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Hamantashen or Hamantaschen?

Hamentashen or Hamentaschen? This three cornered Jewish cookie may be filled with a variety of fillings. Check out several great hamantashen recipes and the story behind the cookie!

Hamentashen Cookies

(Yiddish Dictionary at Bottom)

Hamantashen or hamentaschen; it seems no one can even agree on the correct spelling.

So, before we get started on these sweet three cornered pastries-let’s kibbitz a bit. Hamantashen or hamentaschen is plural for hamentash (singular) which in Yiddish means-Haman’s pocket’s.

Hamentashen cookies are eaten traditionally during the Jewish festival of Purim, which takes place in early March, however the original story took place 2500 years ago in Persia.

King Ahasuerus reigned, Haman was his evil advisor, the beautiful, and smart Esther and her Uncle Mordechai helped right the kingdom and everyone joined together to celebrate.

History of Hamentashen

The Book of Esther is a story where good triumphs over evil and is celebrated with stories, food, drink and carnivals.

Well, that’s it in a nutshell.

As children we looked at it as a time to dress up in costume, the girls dressing as Queen Esther, and the boys were often the evil Haman, the good Mordechai, or King Ahasuerus.

We always attended the Temple carnival where we won goldfish as prizes. (Oy! the poor goldfish.)

My children continued the tradition until I finally put my foot down and told them they couldn’t bring home any more goldfish!

The evening of Purim found us sitting through the Purim spiel where the Rabbis and staff enacted the story of Purim in a parody kind of way, the WHOLE megillah was read, and we beat on the floor and spun our groggers (noisemakers) whenever the bad Haman’s name was mentioned.

Today we still do the same and it is also customary in some parts, to give gifts of fruit and cookies or nuts, and also to give to charity.

The eating of hamantashen are all part of the fun. Purim is a joyous holiday and it is intended to be celebrated as such. So forget all your tsuris!

Hamentashen with jelly filling

Now to the hamantashen…I am not a maven when it comes to this delicacy.

Personally, I think someone took a little joy out of Purim when some Bubbe somewhere decided that we should turn circles into triangles, all to symbolize a very evil man’s hat. Or pocket. That has even yet to be decided.

I always wonder why there is a circle cookie cutter, but not a triangle?

You see I was never very good at geometry, part of the problem being that I was a good Jewish girl, being taught at an Irish Catholic high school, and the Brother teaching me had a French surname.

It was also rumored that he couldn’t see, or hear and maybe tippled from the bottle a little too often.

In any case, he was very kind to me because, somehow, I passed geometry and it may have involved looking at my neighbor’s paper. But I did mention that the Brother couldn’t see…

Finished hamentashen

So what does that have to do with turning circles into triangles?

Absolutely nothing, except that I  find this a challenge.

There are two Jewish recipes, one being kreplach, which is a Jewish meat stuffed ravioli, and the other hamantashen, which are essentially rounds of pastry that are filled and then shaped into triangles.

I am not good at turning circles into triangles. I said that already but I thought you should know.

I do believe that my mother did me a great favor in never teaching me to make hamantashen.

Of course, she never made hamantashen that I can remember. Little did I know, that there are not many Bubbes going around making their own.

Temple sisterhoods make lots of money every year ordering hamantashen from the closest kosher bakeries.

They then package them in little bags to sell at the Purim carnival to people like me, who never have great success making their own.

Well, apparently some do because their photos are all over the internet. Mine are not among them.

Remembering that I write this blog (mostly for my children), I felt the need to put a great hamantashen recipe on it.

In preschool the kids would make their own hamantashen with refrigerated sugar cookie dough. They weren’t bad.

I then, would try my version at home and often end up with pan that looked like this. What a shanda.

Kids Hamentashen

You see, making hamantashen involves skill, using either the fold technique, or the pinch technique.

My technique might be labeled the schmuss technique, because I say when the pinch or fold doesn’t work, just schmuss those ends together until they stick!

Do you remember I also mentioned that Purim involves drinking?

Well, I figure that no one is checking to see what method you use to make your hamantashen. Even ugly hamantashen taste good.

Even imperfect triangles look awesome if your vision isn’t quite perfect. That is evidenced here because just because you can make an angle, doesn’t mean you can!

Hamentashen with jelly filling

Now these are made by an anal baker. Oh. Those are Duff Goldman’s.

Perfect hamentashen from Duff Goldman

And these, well, these are not only creative, but perfect. This woman would never be allowed in my kitchen.

She would cause me shpilkes. But I do love her technique. Peace.

Rainbow hamentashen

Hamentashen Fillings

Hamantashen were traditionally made with jam flavors, such as apricot and raspberry and also a delectable poppy seed version.

My father and I loved those. Hamantashen are now made in every flavor known to man.

There are now savory hamantashen with schmaltz fried onions. There are everything bagel versions. There are nutella and cookie butter varieties.

Yes there is a red velvet one, a carrot cake one, and even a chocolate chip cookie or brownie stuffed inside a pastry one.

I venture to say that someone, somewhere, has probably even made a bacon cheese version in a butter pastry, but we won’t go there. Oy gevalt!

Hamentashen Dough

Speaking of pastry. That is one other little thing that throws a kink into this entire mishegas.

Pastry can be made with butter, in which case the pastry takes on more of a rich pie crust type thing.

It can also be made with oil, for those who keep kosher and don’t want to mix dairy products with meat. That dough tends to be crispier.

Then just to make things more complicated one could throw in some yeast, which makes a more cake like hamantashen.

Now I didn’t say this was easy, did I? And last, but certainly not least, there is a cream cheese dough too!

You will find camps on all sides. Or some in the middle. I do prefer the cookie, pastry like version over the cake type.

But, I would never refuse the cake type if I was offered one.

I can kind of roll any which way, when it comes to sugar.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Hamentashen

Chocolate Hamentashen Dough

This year I was determined to give it my all. I read and read and came up with these. All in the name of research, she roars!

With my love of chocolate I decided we (meaning me), needed to have a chocolate dough.

I made an oil version dough with cocoa. It has a cookie like crunch and when filled with a Reese’s peanut butter type filling and coated with caramel and chocolate glaze from Chocoley, well, this hamentaschen recipe kind of takes me beyond this hemisphere.

Why do people eat hamentashen?

Well, people eat hamentashen not just to celebrate the holiday of Purim, they eat hamentashen because they are good.

I mean look at all the varieties of hamentashen. One can never go wrong!

So feeling such naches under my belt, I decided to continue the creative process and came up with this sweet, not so little, cinnamon type cream cheese filled hamantaschen.

Perfect with that cup of tea, I’m getting ready to swill; or your favorite latte. Both are pretty, pretty good.

Unless you want traditional, in which case, any jam or poppyseed filling will work with either dough.

Just don’t eat too many hamentashen cookies or you might become a bit zaftig!

Cinnamon Bun Hamentashen

Now back to technique.

I personally preferred rolling the dough and cutting it into rounds with my favorite blue glass.

I found that so much easier than making golf ball sized balls and then schmussing them down to make a round.

Then I had to shmutz them together to make triangles. Way to much schmussing and shmutzing in my opinion.

And even though I liked the cocoa cookie flavor of the dough with oil, I loved the pastry, more tender pie crust type dough, better.

Guess you will have to make both and find out. I also think one can fit more filling into the folded hamantashen than into the pinched, crimped type.

Then again, you may be more skilled than I am. In that case, I say more power to ya!

The pastry, butter dough was easier to work with chilled. It rolled out like a charm.

The use of powdered sugar also helped the roll out process. And though there was no cream cheese in the dough, it did remind me of rugelach dough.

Suffice to say, that today you’ve got a lot of choices in recipes.

I’m sharing the cocoa, oil cookie dough and the Eastern European Cookie dough with butter, plus two fillings-one peanut butter, the other cinnamon roll. You can use either filling in either type of dough.

Choices of fillings are yours so feel free to study the above paragraphs and come up with your own creation.

Each recipe makes about 3 dozen so there is no reason you couldn’t have at least three varieties in each batch.

And there is certainly no reason to make both recipes.

(After reading this paragraph, I am feeling so farmisht!)

For folding directions see Tori Avey’s blog. She is a professional. She makes money. I do not. I do this for FUN!

Can’t you tell? But I digress. You decide. It’s Purim. And freedom is what it’s all about!

Last but not least, let your Bubbies kvell over your hamantashen.You know they would!

I send mazel your way!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Hamentashen

Other good things:

Bialy Hamentaschen

Bialy Hamentaschen
Chocolate Krantz Cake or Babka
Dark Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peels
Halvah Stuffed Baked Apples
Browned Butter, Apricot, Cream Cheese Rugelach

Please Pin and Share:

My Yiddish Dictionary:
Kibbitz – have a chat
Bubbe– Grandmother
Whole Megillah – The Book of Esther is always read at Purim. It is a long story. So sitting through the Whole Megillah is a lot like looking at someone’s photos from a three week trip abroad.
Greggor – a noisemaker
Tsurris – troubles. “That woman has more tsuris than President Obama.”
Maven – expert. “She thinks she is a maven at everything.”
Shanda – shame or pity.  “What a shanda those politicians don’t believe in free speech.”
Schmuss – I made this up!
Schmutz – I made this up, too!
Mishegas – craziness. “If the Democrats and Republicans could just get along, there wouldn’t be all this mishegas!”
Shpilkes – To be on pins and needles. “Every time my 16 year old drives the car I’m sitting on shpilkes.”
Naches – Pride. Usually used  to mean pride in one’s children.
Farmisht – Confused. “The New York Times makes me feel so farmisht. I am so glad that the Wall Street Journal clarifies it for me!”
Oy Gevalt – Oh man. I can’t believe it!
Kvell – To beam with joy. “I am kvelling at seeing these hamentashen not fall apart.”
Mazel – luck
Zaftig – Pleasingly plump

This post was originally written in March, 2015. It has been updated.

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Hamentashen

Hamantashen or Hamantaschen? And Purim! And Yiddish! What a Spiel!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Abbe Odenwalder
  • Prep Time: 1.5 Hours
  • Cook Time: 15-25 Minutes
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 3 Dozen 1x
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Jewish

Description

Hamantashen Cookies are shaped like triangles and filled with a variety of fillings. They are not to be missed!


Ingredients

Scale

European Cookie Dough Hamantaschen

Time to make:1 1 /2 hours working time, 2-3 hours chilling and baking time

Ingredients:
2 3/4 c unbleached flour

1 c powdered sugar

1 t baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 sticks very cold butter, cut into about 32 cubes

1 t vanilla

1 large beaten egg

1 to 3 T of water

Cocoa Oil Dough:

Ingredients:
2 eggs

3/4 c canola oil

1 t vanilla

1 c sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

2 c flour

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa

Peanut Butter Filling:

Ingredients:
1 c powdered sugar

1/2 c peanut butter

Pinch of salt

Cinnamon Bun filling:

Ingredients:
2 T maple syrup or honey

1/2 t vanilla

2 T powdered sugar

4 oz of cream cheese

1 pinch of salt

1 T cinnamon


Instructions

European Cookie Dough:

Combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Pulse briefly to blend. Add butter cubes through tube until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Mix vanilla with beaten egg. Slowly pour into food processor while motor is running. Dough will come together quickly in a large ball. If the crumbs are dry, you may need to add through the tube, 1 -3 T of ice cold water to bring dough together into a ball.

Take out of food processor and pat down into a thick oval shape. Knead lightly to blend. Enclose dough into a sheet of plastic wrap and push it together into a large thick, flat disc. Refrigerate until very cold. You can do this in your fridge but with the weather we’ve been having lately, I just set mine out on the deck. It chilled in about 2 1/2 hours. I then brought it in and divided it into two pieces. Let it warm up a bit and then start working it.  I rolled it out gently between two pieces of plastic wrap and cut out rounds with a 3″ glass. I then put a spoonful of jam or peanut butter or cream cheese in the middle of each round.

For folding directions see  Tori Avey’s instructions. After folding, chill again and then bake at 350 for about 15-25 minutes until they are golden on the edges and the bottom. It is hard to be more exact because this all depends on how chilled your dough is. If your dough is to warm, it will spread and your schmushed edges will not hold together. You will end up with a delicious mess!

 Directions for Cocoa Dough
Beat eggs, oil and vanilla together.

Mix baking powder, salt, flour and cocoa together in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil and vanilla mixture and stir well until you can press mixture together into  a giant ball.

Place ball in plastic wrap and let chill about 15 minutes. Start breaking off pieces of dough about the shape of golf balls. Roll or press out into about 3″ circles. Place your choice of filling in the middle. I found this dough harder to work with, so you may have to pinch and schmuss!

Place formed hamentashen on a parchment lined sheet and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Using the cocoa dough makes it hard to see if the edges are turning gold. These will get crisp upon cooling.

Directions for Peanut Butter Filling

Combine together with hands and knead the peanut butter well into the sugar. Freeze this mixture.

When ready to use, break this into pieces and form into balls. Place those in the center of a dough round and bake according to directions.

If you’d like you can drizzle with melted chocolate and caramel.

Directions for Cinnamon Bun Filling
Combine well and then freeze mixture. When this is frozen, break off big chunks and form into balls.  Place in the center of the pastry round. Bake according to directions. I drizzled these with a powdered sugar glaze and sprinkled with cinnamon.


Notes

European Cookie Dough from 1000 Jewish Recipes

Each Dough recipe makes about 3 dozen hamentashen.

 

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Sissi

Tuesday 19th of March 2019

I haven never heard of hamantaschen, but they look gorgeous! I wish I had more baking patience and tried making them one day! Thank you for sharing the beautiful story behind hamantaschen. It made them seemeven more delicious!

Pam

Tuesday 12th of March 2019

This is hilarious! You are very witty! I've actually eaten these or something very similar at a friends' house, they were delicious. The rainbow ones are definitely unique. I need some now. That's one great Yiddish Dictionary too!

Susan

Tuesday 12th of March 2019

You are a stitch, Abbe! What a fun post and, although I've never had haman......en I love reading about the history, Purim festivals and goldfish :)

Natalia20041989

Monday 11th of March 2019

Oh yum, I would love to try these right now!☺☺

Holly

Thursday 7th of March 2019

Oh I love ALL of this post. The cookies, the story, the Yiddish dictionary. Fantastic, Abbe!