Easy Purim Hamentashen Recipes

EASY HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lightly and fluffy. Stir in the oil, vanilla and orange juice. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter to form a stiff dough. If dough is not stiff enough to roll out, stir in more flour. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or the rim or a drinking glass. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of preserves into the center of each one. Pinch the edges to form three corners.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

EASY PURIM HAMENTASHEN

Steps:

• To make fillings, cover prunes with water in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain the liquid, and mash the prunes with a potato masher. Stir in 1/4 cup of walnuts, 2 tablespoons of honey, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. In another saucepan, cover apricots with water, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 10 minutes; drain liquid. Mash apricots with 1/4 cup walnuts, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Set both fillings aside.
• For the cookie, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl until well mixed.
• In another bowl, place the butter, shortening, and sugar, and mash them together with a spoon until the mixture is completely combined and creamy. Beat the egg, milk, and vanilla extract into the butter mixture. Beat the flour mixture gradually into the butter mixture, while sifting the flour mixture in through a sifter. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead a few times, until smooth and easy to handle. If dough is too sticky, knead in additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Cut the dough into two portions, wrap each portion separately, and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll a portion of dough out on a floured surface to 1/8-inch thick, and cut into 12 circles with a 3-inch round cutter. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of prune filling into the center of a dough circle, and pinch the dough together to form a triangle, with the center open to expose the filling. Repeat for the rest of the circles.
• Brush the cookies with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake in preheated oven until the cookies are lightly browned, 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing to finish cooling on rack.
• While the prune cookies are baking, repeat the process with the second refrigerated portion of dough, rolling and cutting as before, and filling each with 1 heaping teaspoon of apricot filling. Pinch the cookies into triangles, brush with egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar as before, and bake the apricot cookies in the preheated oven for 18 minutes. Cool as for prune cookies.

EASY HAMANTASCHEN JEWISH PURIM COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla.
• Add flour and baking powder and mix until combined. If the dough is too sticky to roll, add more flour (1 tbsp at a time) until it's no longer sticky.
• Roll out the dough to approximate 1/8-inch thickness and cut out circles with the rim of a small cup. Shape the dough scraps into a ball and roll it out again and cut out more circles.
• Put approximately a teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle.
• Fold the sides like a triangle and pinch shut.
• Bake for 12 minutes.

EASY PIE DOUGH RASPBERRY HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
• Unroll the dough, and roll it 1/8" inch thick
• With the help of a glass or cookie cutter, cut the dough into 3" circles
• Spoon 1 teaspoon of raspberry preserves in the center
• Pinch the dough in three spots into a triangle shape (look at the images in the post for guidance)
• Transfer them to the lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes

HOW TO MAKE TRADITIONAL HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Cream butter and eggs using a stand mixer. Add vanilla, sugar, and orange juice until incorporated. Mix dry ingredients and slowly add them, one cup at a time, to the mixer. Use a spatula to help gather dough if needed. Once all ingredients have mixed for about 3 minutes, separate the dough into 2 balls. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Position racks in the lower thirds of the oven. Preheat to 350° F. Remove 1 ball of dough from the fridge. Lightly dust flour over a clean surface. Separate the dough ball into thirds. Roll one-third until about ⅛ inch thick, turning and flipping at 90 degrees every few rolls, to prevent dough from sticking and to keep the dough even.
• Use a juice glass to cut circles in the dough. Lift the excess dough off and flip the circles over. Add a blueberry-sized amount of filling to the center of a circle. If the dough has dried, run a wet finger or pastry brush with water around the perimeter. Then, fold one edge inwards, slightly covering the filling, fold the next edge slightly overlapping, and then the last, creating a triangle with overlapping sides. Press down to ensure the dough sticks together. Some prefer to pinch the dough upwards, which works too!
• Line uncooked hamantaschen on a baking sheet, not touching. Let cool in the fridge for 10 minutes. Bake 10-12 minutes in the lower part of the oven until the corners are golden brown. Move to a cooling rack, being careful not to spill the hot filling. The first batch offers an opportunity to adjust filling ratios-if filling spills out, use less. If cookies have a hollow center, try slightly more.
• Repeat with remaining dough and fillings. Unrolled dough will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 days, as long as it is tightly wrapped. Unbaked hamantashen can also be frozen on a baking sheet then bagged (perfect for baking in the future or shipping frozen to loved ones).