Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Juice of 1/2 orange
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- Raspberry or apricot preserves, or Poppy Seed Filling, recipe follows, for filling
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Directions
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, egg yolk, sugar, zest, both juices and brandy until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until a sticky dough is formed. Wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk and chill overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Working with about one quarter of the dough at a time and leaving the remaining in the refrigerator, roll on lightly floured surface a little less than 1/4-inch thick. Cut circles (or other fun shapes) using cookie cutters 2 1/2 to 3 inches. Place a spoonful of filling in center (about 1 teaspoon per cookie) and then pinch one side up. Turn and pinch second and then third to make a triangular shape. Leave a little bit of the filling showing at the top. For non-traditional shapes, use your imagination: tubular, squares, bite-size or even some flat cookies depressed in the center with a bit of filling there.
Place cookies on parchment paper on cookie sheet, brush with a little beaten egg for sheen and bake until nicely browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
Keep room temp in airtight container but consume within 3 to 4 days, tops.
Cook's Notes: Other types of fillings may be used such as apricot, raspberry, prune mixed with chopped nuts, etc. Personally, I'm going to use some Robertson's English Mincemeat in my next batch and drizzle with rum or hard sauce. Not traditional, but might be a fun way to introduce them to non-Jews.
Poppy Seed Filling:
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup fresh poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 to 5 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1/2 teaspoon of the juice
- 1 slightly beaten egg
Cook's Note: poppy seeds go rancid quickly after opening.
Combine everything except the lemon zest and juice and the beaten egg into a saucepan and cook over moderate heat until thick, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir often. Add zest and juice. Take a bit of the filling and mix it into the beaten egg. Repeat, then mix the egg mixture into the pot of filling. Cool overnight. Makes enough to fill 2 1/2 dozen Hamentashen.
There are about 45 calories to an average hamentashen
2g fat
7mg cholesterol
8mg sodium
5.5g carb
negligent fiber
1.5g sugar
1/2 g protein
Photo: Hamentashen Recipe











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By tracoisk_13000120
fanwood, 70
on February 24, 2013
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I've only made the first batch so far, but I like it a lot. The only issue I had is that the dough was a bit to crumbly and didn't always pinch easily into corners without breaking. I wonder if anyone had that problem and if there's anything I could've added. One suggestion I have though is make sure that you don't roll the dough too thin...1/4 inch as the recipe says, should be the thinnest you go. Any more and expect breakage. Not sure if the fact that I only refrigerated for half a day affected it at all. Also, I tried using a glass for the circles and found that I probably should have used a larger circle.
Unlike most baked goods, I found these to be much better after they cooled than when first out of the oven. Overall, not terribly hard to make and very yummy!
By Pastry_Chef_Crazy
on June 05, 2012
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Made these cookies for a project at my high school involving Jewish holidays. I had so many that I gave some to my friends to, and they all begged me to make more sometimes! Absolutely delicious!
By DanniBaltimore
on March 11, 2012
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The lemon test made a huge difference, gave the dough an amazingly rich flavor. I didn't chill the dough and it came out okay, if a little sticky.
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