Best Traditional Hamantaschen Recipes

TRADITIONAL HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat shortening, sugar, and egg at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add zest and juice and beat until incorporated. Add flour mixture, stirring, until a smooth dough is formed. Gather dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Halve dough. On a lightly floured surface roll out half of dough (keeping other half wrapped and chilled) 1/4 inch thick. With a 3-inch cutter cut out as many rounds as possible. Transfer rounds with a metal spatula to a large baking sheet, arranging about 1/2 inch apart. Reroll scraps and cut out more rounds. Put 1 teaspoon filling in center of each round and fold up edges to form triangular cookies resembling a tricornered hat, pinching corners together and leaving filling exposed. (Pinch dough tightly enough so seams are no longer visible and sides are taut enough to prevent cookies from leaking filling as they bake.)
• Bake hamantaschen in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool hamantaschen on baking sheet 5 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely. Make more hamantaschen with remaining dough and filling in same manner. Hamantaschen keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.

TRADITIONAL POPPY SEED MOHN HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• HINT #1: You'll need to make the filling FIRST (unless you are using pre-made fillings) and let it cool before using it in the hamantaschen. The filling recipe may seem intimidating when you first read it, but read it carefully a second time and you'll find it's not as difficult as it sounds. While it's cooling, you can make the dough.
• HINT #2: Common questions regarding how to make sure the hamantaschen don't open up while baking. So, some tips: * Keep the dough on the thinner side. * Do not overfill the hamantaschen. * Work patiently and consistently. Don't rush through. * Take the extra 15 seconds to make sure the edges are tightly pinched. I overlap the corners (or fold them over) in addition to pinching them, then shape them to look like corners. * Close the hamantaschen up more than you think you need to. DON[T overfill! * Be careful not to add too much flour to the dough, because that will make the dough drier and harder to seal. * Use powdered sugar instead of flour to roll the dough. It won't dry the batter out, and it adds a nice outer surface coating at the same time while baking
• [POPPY FILLING DIRECTIONS]: Beat the egg in a bowl and set aside. Melt the coconut oil/butter/margarine in a small saucepan. Whisk in the coconut milk, sugar, and honey, and simmer over a low flame until the sugar is melted.
• [POPPY FILLING DIRECTIONS]: Pour half the mixture into a cup or small bowl. Very slowly drizzle the hot mixture from the cup/bowl into the beaten egg, whisking constantly.
• [POPPY FILLING DIRECTIONS]: Now slowly pour the egg mixture back into remaining hot mixture in the saucepan, whisking constantly. Simmer the mixture for 3-4 minutes until it thickens. Remove from fire. Whisk in the poppy seeds and refrigerate until fully cooled before using.
• [DOUGH DIRECTIONS]: Mix the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Add 1 cup of flour and the baking powder. Mix.
• [DOUGH DIRECTIONS]: Add the remaining flour until the dough forms a soft, but not sticky ball.
• [DOUGH DIRECTIONS]: Roll out the dough on a powdered-sugar sprinkled smooth surface to about 1/4+" thickness, then cut out circles. NOTE: I like to use a wide-mouthed cup as a cookie cutter for the dough - you get perfect circles every time, and a good-sized cookie.
• Put a teaspoon (not measuring teaspoon) of filling in the center of each circle. Gently fold the sides into a triangle and gently pinch shut. Fold the corners over so that it does not open then reshape slightly for the triangle-shape. Bake for 10-12 minutes on 350°F.

TRADITIONAL POPPY SEED MOHN HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Mix the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Add 1 cup of flour and the baking powder. Mix. Add the remaining flour until the dough forms a soft, but not sticky ball. Roll out the dough and cut out circles. Put a teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle. Gently fold the sides and pinch shut tightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes on 350°F. Yields: 20 Hamantaschen
• Beat the egg in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter/margarine in a small saucepan. Whisk in the coconut milk, sugar, and honey, and simmer over a low flame until the sugar is melted. Pour half the mixture into a cup or small bowl. Very slowly drizzle the hot mixture from the cup/bowl into the beaten egg, whisking constantly. Now slowly pour the egg mixture back into remaining hot mixture in the saucepan, whisking constantly. Simmer the mixture for 3-4 minutes until it thickens. Remove from fire. Whisk in the poppy seeds and refrigerate until fully cooled before using.