These gluten free hamantaschen cookies are traditionally served during the holiday of Purim. This version are tender shortbread cookies made with a really good quality gluten free flour blend and simply filled with sweet fruit jam.
A Little about Purim and Hamantaschen
Purim is upon us! The festival of fun and laughter, games and noise. I remember celebrating Purim when I was little in Jewish school. Now I like to create fun twists on the cookies, such as with my savory hamantaschen bar! How fun does that sound?
Hamantaschen is broken up into "Haman" which was the "Bad-guy" of the story of Purim and "taschen" meaning pockets. The story I remember when I was little was that the shape of the Hamantaschen cookie is a triangle shape because that was the shape of Haman's hat. We would make the cookies and eat them, rejoicing and in a sense, praising the destruction of the villain.
How to Make Hamantaschen
This recipe uses a good quality gluten free flour. I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour with great success.
1) In a large stand mixer (or hand mixer), cream the butter until light and soft. Add sugar and mix together.
2) Add 1 egg, vanilla and orange zest and mix well.
3) In another bowl, sift together the gluten free flour and salt.
4) In about two batches and with the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined and use a spatula to scoop down the sides making sure everything is incorporated well.
5) Once mixed, take dough out and knead onto a lightly floured surface until a smooth ball forms. Form the dough into a round, flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap.
Place in refrigerator for about 2 hours or in freezer for about 1 hour.
6) Remove dough from freezer or refrigerator and flour surface very well. Using a good, heavy rolling pin, begin to roll out the dough. The dough will feel hard so just get going with it. I let it rest on the counter for about 20 minutes in between pounding and then it begins to create more flexibility to roll out.
7) Roll out to about ¼ thick.
8) Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles (or a drinking glass may work well too).
Don't discard scraps, knead and roll out again and cut more circles.
9) Take one circle and place a teaspoon of filling in the center.
10) Take one side of circle and fold in.
11) Take other side and fold in, bringing the top corners together.
12) Now here's the tricky part. Take the bottom part and fold up while making it overlap the 2-sides (if that makes sense? So essentially, you want the left side-corner to be OVER the bottom flap and the right-side corner under the flap.
13) Secure and pinch the corners and place them on a greased baking sheet (or parchment paper, if using). Brush with egg wash.
14) Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.
Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Gluten Free Hamantaschen for Purim
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 2 eggs (1 for dough, another for egg wash)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest or lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 ¼ cups gluten-free flour I used Red Mills All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
Various fillings: (Make sure GF if using)
- ¾ cup fruit jam
Instructions
- In a large stand mixer (or hand mixer), cream the butter until light and soft. Add sugar and cream together.
- Add 1 egg, vanilla and orange zest and mix well.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
- In about 2 batches and with the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined and use a spatula to scrape down the sides making sure everything is incorporated well.
- Once mixed, take dough out and knead on a lightly floured surface until a smooth ball forms. Form the dough into a round, flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for about 2 hours or in freezer for about 1 hour.
- Remove dough from freezer or refrigerator and flour surface very well. Begin to roll out the dough and if the dough is too hard to roll, let it rest on the counter for about 20 minutes and pounding with a rolling pin if needed. This will help the dough create flexibility to roll out.
- Roll out dough to about ¼ thick and use a 3 inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles, or a drinking glass may work well too. Don't discard scraps, knead and roll out again to cut more circles.
- Take one circle and place a teaspoon of filling in the center. Take one side of circle and fold in. Take other side and fold in, bringing the top corners together.
- Now here's the tricky part. Take the bottom part and fold up while making it overlap the 2-sides. So essentially, you want the left side-corner to be OVER the bottom flap and the right-side corner under the flap. Overlapping, creating a secure triangle.
- Pinch the corners and place the hamantaschen on a parchment lined baking sheet. Whisk the other egg with a bit of water and brush egg wash onto hamantaschen cookies.
- Bake cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
- Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published March, 2012 and updated March 2022 with nutritional information and clearer instructions.
Shannon says
Making right now and they smell delish. Just wondering how best to store them and how long they keep?
Samantha says
Hi Shannon! I would put them in an airtight container with some paper towels inside and leave them at room temp for up to 3 days. Have fun baking!
Robin says
Did you add xantham gum to the flour?
Samantha says
No I did not. I used Bobs Red Mill AP flour which was great!
Sarah Jane says
My dough is incredibly dry and crumbly, doesn't appear as moist as your photos or as you describe for rolling and folding. Help? I've checked the ingredients multiple times and have accounted for everything listed in listed amounts. Help?
Samantha says
Hi Sarah Jane, I would suggest adding a bit of water, like a few drops at a time until the dough comes together. Knead until the dough comes together, then rest, roll out. Let me know how it comes out!
Melanie Brown says
Hi there! TRYING the recipe for the 1st time and my dough is way too goopy like lol to form into a smooth ball to flatten into a disk. 😣 Any advice? Would it help to add a little more flour?🤔 Or maybe refridgerate it for a bit 1st in the bowl then try to work into a ball and then flatten to disk and back to rhe fridge?! Im so confused now!!!!😦
Samantha says
Hi Melanie! I would add a bit more flour, knead in and see how that feels then chill in the fridge before rolling! Let me know how it turns out!
Zoya says
Tasted fantastic! We didn’t fold them the same way as you did. We did the method where are you pinch the ends together. We baked in a small countertop oven so we did it in two batches. The first batch I forgot to put the egg wash and they really just sort of melted apart and some of them didn’t hold together well. I was able to use wooden spoon to push some of the edges together. Then I did the egg wash halfway through and they held together. For the second batch, we did the egg wash before putting them in the oven and they stayed together beautifully. They tasted great! Great texture. We used a different one to one gluten free flour because it’s what we had on hand. Going to have to try it with Bob’s. Great Recipe! It was fun to do with the kids. These came out great!
Kim Cohen says
These are amazing! May I have permission to publish this recipe (I will mention your website) in our synagogue's Cookbook?
Chabadmarkham.org
Telzey Amberdon says
This is NOT parve and therefore isn't hamentashen, it's just a nice fruit tart. There can't be butter in hamentashen. Yes it tastes good, but it defeats the purpose.
Samantha says
Hi Telzey, I did not claim these are parve and I have also asked my kosher and orthodox friends and colleagues who all say that hamantaschen can also be dairy.
Chana Rachel Kean says
THank you, Telzey , I was going to say the same thing--
I might also add that most people have a meat meal for Seuda (festive meal where we
wash for bread) -- so the butter in the "hammentachen" would make that non Kosher!!!
However, I will try coconut butter/oil instead which is Pareve.
On another note, I am making a date filling-- soaking the dates, pitting them and processing them in my Magimix Food Processor
H. says
Question! How many cookies does this make?
Samantha says
Hi! About 30-35 cookies depending on the size of the cutter you use!
Simcha says
Hi Samantha! I plan on making these for Purim baskets but will be working the day of, so I won't have enough time to chill/rest before baking. Could I make the dough the night before, let it chill overnight, then bake it in the morning so it will be fresh? Or should I just bake them the night before?
Samantha says
Hi Simcha! Chilling the dough ahead should work fine, however after shaping and if you have a few extra minutes to stick them in the fridge or even the freezer (I cheat and do that), that should ensure the shape holds when baking.
Amy says
The pastry turned out great - I just used jam to fill them. I found I had to add more flour to bring the dough into a ball. I then chilled this for about 2 hours before rolling into a disc. I then chilled this in the fridge overnight before filling and baking.
Samantha says
Thank you for the feedback and glad it came out well!
Gary says
Hi, my dough is not doughy and I tried to knead it but it was too sticky. I tried putting more flour but it didn't help. What should I do?
Samantha says
Hi Gary..So you're saying it's too sticky to work with? I would chill the dough for a few hours before rolling out and see if that helps.
Goldele says
can you please specify how many grams or cups the butter is? I based it on sticks in australia which was 250gm and was far too much, I had to add a lot more flour to make it dry enough.
Samantha says
Thank you for the honest feedback, I just updated the recipe and it should show 12 tablespoons and have an option to convert to metric. I'm glad you were able to salvage the dough.
Goldele says
baking a couple now, will see how they go!
Also outside the US says
12 T. butter is about 175-180 g. In case any wants to know. And the metric conversion doesn't work on the butter; it still reads 12 T.
Samantha Ferraro says
Excellent point, Thank you. Samantha
Alexandra says
We followed the whole recipe exactly, yet they came out bad. The dough was too sticky and fell apart when I tried to to anything with it. I don't recommend unless you are a pro. I'll be following a different recipe next year.
Samantha says
Oh no, so sorry it didn't work out! If that happens again (for any hamantaschen recipe), I suggest popping the dough or formed cookies back in the freezer for 15 minutes. The warmth can make the dough a bit harder to work with. I will add that tip in my notes and recipes for other readers.
Racheal says
This recipe was easy to follow and delicious. The pictures really helped when it came time to folding the dough. After a few tries, my 5yr old niece got the hang of it and had so much fun making these cookies. We used King Arthur's cup for cup gf flour and it worked really well. We're a Jewish family, who doesn't keep kosher, or needed parve cookies, and loves to bake and your recipe enabled us to pass down a family tradition and share a piece of our heritage with the next generation. Thanks for making this so accessible and helping us to enjoy a gluten free version of a cookie we treasure.
Samantha says
Rachael, thank you so much for taking the time to comment and for sharing the recipe with your family! That means so much and I am so glad everyone enjoyed!
Gail Wiseman says
I read all the comments and agree that this is an excellent recipe. I too used King Arthur GF but added 1/4 tsp Xanthin Gum and used kosher parve margarine in place of the butter and shortening. The dough held together beautifully to my surprise. Thank you!
Samantha Ferraro says
Fantastic, thank you for the great feedback. Samantha
hilary says
I love your recipe and have used it for years now 🙂 Use Cup4Cup and never have any issues with the dough (though it is hard at first it is workable after its out on the counter and really easy to re-roll.
Samantha Ferraro says
Hilary, So glad you make this recipe a part of your celebration. Samantha.
Seven says
Great recipe! I almost never comment on recipes, but I wanted to let you know. I was looking for a gf recipe bc a family member recently went gf. Yours was the most similar to my old (and, yes KOSHER!!) family recipe, butter and all. (The dairy doesn't bother us since we're vegertarian, and my kitchen is dairy only anyway.) The dough was a little tricky to handle (only a little trickier than my regular), but they came out great. I filled them with (our family tradition) prune butter (steamed prunes, ground in a food processor with lots of cinnamon & cloves, plus a little of the steaming water) and apricot butter (same, but nutmeg instead of cloves). The thicker filling doesn't leak, even if the hamantaschen seal doesn't hold. Thanks!
Samantha Ferraro says
Fantastic Seven. Thank you so much for the feedback. Samantha.
Seven says
I also have to say that the comments that say "This recipe isn't kosher" were unnecessary! It is my opinion that, especially in the world today, there is NO such thing as a recipe that is inherently non-kosher. You can buy kosher "bacon", pareve "chicken", non-dairy "cheese", etc. If you change a recipe before preparing it, nobody is going to send the recipe police to your home to arrest you! I am willing to test this by admitting here that I made slight changes to the recipe to make it work for me. And is it even vaguely possible that ANYONE who keeps a kosher kitchen with separate meat and dairy doesn't know that there's a new (only about 100 yr. old) invention called margarine that can be used to replace butter? Insulting, name calling, and accusing are unnecessary. In fact, they are part of "sinat chinam" (baseless hatred) which we are told was the reason for the destruction of the Second Temple. In fact, we are required to "ladun l'kaf zchut" (give the benefit of the doubt, literally "judge from the perspective of innocence"). I assume the negative comments were written quickly before the comment writers had a chance to thoroughly consider their choice of words.
Samantha Ferraro says
Well said, we couldn't agree more. Some people are only fulfilled if they are objective. Thanks Seven. Samantha