Easy Hamantashen (Haman Hat Cookies)
If you’ve never heard of Hamantaschen, they are — to put it simply — delicious Purim cookies. These triangular-shaped pastries are typically made during the Jewish Feast of Purim — a holiday written about in the book of Esther in the Old Testament (Esther 9:26). Purim celebrates the time when God used Queen Esther to deliver the Jewish people from the schemes of the king’s prime minister, Haman. Hamantaschen are traditionally meant to represent the hat or purse of Haman (some even say they are supposed to look like his ears!).
Purim occurs in the spring, but these cookies are fun to make (and eat) any time. Traditional Hamantaschen usually are filled with poppyseed, apricot, or prune fillings (and are typically NOT made with cake mix), but in this modified, simple recipe, you can make a kid-friendly Hamantaschen with your own favorite fillings (Nutella is our favorite!).
Materials:
- Tin foil or parchment paper
- Large mixing bowl
- Floured surface for rolling the dough
- Rolling pin
- Something to cut the dough into circles — a cup, cookie cutter, measuring cup, etc.
Ingredients:
- Cooking spray
- 1 (15.25 ounce) package moist yellow cake mix
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (plus a little extra if the dough gets too sticky)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 Tbsp water
- Fruit preserves, Nutella, or pie filling (any flavors) — we used Nutella, blackberry preserves, peach preserves, and strawberry jam.
Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Cover two cookie sheets with tin foil (or parchment paper), and grease with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cake mix and the flour. Then, stir in the eggs, orange juice, and water to form a dough.
TIP: If the dough is too sticky, add a little extra flour. If the dough is too dry (not sticking together), add a little extra water. It’s easier (and more fun) to mix the dough with your — clean — hands.
3. Place the dough on your floured surface. Rub a little flour on your rolling pin, and roll out the dough fairly thin (about 1/8 of an inch). If the dough sticks to your rolling pin, add a little more flour to the sticky parts as you roll.
4. Cut the dough into circles, about 3 inches in diameter. You can use the top of a cup or a cookie cutter for this part. (We used a measuring cup flipped upside down.)
5. Place the circles on the prepared cookie sheets. Scoop about 1 teaspoon of your chosen filling and put it in the center of the circle. Pinch the sides of your circle to form three corners, making a triangular shape with the filling in the middle. Make sure to pinch tight! If you don’t, they may fall apart while baking.
TIP: Make a few different flavors at the same time, and see which one is your favorite.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 8–10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before removing them to cool on a wire rack.
7. After cookies are cooled, enjoy! And the next time it’s Purim, be sure to bake some Haman hats for your family and friends while sharing the story of Esther.
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