The Perfect Hamantaschen Recipe - Tomatoes Tomahtos (2024)

Are you also guilty of searching for the perfect hamantaschen recipe? Funny story, I ruffled through my old recipe book from my pre-culinary school days where I jotted down good recipes from friends and family. I came across the recipe for hamantaschen and saw that it called for 3 sticks of margarine. OY VEY! That was not going to work. I don't mind using margarine where it is absolutely necessary, but 3 sticks was just a little TOO much. It was time to re-do this family recipe.

Updated 03.12.2024

What makes this the perfect hamantaschen recipe?

1. Forget the margarine all together, this is made with OIL!
2. NO chilling time required!
3. Mixer is optional. You can totally make these by hand if you want to. (Although personally I don't mind whipping out my mixer)

Ingredients you'll need:

It's all pretty standard baking ingredients!

Orange juice: I love the little touch of citrus that the juice gives, but if you want to skip it, just add another ¼ c oil to the dough.

How to make the perfect hamantaschen recipe:

• Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set them aside.
• In a large bowl or in the bowl of a mixer, combine the oil and sugar until creamy.
• Add in the eggs, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
• Add in the salt and baking powder. Slowly pour in the flour, making sure it's incorporated before adding more.
• Once the dough is mixed, remove it from the bowl and onto a piece of parchment paper. You may cut the dough in half if it's too much to work with at once. Place another sheet of parchment paper over the dough and roll it out.
• Using a 3" round cookie cutter or glass, cut out circles from the dough.
• Remove the scraps from around the dough. Place a dollop of jam or your desired filling into the center of each circle.
• Fold in the two sides and pinch at the top to close.
• Bring the bottom side up, forming the cookie into a triangle shape. Pinch all 3 corners to seal.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom and around the edges.

Tips n' Tricks:

There's a few things you should know when making the perfect hamantaschen recipe.

1. Roll out your dough a little bit, then check that it's not sticking to the bottom piece of parchment paper. If it is, take if off and dust in a LITTLE flour. It's better that you repeat this step again then over-flour your dough.
2. Show a little restraint when filling the hamantaschen. We all love LOTS of filling, but that will just make the hamantaschen open up and/or ooze.
3. To make your corners stick together better, dip your finger in a bowl of water and run it around the inner rim of the circle before folding.
4. I highly suggest using real baking sheets, as opposed to disposable ones. They really make for a better final product in this recipe.
5. If you do need to stick the dough into the fridge while you say, run out to buy more jam, no worries! Just take it out a few minutes before you begin so that it comes to room temperature.

Storing and freezing

When stored in an airtight container, cookies should last for about 1 week on the counter. To freeze the cookies, make sure they are completely cool before stacking them in a flat bottomed airtight container, separating the layers with parchment paper.

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