Hamantaschen Purim Cookies With Dates

The festival of Purim is almost here. Kids are always looking forward to this Jewish holiday. Purim, the kids are all about costumes, parades, and gift baskets. In addition, these hamantaschen are everywhere in plenty. Yes, it is all about the costumes. This year, Aadi plans to dress as a scary clown and Rhea wants to be an Indian princess. She actually has a pretty new Indian dress my sister sent her. So, she’s just using Purim as an excuse to wear it. While Aadi has spent hours browsing costume shops with a friend since they plan to wear the same outfits. Finally, they found what they were looking for.

Why make these cookies?

The cookie dough is like a shortbread cookie filling with this wonderful date and nuts filling. The dough is very simple and easy to make. In fact, you don’t need any special equipment. A bowl and spatula would work too. The dough needs some chilling time in between while you prepare the filling. But, you can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days ahead or kept frozen for up to a month. The filling has a long shelf life too. It stays in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Ingredients and substitutes

Dates – I love using Medjool dates. They are naturally sweet and are also soft and can be mashed beautifully into a filling.Nuts – This is optional and can be omitted if you want to keep them nut-free. Personally, I like the combination of dates with either pecans or walnuts. And yet, almonds and pistachios work too!Butter – I always use unsalted butter because I like to control the amount of salt. And yet, if salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it. Just omit salt from the recipe.As I explained about butter in my Tip Thursday – how butter affects cookie baking – use room temperature, not soften butter for better results.Sugar – I highly recommend you use fine grain sugar to shorten the creaming time. Always cream the butter and sugar well. And fine grain sugar works best.Cornstarch – Also called cornflour, makes the cookie dough crisper and gives it that crumbly texture we love in cookies.Eggs – I use large eggs about 65 to 70 grams each.Extract – Orange is quite traditionally used in Purim cookies. And yet, if you don’t have some go ahead and omit the orange. Vanilla extract always works like a charm.

Hamantaschen Purim Cookies

Date filling

Remove the pits from the dates and roughly chop them.Place them in a saucepan with orange juice, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook on low until the dates are soft enough to be mashed with a fork (3 minutes).Once all the dates are mashed completely. Add the chopped nuts – stir well to combine. Let cool completely before you fill the cookies.

Dough

In a bowl, sift and combine together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy.Pro tip – do not cream too long, just until the sugar is melted, as we do not want to add too much air into our dough.Add the egg and egg yolk one at a time. Followed by the vanilla extract and orange extractNext, add the flour mixture and orange juice. Combine well into a soft dough.Pro tip – you can combine the dry ingredients and orange juice all at once.Divide the dough into two discs. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm enough to roll.Pro tip – it is important to chill until the dough is firm enough to roll. Otherwise, it will be difficult to shape the cookies.

Add filling and fold

Roll the chilled cookie dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 thickness.Pro tip – You want the cookies thin enough so you can overlap the edges without cracking but thick enough so they won’t become too hard.Using a 3-inch or 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut as many discs as you can and place them on a baking tray.Pro tip – Line the baking tray with parchment paper or silicone mat for easy clean-up.Add about a tablespoon of filling in the center.Pro tip -Do not add too much filling because the hot filling will force the cookies to open during baking.Dampen the disc edges very lightly with water or egg whitePro tip – you need just a dap of the water or egg whites otherwise it will be difficult to secure these foldsMethod one – Overlap the three corners as shown in the video. Fold the first two sides over at one end. Then overlap the third side under the first and under the second.Pro tip -At all times each side should be one under and one over the other. Sounds complicated but if you see the video it’s pretty simple.Method two – FInd the middle. Pinch two sides together, Bring the third side up and pinch to meet the other two sides.Pro tip – Press the folds gently, but firmly so they do not open during baking.

Chill and bake

Once all cookies are filled – chill them in the fridge while you preheat the oven.Proip – chilling helps the cookies hold their shape better.Preheat the oven at 375 °F / 190 °C / Gas Mark 5Brush the cookies with egg wash. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are lightly golden.Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before you store them in a cookie jar. These will stay for up to a week.

Storage

These cookies will stay fresh for up to a week but they taste best in the first few days of baking.The cookie dough can be chilled for a week in the fridge or frozen for up to three months in the freeze.Fruit fillings will last for a week in the fridge.

Tips for success

More hamantaschen recipes

Apple Pie HamantaschenPistachio Halva Hamantaschen CookiesPecan Pie Hamantaschen CookiesStrawberry Eggless HamantaschenPurim Cookies – Poppy seeds, PrunesSee all hamantaschen purim cookies