Hamantaschen
What You Need
Ingredients
Preparation
These jam-filled cookies, known as hamantaschen, are a popular dessert during the Jewish holiday of Purim. Traditionally filled with ground sweetened poppy seeds or vibrant jams, they bake up golden brown with crisp bottoms and a tender crumb, especially when baked on our Hybrid Pizza Steel.
*This recipe originally ran stateside on HexClad.com.
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Make Dough. In a medium bowl, whisk flour with baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
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In a stand mixer, or in a large bowl and using a handheld mixer, beat butter with sugar at medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and orange zest and beat until combined.
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With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by orange juice. Add remaining dry ingredients, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until you have a firm but pliable dough. It may appear crumbly, but should hold together when pinched. If dough is too dry, add more orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
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On a lightly floured work surface, turn out dough. Knead dough a couple times to bring it together, then into two pieces. Flatten both halves into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
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Make Filling. In a food processor, combine jam, walnuts, and salt and pulse until a chunky paste forms. Scrape into a medium bowl.
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Preheat oven to 350˚F/180˚C. Working with one disk of dough at a time and on a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough until it is ⅛-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out as many circles as possible. Transfer to a HexClad Hybrid Pizza Steel (do not preheat the steel). Gather dough scraps and reroll before stamping out additional circles.
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Spoon 1 mounded teaspoon of the jam filling into the center of each circle of dough. Fold left side over on an angle, followed by the right side, creating a point. Fold bottom flap up, tucking one end under the side flap to make a pocket—the filling should still be visible in the center. If desired, gently pinch the corners to further seal.
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Bake cookies for 16 to 20 minutes, or until golden and slightly puffed. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Let steel cool 5 to 10 minutes and repeat with remaining dough and jam. Serve cookies at room temperature.
NOTE When choosing your jam, pick one with some body to it. Thinner jelly-style jams are more likely to leak out of your hamantaschen while they’re baking. If you’re not using nuts, you will need additional jam, about 1½ cups in total.
MAKE AHEAD The dough and jam can both be prepared in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
