Buttery hamantaschen cookies for Purim

Jews bake hamantaschen on Purim, a holiday when kids dress up and eat the symbolic ears of Haman, a man from the Persian court who tried to use his influence to eliminate the Jews. 

It isn’t often you can bite into a cookie with a load of ancient history behind it. Call them Hamentaschen or Oznei Haman, or Haman’s Ears but make sure to bake up a batch of these buttery, traditional Purim cookies.

Filled cookies and pastries echo one of Purim’s  “hidden” threads. See our previous post about the Purim story and the goodies basket here. As Queen Esther concealed her Jewish origins until the time was right, Jews  created delicacies that conceal a sweet surprise inside their pastry shells. Hamentaschen is the Yiddish name for a cookie that translated into  Oznei Haman in Israel, where Jews of every ethnic origin enjoy them on Purim.

This year, why not walk right past the boxes of bakery cookies full of  artificial colors and too much sugar? Try baking your own, where you control the ingredients. You’ll present these home-made Hamentaschen with pride.

How to make homemade hamantaschen

Yield: about 24 Hamentaschen cookies

Ingredients for dough:

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour (can be whole wheat or the flour you love for cooking)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or shortening
1 egg, beaten
2 to 3 tablespoons water
Grated rind of 1 orange

Cookie Filling:

Any firm jam. Try also Nutella, chocolate, or poppy seeds.

Putting the cookies together

Sift sugar, flour, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl.

Add butter or shortening and mix in till you have fine crumbs.

Stir in the egg and water. If using whole wheat flour, you will need the larger amount of  water.
Add the grated rind and stir well.

Knead lightly for a few seconds to obtain a smooth dough.

Wrap the dough in a clean, re-used plastic bag and put in the refrigerator to chill 1 hour. You can also make them at night and bake in the morning. Or freeze the dough and though before you want to bake it. Like oily Hanukah treats Purim cookies are best fresh.

Dust your working surface with flour and roll the dough out on it. Cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter or a large glass. If the dough is difficult to work with, sprinkle more flour on it and on the working surface.

Place 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each round and bring the edges up to make a triangle that reveals the filling. Pinch the edges shut.

Bake at 350°F or 190°C for 10 minutes. The cookies should be a golden brown. If still pale, bake another 2 minutes. Set on a wire rack to cook and become crisp. Store in a jar or put them in the traditional Purim Mishloach manot or shalech mones (and also called a Purim basket) –– gifts of food or drink that are sent to family, friends and others on Purim day.

Enjoy!

Other delicious pastries to include in your Purim basket this year:

• Ghorabeya Cookies
• Ma’amoul Cookies
• Sambusak, Savory Chickpea Pastries

The recipe was updated Feb, 2023

Author: Miriam Kresh

Miriam Kresh is an American ex-pat living in Israel. Her love of Middle Eastern food evolved from close friendships with enthusiastic Moroccan, Tunisian and Turkish home cooks. She owns too many cookbooks and is always planning the next meal. Miriam can be reached at miriam (at) greenprophet (dot) com.