This is an old family recipe. It is a very easy dough to make and work with. The egg glaze and cinnamon/sugar on top give the cookies a beautiful color. My Mom and Aunt make these in advance and freeze them. Do this at your own risk. At a group confession, every one of my cousins and siblings admitted to sneaking hamantasch and eating them frozen weeks before Purim.
3⁄4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3⁄4 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
6 cups all-purpose flour
flour for dipping
apricot butter or prune butter
1 large egg, beaten
cinnamon/sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment or foil.
2. Either by hand or in a mixer combine the oil, egg, vanilla, water, sugar, baking powder, and flour. Knead until it forms a soft dough. Roll the dough out into a very thin layer.
3. Dip the rim of a 3- to 4-inch cup or glass in flour. Use the glass like a cookie cutter to cut out circles. Re-roll the scraps of dough and reuse.
4. In the center of each circle, drop a teaspoon of apricot butter or prune butter. Shape into a triangle by folding 2 sides of the circle to the center and pinch together at the corners. Fold remaining side up to the center and pinch together at the corners.
5. Place hamantaschen 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar. Make sure corners are tightly pinched so they don’t open during baking.
6. Bake 20 minutes. Can be made in advance and frozen.
This recipe was featured in Kosher by Design, by Susie Fishbein, published by Artscroll.
