Hamantaschen

Voorbereiding

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.

1. Make Dough. In a medium bowl, whisk flour with baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Make Filling. In a food processor, combine jam, walnuts, and salt and pulse until a chunky paste forms. Scrape into a medium bowl. 

6. 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. 

7. 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. 

8. 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.