Hamantaschen That Stay Closed

Before you start

Hamantaschen are three-cornered filled cookies baked for Purim. The dough varies from family to family: some use oil, some cream cheese, some butter. This version uses butter with a whole egg and a little orange juice, which makes a dough sturdy enough to fold yet tender once baked, and it holds sharp corners in the oven.

The common complaint is cookies that unfold into flat circles. Three things prevent it: a well-chilled dough rolled thin, no more than a teaspoon of thick filling, and corners that overlap rather than just touch. A second chill after shaping sets the butter so the folds stay put while the edges firm. Choose stiff fillings such as poppy seed, thick apricot jam or chocolate spread; loose jam boils and pushes the walls open.

Ingredients

• Dough170 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter — softened
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) orange juice
• 300 g (2½ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour — plus more for rolling
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• Fillingabout 200 g (⅔ cup) thick filling — poppy seed filling, thick apricot jam, prune lekvar or chocolate hazelnut spread
• Finish1 large egg white — beaten, optional, for sealing

Method

1. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes until creamy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, zest and orange juice; the mixture may look slightly curdled, which is fine.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Add them on low speed and mix just until the dough comes together in clumps. Press it into two flat disks, wrap, and chill for 1 hour, until firm but still rollable.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line the sheets with parchment. Roll one disk on a floured counter to 3 mm (⅛ in) thick. Cut rounds and transfer them to a sheet, about 3 cm apart. Reroll scraps once.
4. Place 1 level teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Resist adding more; the dough needs a clear border of about 1.5 cm all around.
5. Lightly brush the edge with egg white if using. Fold up the left side, then the right side so it overlaps the first at the top corner, then fold up the bottom so it tucks over both. Pinch each corner firmly, leaving a small window of filling in the middle.
6. Chill the shaped cookies on the sheet for 15 minutes. Meanwhile roll, fill and shape the second disk.
7. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, until the corners and bottoms are light golden and the dough looks dry. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a rack.

Tips for success

• Overlap the folds by a few millimeters instead of letting the edges meet. Edges that only touch slide apart as the butter melts.
• If the dough cracks when you fold it, it is too cold; let the rounds sit for 2 minutes. If it sags, it is too warm; chill it again.
• Thicken loose jam by simmering it for 5 minutes and cooling it completely before filling.

Substitutions

Unsalted butter

Neutral oil (120 ml) gives a dairy-free, slightly crisper cookie. Add 2 tbsp more flour if the dough feels slick, and chill it just as long.

Orange juice

Milk or water works. You lose the citrus note, so increase the vanilla to 1½ teaspoons.

Poppy seed filling

Nutella or another thick chocolate spread holds its shape well. Freeze small dollops on parchment first for the neatest results.

Variations

Chocolate dough

Replace 30 g of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder and fill with raspberry jam or chocolate spread.

Date and walnut filling

Simmer 150 g chopped dates with 80 ml water until thick, then stir in 40 g finely chopped walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon.

Troubleshooting

Cookies opened flat in the oven

Usually too much filling, warm dough or edges that only met. Use 1 teaspoon, overlap and pinch firmly, and chill the shaped cookies before baking.

Filling bubbled out and burned

The jam was too thin. Use a thick filling or cook the jam down, and leave a visible border when filling.

Dough is crumbly and hard to roll

It is either over-chilled or slightly dry. Let it warm for 10 minutes; if it still cracks, knead in 1 to 2 teaspoons of orange juice.

Storage

Store baked hamantaschen in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, layered with parchment. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months. Unfilled dough keeps in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Safety notes

Do not eat the raw dough; it contains raw egg and raw flour. Contains wheat, egg and milk, and possibly tree nuts or seeds depending on the filling.