Hamantaschen Hacks to Up Your Purim Game

Purim is coming. For many of us, the holiday is most relevant when you’re a kid or when you have young kids. But no matter if or how you observe, there is one word we all associate with the holiday:

Hamantaschen. 

You guys loved the latke tips from Hanukkah, so I decided to call some more of my favorite Jewish food experts to help us get ready for Purim on Thursday night. Below you'll find their hard-earned hamantaschen wisdom.

If you’ve ever tried making hamantaschen at home, you know that they’re surprisingly hard to pull off. So you can imagine how excited I was a few weeks ago to get the best package ever: the Breads Bakery hamantaschen drop. The overflowing box was packed with poppy, apple, and chocolate hamantaschen, plus their new date and black sesame flavors. I felt like I finally understood what hamantaschen were all about. 

I asked Breads Bakery founder Gadi Peleg what makes the perfect hamantaschen. He cited “the hamantaschen golden ratio,” which is a one-to-one ratio of filling to crust. “The other feature that is critical for hamantaschen greatness is that the hamantaschen has a little crisp on the outside and a filling that is smooth,” he explained. 

As it happens, Gadi and I share a distinct honor: we were both featured on a CBS Sunday Morning segment about hamantaschen that aired for Purim in 2022. The great Faith Salie reported the segment, which included her visit to the Breads Bakery kitchen to make hamantaschen with Gadi, as well as her chat with me at the Tablet office.  

I explained the story of Purim in an impressively succinct way (it took many takes). And I’m pretty sure I became the first person in the history of television to say: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat a delicious cookie!”

And the cherry on top? The segment producer was named Sarah Kugel.

As it turns out, it’s easier to talk about hamantaschen than make them. 

We’ve all been there: The dough rips, the filling oozes out, and the end result is … less than appealing. For a cute, family-friendly activity, hamantaschen-making can be incredibly stressful. 

Everything changed for me in 2020 when I heard four magical words from Shannon Sarna, founding editor of The Nosher and author of Modern Jewish Baker and Modern Jewish Comfort Food.

Those four words? Trader Joe’s Pie Crust.

I remember trekking to Trader Joe’s in the chaotic early days of March 2020, desperately grabbing frozen pie crusts as everyone else was stocking up on beans. 

It was worth it. All you do is cut out a bunch of circles, dollop on your topping of choice, and pop them in the oven. It might not have been the most authentic experience, but it was realistic and satisfying—and, most important, inspired me to actually try making hamantaschen again.

There are lots and lots of hamantaschen tricks beyond this one. Here are more tips from Shannon, as well as from Nosh author Micah Siva, and The Jewish Cookbook author Leah Koenig. 

Leah Koenig, author of The Jewish Table newsletter and the cookbooks Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen, The Jewish Cookbook, and more

Use thick fillings. Experimenting with creative fillings (beyond the traditional poppy seed and prune jam) is one of the highlights of hamantaschen-baking—just remember to keep things thick. Thin and watery jellies (like grape or blueberry jelly and lemon curd) have a tendency to leak out of the cookies as they bake, ending up scorched on the baking sheet. Stick with thicker jams, fruit preserves, or nutella that will stay put as your cookies bake. Or pulse jams with a handful of walnuts or almonds in the food processor to add flavor and body. 

Chill, then bake. There is nothing quite like the disappointment of pulling out a tray of perfectly triangle-shaped hamantaschen that have opened up into amorphous blobs in the oven. Safeguard your cookies (and your heart) by chilling before you bake. Refrigerate the formed and filled hamantaschen on the baking sheet for 15 minutes or so—however long it takes your oven to preheat. Even a brief chill time helps keep things in place.

Micah Siva, aka @noshwithmicah, author of Nosh: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine

Hamantaschen have always been a favorite of mine. While some think they are lifeless and dry, I'm inspired by how creative you can get with flavors and textures.

I'm partial to my Vegan Funfetti Hamantaschen. This year, I'm also making rainbow-cookie and Samoa-inspired hamantaschen. 

My biggest rule is don't overfill your treats: 1 teaspoon is enough to get a little in every bite without risking a mess. 

To be on the safe side, you can refrigerate (20 minutes) or freeze (10 minutes) your unbaked hamantaschen to prevent spreading.

To shape, I run my finger along the edges with a cornstarch slurry, fold, and THEN pinch. It's a three part combo that almost always guarantees success.

I've been using a hexagon shaped cookie cutter this year which has made folding and shaping even easier, inspired by a TikTok I watched last year of hundreds upon hundreds of hamantaschen being folded.  Plus, it means less need to roll and re-roll scraps over and over again. Score!

Shannon Sarna, author of Modern Jewish Baker and Modern Jewish Comfort Food, and chief of staff to six-time James Beard-nominated Chef Dan Richer at Razza in Jersey City, NJ.

The number one issue people have with hamantaschen is leakage, which is most often due to using the wrong filling or using too much filling. Less is more when it comes to filling, so try to use just 1/2 tsp per 2-2 1/2 inch round. Practice some discipline. It will make a difference. 

I always tell people to save the organic, local jam you bought from the farmers market for your morning toast; using a filling with a high sugar content or high fructose corn syrup (like Nutella! or cookie butter! or very sweet jam!) will prevent your filling from running all over the place. This isn't just my opinion—I learned it from a pastry chef in New York City.

Pinch your hamantaschen VERY tight (I am team pinch, not fold), and then chill the shaped cookies for 10 minutes in the fridge before baking—it will help them keep their shape.

Yes, you can use pie crust for an easy hamantaschen hack. But another great hack is using a box of yellow cake mix. There are a few more steps (add 1 cup flour, 2 Tbsp water, 2 eggs and 1/4 cup vegetable oil) but then the dough doesn't need to be chilled, which cuts down on prep time—very handy when baking with impatient kids. The taste is a lot more authentic to "real" hamantaschen than using store-bought pie crust.

One more fun hamantaschen hack: make pizza-taschen using store-bought pizza dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella.

My gratitude to Leah, Micah, and of course Shannon for sharing their brilliant tips. 

And thank you to Danielle Sarna Praport for always delivering the Breads goodies. 

I’m loving all the responses to the Molly Yeh cookbook giveaway prompt. I’ll announce the winners in Friday’s newsletter. 

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Happy hamantasching,

Stephanie