Hamantaschen (Hamentaschen) for Purim is an easy recipe for the delicious Purim cookies, dairy-free and made with oil.
Hamantaschen is one of the best parts of Purim, but why wait for the holiday? This recipe is very simple and very good. Just choose your favorite filling and enjoy!
General information regarding cooking:
The following information may not particularly pertain to this recipe but rather answers general useful questions related to cooking.
What are the different oils used in cooking?
“High-heat” oils have neutral flavors and have been processed in order to handle high temperatures and are good for sautéing, searing, and frying. These include canola oil, vegetable oil, avocado oil, and grapeseed oil, each with its own “best for” with chefs.
Some oils have their own flavor and are good for sautéing and roasting and add a little extra to the dish. These include extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and peanut oil. Extra virgin olive oil works well with roasting or sautéing, but not for deep frying.
Coconut oil is good in dishes where a slightly coconut flavor enhances the dish, and peanut oil is good for deep frying and will add a subtle nutty taste and smell. Many Asian dishes call for peanut oil in the ingredients.
Then there are oils that are not used with heat but rather for dressing up foods, such as sesame oil, flaxseed oil, and walnut oil, among others.
What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?
When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking though).
The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it. Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.
Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.
What does it mean when a recipe says that an ingredient is “optional”?
If an ingredient is “optional,” it means that you can add it in or not based on your own preference. An optional ingredient can be flavor related (i.e., salty, sweet, spicy, etc.), appearance related (garnish), or even something like nuts or chocolate chips in baking.
What does “savory” mean?
“Savory” refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.
What cooking measurement expressions mean:
Drop – ¹/₆₄ teaspoon (or less—it’s however a literal drop comes out)
Smidgen – ¹/₃₂ teaspoon
Pinch – ¹⁄₁₆ teaspoon (what you can grab between your finger and thumb)
Dash – ⅛ teaspoon (what comes out when you shake out of a shaker or bottle)
Tad – ¼ teaspoon
Dollop—a glob on a spoon (like with mayonnaise or ice cream)
Scant—a scant cup is almost a cup, just below the line.
Heaping—above the line of the spoon (teaspoon, tablespoon)*
Some useful cooking terms:
Sauté: Cooking quickly in a small amount of oil or fat in a frying pan on a relatively high heat that causes a slight browning of the food on the outside.
Sear: Browning the outside of meat at a high temperature.
Sweat: Cooking vegetables (often onions) in a little oil or fat on a low heat until they become soft and translucent (no browning).
Simmer: Heating liquid to just below the boiling point (has slow bubbles).
Boil: Cooking food submerged in water hot enough to have rapid, rolling bubbles.
Poach: Cooking in a liquid, or partially submerged, on low heat.
Roast: Cooking with consistent dry heat in an enclosed space, over 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake: Cooking with dry heat in an enclosed space, under 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Broil: Cooking with intense heat from above.
Grill: Cooking with heat from below, typically over a flame or coals.
Braise: Cooking already-seared meat in a small amount of liquid in a covered pot.
Blanch: Quickly submerging food into boiling water and then immediately into ice water to stop the cooking.
Steam: Cooking with vapor from hot simmering water from below.
Shred: Creating long, thin strips (not necessarily uniform) of vegetables, like in coleslaw.
Grate: Scraping food against a surface with rough, tiny holes that break it down into very small, fine pieces.
Zest: The scrapings of the colorful outer skin of a citrus fruit.
Mince: Cutting into the smallest pieces possible.
Dice: Cutting into small cubes.
Chop: Cutting into small (bite-size) pieces.
Julienne: Cutting into long, thin strips (like matchsticks).
Glaze: a thin liquid with high-sugar or high-fat coating applied to food or baked goods that gives a shiny look and adds flavor.
Fold in: To gently combine a light ingredient into a heavier one.
Al dente: Cooking rice or pasta to the point before it gets soft (is slightly firm).
Emulsify: Forcing two liquids together that don’t normally combine (like oil and vinegar) into a smooth sauce or dressing.
Deglaze: Adding a liquid to a hot pan after searing meat to loosen the browned bits (called fond) that got stuck.
Slurry: A mixture of liquid and dry starch, such as cornstarch or potato starch, into a paste that is used to thicken sauces and soups. One can use flour to make a slurry as well.
Roux: (pronounced “roo”) is a cooked mixture of fat and flour.
Baking and Dessert Pantry Essentials
I never know when someone in my family is going to want a dessert at home, to bring to a friend’s house, or need for an event, so I like to make sure I can bake anything with very short notice. To that end, I keep a variety of supplies and ingredients in the house that will allow me to do just that.
I can’t tell you how many times I was glad to have whatever I needed within reach for the last-minute visitor or for when one of my kids went to a friend or had a school event without much prior notice.
I have slowly collected things over the years as I needed them (or if I found a good sale) and like to keep more than one of the smaller items in case I don’t want to wash dishes in the middle of baking.
My basic “equipment” includes:
- a stand mixer, which I use mostly for dough and sometimes for whipping
- a hand mixer (for things that aren’t dough and I don’t want to mix manually)
- a kitchen scale
- different sizes and shapes of baking pans, including loaf pans
- mixing bowls (or just large bowls—I have plastic, glass, and metal)
- cookie sheets
- pie dishes
- dry measuring cups
- liquid measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- whisks
- rubber spatulas (really good for when you don’t want to leave anything in the bowl)
- rolling pins
- a baking mat for rolling out dough
- baking strips
- a good supply of baking (or parchment) paper (also round for layer cakes)
I can certainly get by without a lot of the above, but it makes baking so much simpler when I just have whatever I need at my fingertips.
Note: The measuring cups and spoons should match as far as the measurements are concerned. Not all cups are properly marked, and this can throw your measurements off.
In addition to the equipment, there are the baking ingredients that I try to keep in the house at all times:
- flour
- white granulated sugar
- brown sugar (light/dark—I usually keep dark)
- confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- cocoa powder
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground ginger
- ground cloves
- baking chocolate
- chocolate chips
- instant dry yeast
- vanilla and/or vanilla sugar
- cooking oil/cooking spray
- margarine or butter
- eggs
- honey
- instant coffee
- various extracts (real or imitation)
I also make sure that I have the following on hand to be able to make a variety of fillings, frostings, and toppings:
- whipping cream
- powdered pudding mix
- powdered sugar
- a good chocolate spread
Then, there is the following to make last-minute quick desserts:
- packaged pie dough or ready-made pie crusts
- puff pastry dough
Lastly, it’s not a bad idea to keep fun toppings, such as chopped walnuts, raisins, and the oh-so-important container of sprinkles.
About Purim and Hamentaschen
What is Purim?
Purim is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman (Hamen) – the vizier of the Persian king, Xerxes (Ahashverosh) – by Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai.
The king’s first wife – Vashti (who had inherited the crown and made him king) disobeyed him and he was beside himself with anger. His advisors told him to get rid of her, with the explanation that everyone’s wife would feel it’s ok to disobey their husbands if she was allowed to get away with it. He agreed and complied.
Sometime after this, maidens were brought from far and wide for the king to choose a new queen. He chose a nice Jewish girl, Esther (although she kept her religion to herself).
Esther’s uncle, Mordechai (who had adopted her after the death of her parents) had accompanied her to the palace and would sit by the gates to hear of news of Esther’s well-being.
One day, Mordechai overheard two of the kings eunichs plotting to kill him and told Esther who told the king. The eunuchs were found guilty, were hanged, and the king had the incident recorded in his chronicles.
In the meantime, Haman, a sociopathic narcissist, was a promoted by the king and everyone was commanded to bow down to him.
Nonetheless, Mordechai refused, which caused Haman to become overcome with rage and hatred. So, he went to the king with a plot to murder all Jews (men, women, young, old) in revenge.
Haman told the king that there were a people who were dispersed among his nations, whose traditions were different from those of everyone else’s, and who didn’t follow the king’s laws. He told the king that he shouldn’t have to be tolerated and, if it please the king, they should be annihilated. The king told him to do as he saw fit.
A date was set and notifications were sent to all the provinces.
When Mordechai found out, he put on mourning clothes (a sack) and when Esther was told about this, she sent clothes to him via a messenger. He refused them and sent back a message telling her about the decree and insisted that she plead with the king on behalf of her people.
Esther really didn’t want to do this, because everyone – including the queen – had to be invited to see the king or risk death. Mordechai responded that she shouldn’t think that her position would protect her and that maybe this was the reason she became queen in the first place (from God).
Esther responded that everyone should fast for three days, night and day, and that she and her maidens will also fast and then afterward she will go to the king … “If I perish, I perish.”
When she went to the king, he was happy to see her and extended his golden sceptor toward her. He asked her what she wanted from him. “What is it you desire, Queen Esther, and what do you request? Up to half of the kingdom and it will be given to you.”
Esther’s request was that the king and Haman come to a banquet that she had prepared. The king agreed and ordered that Haman be quickly brought and there, again, the king asked: “What is it you desire, Queen Esther, and what do you request? Up to half of the kingdom and it will be given to you.”
Esther told the king that she would like him and Haman to come to another banquet the next day.
Of course, Haman was thrilled at the invitation. However, when he left to go home and saw Mordechai sitting at the gate, who still didn’t stand and bow for him, his joy dissipated and he was furious.
Haman went home and told his friends and his wife that nothing he had attained was worth anything to him as long as he had to see Mordechai disrespecting him. They suggested he build a tall gallows and ask the king to hang Mordechai on it. He liked the idea and built the gallows.
That night, the king couldn’t sleep and asked that his chronicles be read to him and he was reminded of how Mordechai saved his life from the eunichs. “What was done for him?” he asked. “Not a thing,” was the reply.
So, the king asked who was in the courtyard and lo and behold, there was Haman on his way to ask the king’s permission to hang Mordechai!
The king had him called to him and asked, “What should be done for the man whom the king desires to honor.”
Haman, narcissist that he was, thought: Who would the king want to honor more than me? So, he recommended that the king’s clothes and the king’s horse with a royal crown on it’s head to be given to the most noble official who will dress the man and ride him through the town square and call out: “This is what shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor.”
So, the king told Haman himself to quickly do just as he mentioned…for Mordechai the Jew!
The next evening, the king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet and again the king asked her: “What is it you desire, Queen Esther, and what do you request? Up to half of the kingdom and it will be given to you.”
This time she replied that her desire is her life and her request, the lives of her people. She proceeded to tell the that they had been sold out to be annhiliated.
“Who dared to do this?” he asked.
She told him: “This wicked Haman!”
The king got up and went out into the garden in his wrath and when he came back he saw that Haman had fallen on Esther’s sofa to beg for his life and said: “Can it be that he would actually assault the queen while I’m in the house?”
One of the eunuchs who were in attendance overheard and told the king: “Also, there is the tall gallows that Haman prepared which to hang Mordechai – who spoke good of the king – by his house.”
The king replied: “Hang him on it!”
The rest of the story is that the Jews got to fight back on the days they were supposed to be slaughtered and they won.
Every year, Jews celebrate their victory and on Purim, in the morning, they give out packages of treats and baked goods to their neighbors and friends and in the afternoon they have a festive meal to celebrate.
What about hamantaschen?
Hamentaschen (spelled a variety of ways) is a favored type of cookie that is made from a circle of dough with filling and folded into a triangle.
“Tasch” is yiddish for pocket, so the word hamantashen actually means, Haman’s (Hamen’s) pockets. Some people say that the triangle actually represents the three-cornered hat that Haman supposedly wore, and in Hebrew, they called these treats, Haman’s ears (Oznei Haman).
There are several ideas about how hamentaschen got its name, but it doesn’t really matter…All that matters is the they are really good!
How to fold Hamantaschen:
Cut out circle from dough (this is a 3″ diameter circle)
Fold over 1/3 of the circle from the edge toward the middle (how far you fold in is determined by how much filling you want showing.
Then fold over another 1/3 from the edge toward the middle
Then fold the last 1/3 toward the middle and tuck one side under, so each fold has one side exposed and one side under another.
…and voila! That’s it!
Hamantaschen for Purim (made with oil)
Easy and delicious, dairy-free hamantaschen.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- filling of your choice
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
- Add eggs, oil, and vanilla.
- Mix or need until the dough is soft but not sticky similar to Play-Doh (if it is too sticky, add a little more flour at a time until you reach the proper consistency).
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of approximately 1/8 inch.
- Using a cookie cutter or other round object (like a glass), cut out 3" circles (you can cut larger ciricles - the larger the circle, the larger the Hamentashen and the more filling you will need for each one).
- Place 1/2 teaspoons to 1 teaspoon of your filling of choice in the center (note that if the filling does not have a thick consistency - such as jelly - it will run over the sides if you overfill it).
- Fold the circle over 1/3 at a time to create a triangle. *
- Place the hamantaschen on a baking sheet that has been well greased or lined with parchment paper.
- Place in an oven that has been preheated to 350°F or 175°C.
- Bake at 350°F or until they turn a light gold color.
- Let cool (if any of your filling doesn't have a thick consistency, it will be loose when you take it out of the oven, but will solidify as it cools).
Notes
* To fold, take one third of the circle's edge and fold it toward the middle. Then, take another third and do the same (they should overlap a bit). Then, take the last third, fold it toward the middle and tuck one side under, so each of the thirds has one side in the open and one side tucked under another side. The amount of fold will depend on how much filling you want showing.
(see the photos in the post)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 335Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 148mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 5g