My quick and easy hamantaschen recipe. I am always one for making foods that are special to a holiday. However, I am also very aware that not everyone 1) has the time to spend in the kitchen making everything from scratch 2) is a great baker. And that is OKAY!
So, I created this version of hamantaschen to be easy peasy for your Purim festivities this year! It's literally just a handful of ingredients you can grab at the grocery store last minute...or if you are like me, these items are already in your house. Pre-made pie dough (or you can make your own like mine here), your favorite jam (yes jam, not jelly, I prove below that jelly is a bit too thin), milk or an egg wash, and some sugar! You are kind of making little pies, but also these make the right shape, are easy, and delicious.
Now, they are for sure a little messy because pie dough does move a bit. But again, we are aiming to get something easy on the table and make it work. It can be flavored however you want and literally anyone in the fam can make these, so make it a group effort!
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They are so tasty...which to be honest isn't always the case with traditional hamantaschen. Like seriously as I was shooting these for the blog, all I kept thinking was how amazing they smell and how I wanted to shove one in my pie hole (get it?).
And no, my hamantaschen recipes are not completely traditional (see my Captain Crunch Hamantaschen). But I love making changes to old things, modifying them and making something fun. I know that's not up everyone's alley, so if you aren't into it...I'm not offended. But don't be like Judgey Janet who told me I was a bad Jew for making my Captain Crunch version...whatever you do, just don't be Janet.
Tips for Making Hamantaschen
- Pie Dough: Either use store-bough pie dough, or you can use my recipe for pie dough here.
- Keep it cool: Keep your pie dough cool while you use it. If the pie dough gets warm, be sure to pop the cookies/dough into the refrigerator until cooled and bake then.
- Cool Baking Sheets: Now, you can reuse the parchment paper and of course you can bake using just 1-2 baking sheets. However, before you place dough or bake it, your baking sheets should always be cooled down. This helps with a good bake and keeping those cookies thick.
- Reusing Parchment Paper: Yes! As long as it’s not completely burned, you can and should reuse the parchment paper during a bake, maybe using just 1-2 sheets for all the cookies.
- Preserves: Use thick jams, not jellies. I found that jellies are a little too thin and run out of the side of the cookie. Whereas a jam is thicker and has the thickness you need for this. You could try other preserves, but the thicker the better.
- Chocolate: Chocolate filling for hamantaschen is best when it's a pastry cream, needing some extra ingredients like eggs, sugar, and flour. You can definitely make one of those fillings and use this pie dough cheat recipe.
Easy Hamantaschen Recipe
This is the easiest way to make hamantaschen, or "Haman's Pockets". There are just 4 main ingredients needed for this recipe. Store-bought pie dough, jam, egg wash or heavy cream, and granulated sugar. You can also top with powdered sugar if you wish. But just the quickest way to celebrate with this Purim dessert.
What is Hamantaschen Made Of?
Hamantaschen is a Jewish cookie eaten at Purim. It's a triangular shaped cookie filled with jams, chocolates, etc. It's shaped as such to Haman's ears or his three cornered hat. Haman is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who was a vizier in the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus.
What is Purim?
Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrating as the "Feast of Lots". It's a festival to celebrate the survival of Jewish people, who were marked for death by their Persian ruler. The story is from the biblical Book of Esther. Yes, yet another holiday celebrated by the Jewish people for surviving oppression. This young woman Esther is the hero of the story, Haman the villain. The story is told both the night before and the day of Purim. Ester is married to King Xerxes, of Persia, who she appeals to to save the Jews from Haman. Haman was a favorite nobleman of Xerxes and had his signet, which allowed him to decree to kill the Jews. However, Esther begged the king to save the Jewish people. And in the end he allows the Jews to fight their enemies. They won and Haman was hung.
There are usually carnival type festivals and celebrations around Purim. People wear costumes, perform plays and stories, etc. Some Jewish people call it the Jewish Mardi Gras.
Ingredients
- 2 Frozen Pie dough/crusts
- 1 jar of your favorite Jam
- Heavy cream or Egg Wash (I used heavy cream)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Powder Sugar, optional
How to make Hamantaschen
- Thaw pie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll thawed dough out onto a lightly floured surface, to about ⅛" thick. Using a round cookie/biscuit cutter or drinking glass cut out circles of dough. Place cut dough onto parchment paper.
- Grab your jar of jam and a ½ Tablespoon spoon. Spoon on ½ Tablespoon of jam onto the middle of the circle of each dough. Fold up the edges of the dough to make a triangle and pinch the edges together tightly (I smashed mine down with a spoon to smooth over) to keep from spreading.
- Take a pastry brush and paint the top of the dough with your heavy cream or egg wash, then sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Bake, then remove and allow "cookies" to sit on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
- You can then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve and enjoy!
FAQs for Hamantaschen
Sure, you could use a traditional hamantaschen dough and your favorite preserves. It should work out just as well.
You can use any thick preserves. I prefer a strawberry or orange preserves. You could also try apple or pumpkin butter!
Other Recipes to Try
- Captain Crunch Hamantaschen
- Graham Cracker Crumble Soft Butter Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Lucky Charms Cookies
Love this Recipe?
Did you make this recipe and just love it? Awesome! If you have a quick minute and could leave a star rating and comment below, I would appreciate the support and knowing your feedback! And if you’re over on Instagram, be sure to tag me in your photos!
Ingredients
- 2 pie dough crusts
- 1 jar jam whatever flavor you prefer
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon powder sugar optional
Instructions
- Thaw pie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350° F and prepare 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll thawed dough out onto a lightly floured surface, to about ⅛" thick. Using a round cookie/biscuit cutter or drinking glass cut out circles of dough. Place cut dough onto parchment paper.
- Grab your jar of jam and a ½ Tablespoon spoon. Spoon on ½ Tablespoon of jam onto the middle of the circle of each dough. Fold up the edges of the dough to make a triangle and pinch the edges together tightly (I smashed mine down with a spoon to smooth over) to keep from spreading.
- Take a pastry brush and paint the top of the dough with your heavy cream or egg wash, then sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Bake, then remove and allow "cookies" to sit on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
- You can then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve and enjoy!
Mary mello says
I also use pineapple preserves and or poppy seed filling and prune filling comes out yummy
Amanda Wilens says
Yum! Pineapple sounds delicious! They all do, but I think I need to make those ones asap.