Hamantaschen are filled triangular shaped cookies. They are usually filled with something sweet. Popular fillings are date paste, poppy seeds, soft dried plums, jam etc. However, they can also be filled with something savoury. A nice savoury filling would be mushroom duxelles.
Hamantaschen are usually eaten at Purim, which is a Jewish Holiday. That event, this year, is 6-7 March.
When I saw the cookies I was very eager to try them, even though I am not of Jewish faith. I just thought the cookies looked very good and could be enjoyed by anyone, at anytime. So I checked out a few recipes and watched some videos.
All are pretty similar, it seems. You make some pastry and chill it. Then roll out the pastry and cut out some discs. Each disc has some filling, of your choice, placed in the centre and the edges are pulled up into a three cornered container.
It might sound a little complicated, but really it is very simple. It does take a while and it is best to work quickly with the pastry. Once rolled it will soften quite quickly. So speed is best, if possible. However you can chill the shaped and filled pastry before baking if you think it has all become too soft.
What filling you use is a matter of personal preference. I used some quickly made date paste, some soft dried plums mashed into a paste, some chopped apricot mixed with a little jam and some strawberry jam. I didn’t add any sugar into the fillings since they already had a level so sweetness that I liked. But, remember, you can use whatever you want. I have seen some with Nutella as the filling, for instance.
The Filling
In the recipe below I don’t specify how to make fillings, that is something each individual can decide. I do say to use about a teaspoon full of the filling. That is usually enough. Indeed you have to be careful if using jam as it is liable to bubble over the top during baking. So using less jam might be a good idea.
My Bake
I am the first to admit that my cookies weren’t shaped perfectly. But they baked up very well indeed.
I baked them for 18 minutes. The corners and tops coloured well and the pastry was crisp.
I transferred the cookies to a baking sheet. Then I allowed them to cool completely. Once cooled I sampled a couple. They tasted so good. The cookie dough had baked perfectly and was crisp and crunchy. The fillings we exactly as expected too.
These are very good cookies. They are something that I shall make again very soon.
Another very good, and unusual biscuit/cookie recipe is Grantham Gingerbreads
Hamantaschen – Filled Cookies
Course: Biscuits, CookiesCuisine: JewishDifficulty: Medium36
servings1
hour20
minutesIngredients
300g(2 cups, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup)plain flour
45g(1/2 cup minus 1 tsp) ground almonds
125g(1 cpu + 2 tbsp) icing sugar
150g(10 1/2 tbsp) softened unsalted butter
1 medium egg(large in USA)
1 medium egg yolk(large in USA)
enough filling to use about 36 teaspoons, of choice see not below.
Directions
- Cream the butter and sugar together( I did everything in my stand mixer).
- Add the egg and yolk and mix until combined.
- Tip in the ground almonds and mix until combined.
- Next add in the flour and again mix until combined.
- Tip the dough onto some plastic wrap and form into a disc, then chill for a couple of hours.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F and line a couple of bakjng trays with parchment paper.
- Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 3mm( 1/8th inch), between parchment or on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut out discs with a cookie cutter of 8cm(3 inches)
- Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the centre of each disc.
- Pull up the sides, forming three corners to make a triangle enclosing the filling.
- Place the cookies on the baking trays and bake for 15 to 20 minutes(mine took 18 minutes) until the corner and top have browned nicely.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- For fillings you can use whatever you wish. Most common is a date paste, prune paste, poppy seeds, jam. But use whatever you think will work well in these cookies.