All the Hamantaschen Hacks You Need

Almost every Jewish baker knows this: Making hamantaschen, that quintessential Purim cookie, is basically like playing a game of cookie roulette.

You put these beautifully folded cookies in the oven and wait to see, like Schrodinger’s cat, if they’ll come out alive — perfectly filled triangles — or dead — exploded monsters that are still delicious but absolutely not fit for guests (more snacks for the lucky baker, I suppose). Even “Wonder Woman” herself, Gal Gadot, can’t keep her hamantaschen from exploding.

But there is a better way.

Purim is coming up on March 2 this year, which means the time to bake hamantaschen is now. We want to help you make that holiday baking endeavor a success, so we’ve assembled our favorite hamantaschen hacks and recipes from our colleagues, contributors and favorite Jewish food writers.

These tips can help you even if you already have a go-to recipe, or will offer ways to shorten the process with familiar store-bought ingredients (one recipe takes a mere 45 minutes from start to finish!).

Here’s everything you need to know to make hamantaschen this Purim:

Follow the hamantaschen commandments

Jewish cookbook writer and Kveller contributor Shannon Sarna shared her three hamantaschen commandments with us and they are forever etched in my brain. They are as follows:

1. Don’t overfill your cookies.

2. Use higher sugar content fillings.

3. Chill folded cookies for 10 minutes in the fridge or 5 minutes in the freezer before baking.

Kristin Eriko Posner of Nourish Co has her own cookie commandments, which you may find helpful too. She recommends not over-chilling your dough, sealing with an egg wash, thickening your fillings, using a larger cookie cutter and, very importantly for me, taking a pause to calm down and breathe when your dough inevitably cracks. I am putting that on a Post-it note in my kitchen.

Trader Joe’s pie crust hamantaschen

OK, so you don’t have to use Trader Joe’s pie crust — any pie crust should work for this recipe — but we all love an excuse to go to TJ’s. Shannon shared this hack on The Nosher five years ago, and it is still perfect. The cookies do taste more like pie than classic cookies, but they look beautiful, especially when you fill them with TJ’s delicious cookie butter, if you can find it on the shelf.

Trader Joe’s pie crust hamantaschen hack

Duncan Hines cake mix hamantaschen

The Nosher contributor Rachel Ringler got this recipe from her friend Suzy Applebaum who found it, where else? In a box of old Jewish recipe cards she bought on Etsy. Ringler promises a recipe that works for even the biggest hamantaschen skeptic. It’s only five ingredients long and the best part is that it comes together in 45 minutes. This maybe be your forever Purim saving grace.

Easy Duncan Hines cake mix hamantaschen recipe

Sugar cookie dough hamantaschen

This hack came to us when we needed it most — during the pandemic, when we were looking for any way to hold on to Jewish tradition and our sanity at the same time. Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder shared this easy recipe with Kveller, which incorporates store-bought sugar cookie dough. Putting the cookies in the freezer for an hour helps these cookies better retain their shape (and some egg wash will be extra helpful). What I love about this recipe is the minimal labor — it’s the perfect child-friendly hack for making hamantaschen.

Sugar cookie dough hamantaschen recipe

Make a pizzataschen

Here’s another gem from Shannon Sarna. All you need for these is pre-made pizza dough, sauce and cheese. They’re ideal for family baking, a savory mishloach manot (Purim gift basket) or a festive but easy Purim dinner or lunchbox. I love them.

Easy pizza hamantaschen recipe

Crisco no-mixer hamantaschen

Sarah Lasry has great recipes, and this is her go-to hamantaschen one. According to Lasry, using Crisco helps the cookies retain their shape (you can use butter or margarine, but it’s that extra fat that you want!). She also makes this entire wonderfully zesty dough with no mixer, mixing and kneading by hand, then rolling it into a log. It’s a recipe that really lends itself to be rolled in sprinkles, almonds and other fun types of confection.

@sarah_lasry

ULTIMATE HAMANTASCHEN RECIPE 🧡✨ ⭐️no mixer ⭐️fool proof If you like your hamantaschen tender inside but with that light crisp bakery bite on the edges — this is the one. The secret is simple but makes a real difference:�👉 You rub fresh orange zest into the sugar first so the oils infuse the dough.�It gives depth, aroma, and that unmistakable “professional bakery” flavor. 👉 you use shortening to add the fat to make sure these hold their shape, don’t crack, and stay perfectly crisp on the edges. RECIPE: DRY Ingredients: 2.5 cups all-purpose flour�1 tsp baking powder�½ tsp salt WET Ingredients ¾ cup sugar�Zest of 1 large orange�½ cup vegetable shortening (room temp)�2 large eggs�1 tsp vanilla�1–2 tbsp fresh orange juice (from the same orange) Filling of choice (thick jam, chocolate spread, date filling, etc.) INSTRUCTIONS: 1️⃣ In a bowl, rub the orange zest into the sugar with your fingers until fragrant and slightly damp. This step infuses the flavor. 2️⃣ use a spatula and mix the sugar mixture with the shortening until smooth and creamy. 3️⃣ Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla and the orange juice. 4️⃣ now add the flour, baking powder, and salt to wet ingredients to form a soft dough. Add a little more orange juice or water only if needed. 5️⃣ roll into a log. You now can roll it into crushed almonds or sprinkles and place it into a baking sheet and put in fridge for 20 minutes 6️⃣ then slice into 1/2 inch rounds. Flatten into your circle, add your jelly to the center and pinch the 3 corners into your triangle hamentashen shape 7️⃣ place on Baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes until bottoms are lightly golden. Let cool completely — that’s when the crisp texture sets. This is the dough that gives you that classic bakery-style bite every time. #hamantaschen #purim #jewishfood #bakingtip #chagwithsarah

♬ original sound – Sarah M. Lasry

Follow a tried and true recipe from a seasoned baker

Sivan Kobi of Sivan’s Kitchen is the daughter of professional Jewish bakers, and this recipe comes straight from her father’s bakery. It’s six ingredients that come together in a food processor and butter or margarine-based, depending on your kashrut and dietary needs. The cookies are filled sparingly and chilled for 30 minutes, which ensures their success.

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Try hamantaschen that will never explode

Back in 2024, filled with despair about hamantaschen (and maybe the world), I assembled five versions of hamantaschen that won’t explode… because they can’t. This list includes no bake hamantaschen with Rice Krispies Treats, Israeli chocolate ball dough and Pop Tart hamantaschen. One thing is for sure, they all look so, so delicious.
5 hamantaschen recipes that won’t explode in the oven

Try a different Purim baked good

I love a good pivot and maybe that’s what you need this Purim. If so, try making other beloved Purim staples, like pistachio halvah, Iraqi zangula, Moroccan Purim challah, pan esponjado and haman’s fingers.