Italian Rainbow Cookies meet Hamantaschen! These vibrant, almond infused triangle cookies are filled with sweet jam and dipped in chocolate, seamlessly blending two beloved classics into one delightful cookie.
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About This Recipe
Italian rainbow cookies, meet hamantaschen! These delicious sweet triangle cookies are inspired by my other favorite treat, Italian rainbow cookies. The tender shortbread features almond-infused dough in vibrant red and green and colors and are filled with a sweet fruit jam.
Once baked, the rainbow hamantaschen are dipped in melted chocolate, combining two beloved classics into once deliciously sweet hamantaschen cookie. For a sweet Jewish treat, try my Chocolate Matzo Toffee.
What are Hamantaschen?
Hamantaschen are traditional triangle shaped cookies eating during the Jewish holiday of Purim.
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.
📋 Ingredients
- Almond Extract: Almond extract gives the classic flavor of Italian rainbow cookies. A little goes a long way as it's much stronger than vanilla extract.
- Citrus Zest: Optional, but highly recommended, as citrus zest gives a pop of brightness to the sweet cookie dough. Use a microplane to grate either lemon zest or orange zest.
- Food Coloring: For a vibrant hue, use a few drops of gel food coloring and for a more subtle hue, use a natural food dye.
- Fruit Jam: Apricot jam is traditionally used for Italian rainbow cookies, however raspberry jam is also a great option.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🍋 Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten Free Flour: To make gluten free hamantaschen, use an all purpose gluten free blend, such as Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Blend.
- Different Fruit Jams: Have fun with different jams, such as apricot, raspberry or blackberry.
⏲️ Instructions
Step 1. Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg, almond extract, and citrus zest and continue mixing. Add the flour and salt and continue until just mixed through, then knead dough until a smooth ball forms.
Step 2. Divide the dough into thirds. Add red food coloring to one third and green to another. Knead until colors are evenly distributed.
Step 3. Flour the surface well and roll out each colored dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut 1-inch wide strips from each color. Alternate the strips, creating a striped effect, and roll the dough again to press the strips together.
Step 4. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles. Don't discard scraps; knead and roll out again to cut more circles.
Step 5. Fill each circle with a teaspoon of jam and fold the sides in, forming a triangle. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 22-25 minutes. Once done, dip each cookie in chocolate and sprinkles.
📍 Recipe Tips
- Chill the Dough: After forming the dough into a ball, place the dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill the dough. This will make it easier to roll out and keep the dough together.
- Wear Gloves: When working with food coloring, wear gloves to prevent staining your hands.
- Save the Dough Scraps: As you cut the dough circles, save the scraps, combine and roll out for more hamantaschen cookies.
- Chill the formed Hamantaschen: To prevent the cookies from opening while baking, chill the formed cookies for 15-20 minutes before baking. This will make sure the dough will hold together.
Recipe FAQs
To prevent the cookies from opening while baking, chill the formed cookies for 15-20 minutes before baking. This will make sure the dough will hold together.
More Cookie Recipes to Try
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Italian Rainbow Cookie Hamantaschen
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 2 eggs 1 for dough, another for egg wash
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest or lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour + more for dusting
- 2-3 drops red food coloring
- 2-3 drops green food coloring
- 1 cup apricot or raspberry fruit jam
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Rainbow sprinkles optional
Instructions
- In a large stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg, almond extract, and citrus zest. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour and salt.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in 2 batches with the mixer on low speed. Scrape down the sides to ensure thorough mixing.
- Remove the dough and knead on a lightly floured surface until it forms a smooth ball. Divide into thirds. Add red food coloring to one third and green to another. Knead until colors are evenly distributed.
- Wrap each colored dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 10-15 minutes.Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Flour the surface well and roll out each colored dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut 1-inch wide strips from each color. Alternate the strips, creating a striped effect, and roll the dough again to press the strips together.
- Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles. Don't discard scraps; knead and roll out again to cut more circles.
- Place a teaspoon of jam filling in the center of each circle. Fold one side in, then the other, bringing the top corners together. Pinch the corners and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Whisk the remaining egg with a bit of water and brush the egg wash onto the hamantaschen cookies.
- Bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
- While baking, melt chocolate in a double boiler. Once cookies are done, let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Dip one side of each hamantaschen into melted chocolate and sprinkles if desired. Return to the baking sheet until the chocolate sets. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Chill the Dough: After forming the dough into a ball, place place the dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes or freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill the dough. This will make it easier to roll out and keep the dough together.
- Wear Gloves: When working with food coloring, wear gloves to prevent staining your hands.
- Save the Dough Scraps: As you cut the dough circles, save the scraps, combine and roll out for more hamantaschen cookies.
- Chill the formed Hamantaschen: To prevent the cookies from opening while baking, chill the formed cookies for 15-20 minutes before baking. This will make sure the dough will hold together.
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