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
35 servings
15 minutes
45 minutes
Parve, depending on preparation
Description
Learn to make pareve hamantaschen dough, easy to work with for any filling. Delicate, thin, orange-scented cookies. Kosher, Pareve.
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
Recipe Notes
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
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 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.
Thanks for the recipe! Can I make this dough ahead of time and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight?
Yes, if it is tightly wrapped in a few layers of plastic wrap it should be fine. Just let it warm up a bit when you take it out so it’s not too hard when you roll it out.
Thank you so much! This is the best hamentashen recipe I have ever made! I am writing this down and saving it. Finally after years of failed recipes! Thank you!
Tori – love your blog! These didn’t work so well for me procedurally at first but the flavor of the dough is excellent. I added a little bit of flour as I rolled but once I tried cutting into circles they wouldn’t lift off even a generously floured surface. We ended up scooping into small balls with a cookie scoop, rolling in flour and flattening, then proceeded to fill. They’re not as pretty as yours but as my 6 year old says, they still taste great! Chag sameach!
Sounds like the dough itself was too wet and needed more flour incorporated before rolling. Glad you liked the flavor!
I made these cookies tonight. They turned out great for my first attempt (and are going quickly, which is always a good sign!). With practice and experience, I know they’d turn out better-looking. I did have some seeping, as I used jam straight out of the jar for one filling. Used a friend’s homemade apple butter for the others and in those the filling stayed in better. The dough was great and your instructions are clear. The photos are quite helpful! I did sub in a couple of spoonfuls of the liquid from a snack cup of mandarin oranges, since I didn’t have any orange juice or zest handy. 😀
Thanks!
Thank you for this beautiful demo. Your hamantaschen came out so nice.
Thank you for the recipe. Our hamantaschen came out so delicious.
Yours,
Chani, age seven
Hindy, age eight
And Savta
You’re welcome! So happy you enjoyed it!
I made these this past Shabbat and they are DELICIOUS! They were quickly eaten up and now I need to make more!
Quick question: do you think it is possible to make a filling from dried sweetened blueberries using only water, sugar and cinnamon (or some lemon if necessary)?
Thank you!
Great question, and unfortunately I can’t be sure of the answer without testing. I have never worked with dried blueberries before, only fresh or frozen, so I’m not really sure how to guide you hear. I will say that if you can get the filling to a nice and thick consistency, like my other fillings, it should work out just fine. Needs to be a bit thicker than jam to hold up.
I take a bible study class that is a Jewish perspective of the Bible, so we learn a lot about the Jewish heritage from the beginning and also the customs and the feasts. Tomorrow we are celebrating and discussing Purim and I made these cookies–they are fabulous and were quite easy to make. I followed the directions as written. I did have to add a small amt of water. For my fillings I used red plum jam for half and the other half, used Nutella. They were both quite tasty. I really think our class will enjoy these tomorrow. Thank you for this recipe
I’m excited to make these this year, as it’s my first time. I’m curious if NOT using the orange zest is okay or will it really effect consistency and such?
No problem, you can omit the orange zest! It’s just there for flavor.
They taste great!!!
The cookie was a little harder than I’d hoped… did I make them too thick maybe???
Hi Erica! Just responded to your email, but I’ll paste the reply here too in case anybody else has this issue. This sounds like a combination of rolling them out too thick and baking them a bit too long. They may still be salvageable, though. Try placing them in a sealed container or sealed plastic bag with a couple of slices of bread, or a few apple slices. Seal the container or bag, and leave if for 1-2 days. The moisture should help to soften the cookies (fingers crossed!). If you opt to make a new batch, roll them out thinner this time and take them out when they are just fully baked— don’t let them cook too long, which can dry them out. Good luck!
Does the dough come out hard, or soft/cakey after it is baked?
I wouldn’t describe it as hard, but I wouldn’t describe it as cakey either. It’s sort of in between, like a shortbread texture but thinner.
I make this recipe every year. It’s the best and most reliable recipe I’ve come across, except, of course, for my Viennese grandmother’s yeast dough recipe.😉
I find that I always have to add a half-cup of flour to get the dough to the right consistency, so now I just add that amount at the beginning (2.75 cups or 337 grams). Also, I find it MUCH easier to work with half the dough at a time.
Thank you, Tori, for sharing this wonderful recipe, and happy Purim!
Um…What should I do if I forgot the oil? I make this dough with my children every year, but this year, we somehow forgot to add the oil (which I didn’t realize until now because it’s the correct consistency)!
Unfortunately I would suggest starting over. The oil is critical.
I’ve had great success using this recipe substituting the eggs with 6 tablespoons of aquafaba. I also brushed the edges with AF before sealing and not a single one came apart!
Can these be frozen successfully?
Yes! They should freeze just fine.
Do you have any suggestions about how to make this recipe egg-free? My son is allergic to egg and any hamentashen recipe I’ve tried that is egg-free comes out with rock hard dough. Thanks!
Hi Ashley! I have had several readers make modification to this recipe throughout the years to make them egg-free. While I haven’t tested these ideas myself, my readers have reported good results on the following subs:
– Substituting 2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed with 5 tablespoons of cold water for the eggs
– Using my flax seed egg substitute: https://toriavey.com/how-to/how-to-make-a-vegan-egg-substitute/
– Using a commercial egg substitute in place of the eggs
You can read back through the comments for more specifics, but these are the three main subs that were recommended through the years. I am hoping to test them myself soon!
How far ahead can the cookies be made & still be served fresh? Have you ver used almond flour to make them gluten free?
I don’t recommend subbing almond flour here, they will not be foldable. You can make the cookies up to several weeks ahead and freeze them, then thaw the day before serving.
Tori, I’m a big fan of yours, have enjoyed the dairy free hamantaschen the past couple years. Our congregation is attempting to make 300+ pastries for Purim. My question: can the dough be made, well wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for a week or two ahead of baking day? Also would like to use 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat pastry flours.
Thanks!
Hi Joy! While I haven’t frozen this particular dough, I would think it should be fine… I can’t promise anything without trying it myself, but I also can’t think of why it wouldn’t work out. As for the 1/2 and 1/2 flours, I really wouldn’t advise making a change like that without testing it first, especially for such a large batch. Baking can be a tricky business, and changes that seem like they would work in theory sometimes don’t turn out. Better to make a test batch first and see how it goes!
This recipe was so delicious and easy to make. For the next time, could I prepare the dough ahead of time and refrigerate? And how long in advance could I do that for?
Hi Sarah, you can make it up to 24 hours ahead and wrap it tightly in plastic; just know it will be hard when you take it out and will need to warm up a bit in order to roll it out smoothly.
Has anyone made this dough a few days ahead and frozen it? Or will it hold up in the refrigerator for a few days before baking? I’m making them for my child’s pre-school class but won’t be able to make the dough the night before.
The longest I have made ahead is 24 hours. I would worry that longer than that might dry out the dough. Freezing the dough might be a better alternative for a longer lead time.