When I was growing up, I eagerly awaited the cold March morning each year when my Hebrew school class huddled in the synagogue’s kitchen to make hamantaschen. We baked the triangular cookies each year for Purim, a holiday celebrating the salvation of the Jewish people from the Haman, the royal vizier to ancient Persian emperor Ahasuerus. Modeled after Haman’s three-pointed hat, these triangular cookies—traditionally stuffed with poppy seed filling, but often with jam or jelly—are a signature of the holiday. As kids, we didn’t do any of the actual baking; our job was to fill and fold, arguably the most challenging task.
There are many hamantaschen-shaping techniques out there (and lots of YouTube tutorials). I tried a few of them for this recipe, but the method below is the easiest and most foolproof. First you’ll roll and cut the dough; be sure to roll it while still cold to keep it from sticking to the counter. Wiggle an offset spatula beneath the cut rounds to slide them off of the counter and onto a baking sheet. Next, fill the cookies. You could go for the classic canned poppy seed filling, but homemade lemon-poppy seed filling (inspired by everyone’s favorite muffin) is much brighter and more flavorful. This easy poppy seed filling recipe—which takes all of 15 minutes to make—yields enough to fill a half-batch of hamantaschen. Feel free to double the recipe, but I prefer to make an assortment with various jams and jellies. Go for the classics—apricot, strawberry, blueberry—or venture outside the box, stuffing the cookies with Nutella, cookie butter, ube halaya, or guava paste and cream cheese.
Now for the fun part: shaping. At this point, you want the dough to be slightly soft so it’s easier to fold. If the dough cracks when folded, it’s probably a little too chilly; let it sit at room temperature for another minute, then try again. Your first few triangle-shaped cookies might not look perfect, but that’s okay. Smooth over any cracks with your fingers and carry on. The most important thing is to fold the dough over most of the filling, leaving only a small triangle revealed, then press the dough flaps down until flush with the filling; this will prevent the hamantaschen from unfolding or leaking in the oven. To further ensure the hamantaschen hold their shape, freeze them for 10 minutes before baking. Remember: This holiday is all about fun, so get the kids involved. They too might remember those cookie-baking sessions long after.