ALL-THE-SEEDS HAMANTASCHEN

All-The-Seeds Hamantaschen image

These hamantaschen are filled with a celebration of seeds set in chewy-soft caramelized honey. While poppy is traditional, we threw in sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin as well for variety and crunch. Be sure to work quickly when forming the filling into balls: It will firm up as it cools, but soften again when you bake the cookies.

Provided by Kendra Vaculin

Categories Cookies Butter Cream Cheese Egg Orange Sesame Honey Purim Dessert

Yield Makes about 24

Number Of Ingredients 20

Ingredients

Dough
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
1½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup (100 g) sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
Filling and assembly
¼ cup (36 g) raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
¼ cup (34 g) raw sunflower seeds
¼ cup (39 g) poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling
¼ cup (34 g) sesame seeds, plus more for sprinkling
½ cup honey
2 Tbsp. tahini
¾ tsp. kosher salt, plus more
1 large egg
Special equipment
A 3"-diameter cookie cutter

Steps:

Dough
Whisk baking powder, salt, and 1½ cups (188 g) flour in a medium bowl to combine. Set aside. Beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and orange zest and beat, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, just until combined. Reduce speed to low and with motor running, gradually add dry ingredients. Beat until dough comes together and no streaks of dry flour remain.
Divide dough in half and place each half on a piece of beeswax or plastic wrap. Pat into a 1"-thick disk. Wrap tightly and chill until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.
Filling
Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, ¼ cup poppy seeds, and ¼ cup sesame seeds in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat honey in a small saucepan over medium, stirring occasionally with a heatproof rubber spatula, until it bubbles and foams and turns dark amber (an instant read thermometer should register 300°F), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in tahini and ¾ tsp. salt. Pour over seeds and stir to coat. Let cool slightly (you want the mixture to be as hot as possible since it hardens as it cools, but not so hot you could burn your hands). Working quickly, scoop out heaping teaspoonfuls of filling and roll into 24 balls.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a scant ¼" thick. Punch out cookies with cutter. Transfer to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. (You should ideally have 12 cookies per baking sheet.) They won't spread, so don't worry about getting them close. Gather up and reroll any scraps.
Beat egg with 1 Tbsp. water and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Working one at a time, brush rounds with egg wash and place a ball of filling in the center. Fold sides of dough up to make a triangle, pinching corners to seal. Brush sides of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with more sesame seeds and poppy seeds.
Bake hamantaschen, rotating pans top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until crust is golden brown and filling is puffed, 18-22 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets.
Do ahead: Cookies can be baked 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.