
Hi Margie – this dough isn’t gluten free. I’m wondering if you used a gluten free baking mix as a substitute, and maybe that is why you had the texture issue? Also this dough isn’t supposed to be refrigerated. Doing so for a few hours probably won’t hurt, but I have never experimented with refrigerating it for any extended period of time.
Never attempted to make hamantaschen until I saw your recipe. Great recipe. I used lemon zest instead of orange zest. Loved the step by step photos. I was so grateful that you included the note about the dough being tacky versus sticky. That was so helpful in understanding the final texture of the dough. Didn’t realize the dough would need a lot more flour when rolling it out. Fortunately, I did not roll out the entire batch at once. I divided it in half hoping to learn from any mistakes with the first batch. As others have said this makes for a great cookie dough, as well. You are 100% correct, anymore than a teaspoon of filling will spill out in baking. Thanks. Hope to save a lot of money by making Hamantaschen rather than spending a small fortune buying them!
The dough was so easy to work with. I made apricot and raspberry. This will be my go-to recipe from now on.
Hi Tori,
I’m hoping to try this recipe for Purim this year. I was hoping to make some of the food ahead of time. Do you know if the cookie will do well baked, frozen, then later thawed?
Thanks!
Tried a couple of recipes- this is the winner! Making another batch tomorrow night!
I made these for Purim last year….and they were the best hamentaschen I’ve ever made! Loved the taste of the orange zest, it added the perfect compliment to the blackberry and apricot fillings I used. I did have to add a lot of extra flour (almost a full cup) but once the dough was the right consistency, it was really great! Delicious taste, and the cookies turned out stunning! Thanks Tori! We are definitely making these again this year — my kids are already asking about them. Last year I tripled the recipe, and this year we are making even more!
I have to use whole wheat flour because of an allergy…do I have to adjust the recipe in any way? Do I need to add additional liquid?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Harriet – I’ve never made this with whole wheat, so I’m not sure how the substitute will work. If you try it will you please let us know how it turns out?
I used whole wheat pastry flour and they turned out great.
Hurray for hamentashen! It was Tu B’Shvat today and my preschooler was already done with the tree thing, and asking to make hamentashen for Purim. Perfect quiet activity after a day out in the snow, and this was the perfect easy dough recipe. We used coconut as our oil, demerara as our sugar, and (based on kids’ creative contributions) chocolate chips and multicoloured sprinkles as our filling. The dough was neither too sticky nor too crumbly for the kids to handle, and they appreciated the step-by-step photos on how to fold. Thank you for the lovely recipe!
Awesome Rach! Glad to know coconut oil works as an oil sub here. 🙂
Is there any way to thicken up a preserve in order to use for this recipe?
Hi Mushka, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. You might try to cook the preserves on the stovetop so that they can reduce and thicken further, though we have not tried this method and cannon guarantee results.
Whenever I need to thicken fruit preserves I always cook them on the stovetop with a bit of potato starch mixed in, the starch thickens as it cooks and makes a nice jelly
Hi Tori. I tried to bake the cookies today with some difficulty. It is my first time baking these cookies and there was definitely a learning curve for me. .The dough was too wet and sticky and I was afraid of adding too much flour. So rolling was a challenge with the dough sticking inspite of flouring the rolling pin and the work surface heavily. I cannot even dream of trying the butter cookies as I found these challenging enough. Any suggestions? I used the Bonnie Maman apricot preserve which oozed out of every single cookie. The Nutella filling did not ooze out.
Using preserves will not work as a filling for this type of cookie, that is why I provided filling suggestions– the filling needs to be thicker, otherwise you will have oozing. Nutella is thick enough on its own, but for fruit filling you should use my apricot filling recipe. As for the sticking, if you read through the directions carefully it says: “If the dough seems too wet, knead in a little flour till it reaches the right texture.” Don’t be afraid to add a little extra flour to get the consistency required for easy rolling. It can take a bit of practice, but once you get a feel for the dough you’ll be good– don’t be afraid to give it another try. Good luck!
Might not be the typical occasion, but I’m making up some of these for my grandpa’s birthday this weekend; I’ve never made them before as they’re not one of my traditions, but I’m excited for it anyway! Going with traditional poppy seed as well as caramel apple and raspberry; hoping to experiment with a coconut filling too if I can get the consistency appropriate. Thanks for the recipe, I’m sure they’ll turn out awesome.
Thank you so much, Tori, for sharing your wonderful Hamantaschen recipe. I am not Jewish. I am Christian but the youth choirs at our church were performing a production on the story of Esther so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make Hamantaschen for the first time and serve at the reception after the play. I have always enjoyed Hamantaschen cookies, but the store bought ones are often so dry and mealy. Unfortunately, time constraints did not allow me to make any of your fillings ( I bought some high quality plum and apricot fruit spreads), but I did make your dairy free recipe. The instructions were perfect and the cookies were an enormous hit. I also created a note on the cookie tray to share a bit about the history and culture behind the cookie to inform those that weren’t familiar. I will definitely make these again! All the best to you.
Hi Tori,
We made this and buttery hamantaschen last week for Purim. We loved them!
I made dairy-free version with kids together. It is a bit easier dough to handle, so it was
easier to make it with kids. Cookies came out perfect and held up well together. We used apricot feeling (from your recipe), puppy seeds feeling (from your recipe), kids came out with banana feeling and also nutella. All turned out to be great and was eaten fast.
I finally got the courage to make them this year and followed your recipe to the letter. They turned out great! I loved the step by step about proper folding, that really helped and they all stayed closed! Thanks for the easy and delicious recipe (and the detailed instructions with great pics)!
The dairy free dough is much easier to work with!! I tried them both….Butter probably makes it taste richer but not sure it’s worth the hassle! Thanks and chag sameach!
Do you think I used enough exclamation points? Must remember to proofread.
I agree Melinda– not a huge difference in taste between the two, and the dairy free dough is so easy. Glad you enjoyed!
These were great but I had a hard time keeping them from sticking to everything, despite flouring the surface and adding more flour continuously. I had to start over rolling and cutting circles a couple times because I couldn’t get them into the pan! any suggestions?
Hi Robin, most people find this dough very easy to work with. Rolled doughs can be tricky though– anything from humidity to house temperature can affect their “stick” factor. Next time, try chilling the dough for 2 hours to overnight. Other folks have found that rolling out the dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper makes it less sticky. At any rate, I’m sorry you had this issue… glad the finished product turned out well!
Can I use Olive Oil as a sub for Canola Oil? I am thinking that the olive oil might have a pleasing taste.
What do you think?
I’ve never tried it James. It might be good, but it might also taste odd. If you try it please let me know what you think.
I used olive oil as I only use olive and coconut oils. It turned out fabulous. Thank yo Tori.
Thank you so much for your step-by-step directions. They gave me the confidence to try to make vegan hamentashen for my grandchildren. I’m retired and a Bubbe and my name is Esther, so no more excuses for not making hamentashen.
I am a horrible baker and these still come out fabulous. I always get complements. This year, my partner (from Norway) requested lingonberry. It’s flavor is similar to cranberry. I substituted lemon zest for the orange and added a bunch of cardamom. Cardamom in the dough works well for the Nutella as well.
I made these with a gluten free flour blend (homemade version of Better Batter), and they turned out beautifully!!! Not a single one exploded, and the dough was so easy to work with (which is uncommon in gluten free rolled doughs). Since being diagnosed with celiac disease 10 years ago, I’ve had minimal success with hamantaschen. Your recipe is a keeper!!! Thank you!!!!
Very happy to hear that Esther! Other GF readers will be pleased to know that this modification worked for you, thank you for sharing.
Hi! I’m a novice baker and gave this a shot last night. Sadly the cookies came out very crunchy, like the texture of a butter cookie (I used the non-dairy recipe, just to be clear). Remember those assorted cookies in the round blue tin? That’s what they’re like. They’re tasty, but definitely not the right melt-in-your-mouth consistency and I’m not sure where I went wrong. Any ideas? A few things I did, in case this messed me up: I halved the recipe since I did this as a “trial run,” and perhaps my dough wasn’t “tacky” enough (I was hesitant to add too much water, so the dough was more on the smooth side). Thanks in advance!
Illy, I’m not sure what you’re used to (families have a lot of different recipes for this cookie), but these cookies are supposed to have a similar texture to that of a butter cookie… so that result, in this case, is desirable. If you’re looking for a more melt-in-your-mouth texture, you’d be better off trying a different recipe– though I will say I’ve never had a hamantaschen with a melt-in-your-mouth texture before. At any rate, I’m sorry it wasn’t up to your expectations!
Thanks for your reply! Perhaps I’m misremembering it from my childhood. In any event, people seemed to enjoy them, so maybe I got it right in the end. 🙂
Dough was sticky. I had to add a LOT of flour. I also doubled the recipe. It took a lot of time to incorporate the extra flour. Any suggestions?
Hi Monica, I don’t recommend doubling baked recipes generally speaking, they don’t always turn out exactly as you’d hope. Better to make two separate batches of dough. Also were you using American measuring cups? I’ve been meaning to add metric measurements/weights to my baked recipes, which should help for a more uniform outcome, but I haven’t had a chance to yet.
Amazing!!! Thank you so much for such a yummy and simple recipe. Best ones yet.
Thanks also for the picture tutorial on folding.
I just finished baking a batch using bob’s Red Mill’s 1-1 gluten free baking flour. They turned out pretty good. The dough is very soft, but folds well. I rolled the dough out between plastic wrap to a 1/4″. I would make this a scant 1/4. However, when I tried to roll them out thinner, the dough tended to break. I did not get 30 cookies, per batch. I baked them for 20 min. But next them, I will try 18 minutes, because I don’t like a dry cookie.
Hi Tori. These sound delicious! Question: Would you recommend omitting the orange zest if using a chocolate-based filling? Thank you!
Rachel, yes I would– however, some people love the combination of orange and chocolate. For me, it’s a personal preference not to mix the two flavors. So it’s a personal thing, really!
I tried omitting the orange zest. Sadly, my hamantaschen turned out quite dry and flavourless. I’m not sure why. I baked them for 22 min. Perhaps I let the dough circles sit too long before filling them… though I did cover them with a damp cloth as you suggested. (I made them with my 3-year-olds and had to take a break to give them a snack.)
Hi Tori,
I am about to make these on the weekend but want to make sure I use the correct measurements – can you tell me how much is a cup in grams? Thanks a lot!
Hi Suzie, I’m not sure but if you do an online search for “recipe conversion metric” it should bring up some calculators for you.
Hi, Suzie 🙂 This is really late (or early, depends on your outlook!), but here’s a site that I find helpful. My daughter lives in Canada and I in WA, so we frequently need to reconfigure recipes we share.
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/convert/measurements.html
(It might open to a page with several link possibilities; just click on the uppermost one, that has those exact words.)
Can I make this recipe ahead of time and refrigerate. I need to prepare dough for an event later.
Did you try this? Did it work?
Tori, yet again you bring this shiksa credibility with my partner’s semi orthodox family! I made these for my grandfather in law’s 100th birthday, which this year falls 2 days before Purim, and they were a hit. Thanks for the clear instructions and pics.
Just made these with my son and his friends. What a great recipe. So easy to roll out and a wonderful , crisp texture.
I mixed it in my kitchen aid mixer and had no problems.
This recipe is a winner! It is easy to make and bakes up so easily. It’s even delicious without filling! I made two batches of these, one with prune and one with guava paste (I live in South Florida). I’m in heaven. 🙂
This came out wonderful!
This is the first time I’ve made hamentaschen that the dough didn’t open for any of the hamentashen and the filling didn’t ooze out!
I used 4 Tbsp of coconut oil instead of oil, used 1/2 tsp of lemon juice instead of orange zest. I mixed it all by hand, didn’t refrigerate (because I was pressed for time) and it is now my favorite recipe!
Thanks so much!
Did you have to do anything different when using the coconut oil? How were they?
Hi Tori, can we make the cookies, freeze them raw, and cook them a week later? If I do that, should I let them thaw before baking or just throw them in the oven frozen? Thanks!!
Hi Naomi, while I haven’t tried this myself I have heard of others trying it with other recipes with good results. So while I can’t personally vouch for the technique, it’s probably worth a try. Good luck!
Did it work?
Living in the UK a long way from a Jewish bakers, I get asked to make hamantaschen for our small community. I usually make them using a yeast dough like the baker we had here some 50 years ago. His used to be soft pillows of sweet bread dough with either a cheese or poppy seed filling. Mine seem to lose most of what I put in, in spite of using the standard UK Jewish cook book (Evelyn Rose). But today I made poppy seed hamantaschen using your parev cookie dough. They have turned out just as good as any I can buy in London. But just if anyone else from the UK is trying to make them – our flour here is not the same as flour in the US (and/or our eggs are bigger). I think wheat in the US is harvested at a lower water content than here in the UK and the flour is drier. I did not need any water – and indeed needed some extra flour. But apart from that – brilliant Tori – and thank you, the filling has stayed within a crisp biscuit base.
This was a wonderful, easy and fun recipe! I usually bake with lots of butter 🙂 but read Tori’s notes about the need to chill the butter-based dough and went with the dairy-free instead. (I had promised my seven year old yesterday morning that we would make them yesterday evening without knowing what was involved!) We didn’t have time to make fillings so we used thicker-style store bought jams. They bubbled over a bit but the hamantashen held their lovely shape and were delicious. Perhaps because of the use of jam instead of a thicker filling, I would suggest baking them for 15 – 20 instead of 20 – 25. We left the first batch in longer and they weren’t quite as tasty as the batch we took out at around 17 minutes as they were just turning brown. In any case, great recipe that will sure to become a family favorite! Thanks!
You’re welcome Sarah! 🙂
You are my new hero! This was an excellent recipe and my family loved them. I made your apricot butter and plum butter, both turned out beautifully.
I wanted to use the butter recipe, but heeded your advice to start here since it was my first attempt.
Mine were a bit homlier than yours, but perhaps with practice, I can make it seem effortless as you do.
Thank you!
You’re welcome Evelyn! 🙂
I just made these with the prune filling, they came out perfect! I’m new to your website but will be back soon! Thank you so much.
You’re welcome Tara! 🙂
I have never made hamantaschen before and this recipe came out perfectly! I used Nutella for the filling. All of the cookies cooked perfectly and none broke open. Thanks for the step-by-step directions!
Hello,
If I’d like to cut the recipe in half, do I just do it by halving all the ingredients, even the baking powder, vanilla, and salt? I was unsure if it’s really that simple with a dough recipe like this. Can’t wait to try it! My first time making hamantaschen without the rest of the family!
Thanks.
Hi Julia, I’ve never tried halving the recipe… baking is so tricky, I suggest making the full amount if possible and just freezing the leftovers.
This recipe was fantastic and incredibly easy! I used Earth Balance in place of canola oil and used some melted chocolate for filling.Great recipe that we will definitely be using from now on!
I thought these were pretty mediocre… The dough wasn’t very flavorful, and it was challenging to work with. I haven’t tried the butter version yet, but I imagine it would be better – so if you don’t actually need parve, I would go for the butter recipe. That being said, I used this recipe for a hamentaschen party and it was convenient not to have to chill the dough first. So three stars for ease of use.
Hi Tori!
If I don’t have canola oil.what oil can I use to replace? I have vegetable and cottonseed oil…. do either of those work?
Thanks!
Vegetable oil will work just fine Remy.
Do you need to refrigerate the dough?
Please read the recipe instructions.
Awesome! These are so good! We made an apple filling. Delicious with a glass of milk. (If you can)
For those of us who ditched our canola oil, do you have a replacement suggestion?
I also made these gluten free by subbing in Better Batter for the flour – and the dough was super easy to work with and they came out great. thank you!
Great Merle! Thanks for sharing your gluten free modification.
Made these with my daughter this evening. Used Nutella filling. Turned out great. I liked the hint of orange from the zest. Thank you for posting this recipe. Reminded me of the oznei haman (that’s what they’re called in Hebrew) we ate when I grew up in Israel.
Hi Tori, we tried both dough recipes last year and they were delicious! Two questions: How far in advance can I make and refrigerate the dough (is 3-4 days OK?) and do you have a cherry filling recipe? I can’t stand the artificial color in the canned ones, and they always are too liquidy. My family insists on cherry. Help.
Hi Deborah, the furthest ahead I’ve made the dough is 2 days. I’m not sure I would wait longer than that– it might be fine, but I only like to recommend modifications that I’ve tried myself. Unfortunately I don’t have a cherry filling up on the site yet, I will try to squeeze one in before Purim if time permits!
I make my own cherry filling using dried tart Cherries(fromcostco) Use the same method as apricot filling
I made the parve recipie last year. I have been making Hamantaschen for over 25 years using different recipies. My family always says Mom they taste great but don’t look so good. Last year I tried your recipie and not only were they delicious but they were so easy to shape. They kept their shape while baking and were perfectly beautiful when I took them out of the oven. Thank you for the recipie. I can’t wait to make them for Purim again.
Thanks for the vegan options! I don’t see a reply from myself here so assume I hadn’t responded yet. I was going through old emails and saw that there were more comments here, and wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your being so responsive to those of us who want to eat cruelty-free!
I’m vegan and this is the first time I made hamantaschens. They turned out amazing!
I tried this recipe, and instead of the two eggs I used 2 tablespoons of cornstarch + 5 tablespoons water. They were crispy straight out of the oven but softened when sealed in a conatiner. I liked them both ways!
The recipe worked perfect for me, I didn’t have to add any extra water or flour, the dough was easy to handle and folding the hamantaschens was actually fun. Mine yielded about 26, I think the glass I used to cut the circles was a bit larger than 3 in.
So glad the vegan modification worked for you Marja! I’ll keep that in mind for next year. 🙂
Thanks for the recipes and advice! I made two batches of this last weekend. The first had 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar (because that was all the white I had) and in the second I omitted sugar entirely. I found that the first batch was more moist/less prone to drying out than the second batch. I thought the brown sugar may have helped the recipe, so thought I’d share. What do you think?
Hi Nina– interesting! Did you notice a difference in texture? Brown sugar sometimes changes the texture of baked goods and makes them more chewy. I’ve never omitted the sugar entirely from the cookie, so it may have made the second batch drier. Of course, you can always store this cookie with a piece of bread or a small slice of apple in a sealed Tupperware container to keep it softer and more moist.
Love your blog. Making your hamantaschen now. Hoping they do not unfold! Apricot lekvar is cooling. The ladies at my church are studying the book of Esther and I plan to make the hamantaschen to take this week. We will have a little belated Purim celebration of our own. Your fillings are like those of my Hungarian ancestry for kifli cookies. so glad I found you when I searched for Hamantaschen recipes!
I made hamantaschen yesterday and this morning. taken from 2 different recipes. very dry. tried different ways. still very dry. could you tell me what I am doing wrong. liked the cream cheese filling.
Hi Beth– I’m not sure what you’re doing wrong, because I don’t know what recipes you used. When you say taken from two different recipes, did you combine two recipes? Were they from my site? If they weren’t my recipes it will be difficult to troubleshoot.
I made these today and this is exactly the recipe I’ve been looking for (I like hamantaschen that are hard as opposed to crumbly). I made the apricot filling too. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome Susanna! Let’s use the term “crisp” instead of “hard,” just so people don’t get the wrong idea… though I’d say the texture is actually somewhere between soft and crisp.
Your folding technique saved me this Purim! Thank You!
Yay!
Hi Tori, lovely recipe! Thank you! I tried a different recipe yesterday from a Dutch website. But they weren’t nice! Thiese ones are divine! This weekend I only learned of Hamentaschen and Purim. Happy Purim!
Happy Purim Rosmarjin! So happy you liked them 🙂
I finally made hamentaschen that didn’t fall apart! Great recipe. Made the apricot and prune fillings, and they are so tasty. Just found your website while looking for a hamentaschen recipe for Purim – chag sameach! Loving it!
Welcome Vera! I hope it’s the first of many recipes you’ll try… 🙂
Reporting in from my experiment with a somewhat more healthful version, using whole wheat flour and honey instead of white flour and sugar:
I substituted 1/2 c. honey for the sugar (on the assumption that honey is more intensely sweet than sugar on a spoon-for-spoon basis), and increased the flour to 2 1/2 c. whole wheat (because the dough was too sticky given the fact that honey is liquid and sugar is not). The results were stupendous!!! I should have rolled the dough out thinner than I did, but the Oznei Haman still came out super flavorful. My filling consisted of dietetic blueberry jam, some crushed walnuts and almonds slivers, and a goodly dusting of cinnamon (my working axiom is that *everything* tastes better with cinnamon). I rolled out the dough and cut the circles and my 6-year-old granddaughter filled and folded the Hammentaschen according to your directions. We had ourselves a truly freilicheh Purim. Thank you so so much!!!