Hamantaschen Cookies Step-By-Step

Are you familiar with the Jewish holiday of Purim?

It celebrates the story of the book of Esther, a story of love, betrayal, and heroism. Purim is celebrated by dressing up in costumes while hearing the story being read aloud. And the villain is such a bad guy, children spin groggers (noisemakers) to drown out his name every time it's read!

There's also giving to charity, general frivolity, and even a bit of adult imbibing. It's a holiday meant for the whole family to enjoy.

And then there are the traditional Jewish cookies called Hamantaschen (aka Hamantashen cookies or Oznei Haman in Hebrew). They're called that because they mock the villain’s hat, or ear, or pocket, depending on the translation you read.

You'll find these jewish triangle cookies in bakeries year-round regardless of faith or geography, and for good reason...they’re delicious!

What is a hamantaschen cookie?

Hamantaschen are triangular-shaped butter cookies traditionally filled with jam (raspberry and apricot are popular), or a spread made of prunes or poppy seeds. But fillings aren't limited to those - you'll find hamantaschen made with chocolate chips, chocolate spread, Nutella (a chocolate-hazelnut spread), or any number of imaginative fillings and filling combinations.

There are many different recipes for hamantaschen, but the most common starts with a butter-rich sugar cookie dough. Some recipes include cream cheese, either instead of or in addition to, butter. Baker's choice.

This hamantaschen recipe yields buttery cookies with a chewy texture, and a subtle orange scent and flavor. This delicious cookie dough can be used for other sugar cookie dough-based, like Cinnamon Roll cookies.

What you need

The ingredients for a hamantaschen cookies recipe are straightforward: flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, egg, and salt. Use a good quality butter as that's the dominant flavor.

These hamantaschen also have orange zest to add a little bit of interest and freshness to the cookie (a microplane grater works well here. I also use the same microplane grater for my Lemon Curd and Orange Glazed Cranberry Bread recipes).

For the hamantaschen filling, you can use your favorite flavor of jam or jelly, a canned filling (like prune or poppy seed), chocolate chips or chopped chocolate for a few suggestions.

How to make hamantaschen cookies

Step 1: Make the sugar cookie dough

Combine the butter and sugar and cream them together until the mixture is light and fluffy (photo 1). Using room temperature butter is helpful here as it will cream faster and easier.

Use your hands to knead the dough into a smooth ball, trying not to overwork it. The dough should be smooth and slightly tacky, but not sticky.

If the dough is too dry, add water slowly in 1 teaspoon increments and knead it into the dough. If the dough seems too wet, knead in 1 teaspoon of flour, again kneading gently until the dough reaches the right texture.

Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or up to overnight (photo 4).

Step 2: Cut the dough circles

Line a half sheet baking pan with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper, and have your fillings ready to go.

Roll the dough out to ¼-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. It might be stiff at first and you may need to pound it with the rolling pin to soften it enough to roll out. If large cracks form around the dough edges, just repair them with your fingers as you roll. Use a bench scraper under the dough occasionally to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface, and also lightly flour the rolling pin and surface occasionally to prevent sticking.

When the dough reaches ¼-inch thickness, you can either continue rolling out to be closer to about ⅛-inch thick (very thin) or leave it closer to ¼-inch thick. The thinner you roll the dough, the more delicate and crisp the cookies will turn out, but too thin and the dough will tear as you shape them into triangles. Keeping the dough closer to ¼-inch thick will yield a doughy, less delicate texture, but can crack as you shape them.

Bottom line, make sure that the dough is thick enough to hold the filling without tearing or cracking during shaping.

If the dough has become too soft to cut, transfer it to the half sheet baking pan and chill it for 5 minutes to firm up. Cut out as many circles from the dough as you can using a 3-inch round cookie cutter or the 3-inch rim of a glass (you can go larger, but no smaller) (photo 5). Gather the scraps, roll out the dough and cut more circles. Cover the circles with a lightly damp towel while they wait to be filled.

Step 3: Fill the hamantaschen

Place one teaspoon of your chosen filling into the center of each circle (photo 6). Too much filling will cause the hamantaschen to open and the filling to spill out while baking, so don't overdo it.

Step 4: Shape the hamantaschen

Shaping the cookies into triangles requires a little finesse. Done properly, each side of your triangle should have a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under, creating a pinwheel look. The pinwheel shape helps to keep the cookies from opening while they bake. It's also pretty!

How to fold hamantaschen cookies

The first fold: Fold the bottom of the circle upwards towards the center, making a flap covering the lower third of the circle (photo 7).

The third fold: Take the right side of the circle and fold it towards the center to create a third flap, completing the triangle. Tuck the bottom of this flap under the bottom right corner of the triangle while letting the top of the flap overlap the top corner of the triangle (photo 9).

Press to seal the corners of the triangle gently but firmly to secure the shape. If any cracks have formed at the places where the dough is creased, use slightly wet fingers to smooth them out.

Step 5: Bake the hamantaschen

When all of your hamantaschen have been filled and shaped, place them evenly spaced out on the half sheet baking pan and chill them for about 5 to 10 minutes before baking. Like with all butter cookies, this will help the hamantaschen keep their shape while baking.

Bake the cookies at 350˚F for 15 to 20 minutes, checking after 10 minutes - the dough thickness will affect how long the cookies take to bake. They should be lightly golden brown when fully baked (it may take as long as 25 minutes), so keep checking to prevent over-cooking.

Cool the hamantaschen on a wire rack before serving - the filling will be very hot at first! Enjoy, making as much noise as possible!

Pro Tip: Keep the cookie dough well chilled

Because these cookies are made from a butter-rich sugar cookie dough, the dough will get difficult to roll out and cut if it's too warm. Therefore, keep the dough chilled throughout the whole process, from making the dough to baking the cookies.

Specifically, chill the dough after you've made it, after you've rolled it out (before cutting the circles), and after you've filled and shaped the cookies before baking. Especially right before baking, I mean - if you don't chill the cookies first, they will spread out and leak your filling all over. It's not a good look (but still tasty!).

Yup, you'll never be too far away from your refrigerator when you make hamantaschen cookies.

Time to make some noise

Purim is a special and fun holiday, and it wouldn't be complete without a few Hamantaschen Purim cookies to munch and share. Rich and buttery, with sweet filling in every bite, these Jewish cookies are a treat any time of year.

Yes, you can go to a bakery and pick some up, but you'll get delicious cookies made with your favorite fillings if you do them yourself. That's what I do.

Whether I do it in costume or not, I'll never tell...