Learn to make buttery hamantaschen dough, easy to work with for any filling. Rich, delicious, orange-scented cookies. Kosher, Dairy.
Prep time: PT210M
Cook time: PT25M
Total time: PT235M
Rating
4.83 stars (229 reviews)
Keywords
dessert recipe
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-5 teaspoons water (if needed)
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
Middle Eastern
Steps
Slice room temperature butter into small chunks and place in a large mixing bowl.
Add sugar to the bowl. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together for a few minutes till light and fluffy.
Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest to the bowl. Beat again till creamy and well mixed.
Sift flour and salt into the bowl.Mix with the electric mixer on low speed till a crumbly dough forms.
Begin to knead dough with hands till a smooth dough ball forms. Try not to overwork the dough, only knead till the dough is the right consistency. If the crumbles are too dry to form a smooth dough, add water slowly, 1 teaspoon at a time, using your hands to knead the liquid into the dough. Knead and add liquid until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky to the touch (not sticky), with a consistency that is right for rolling out. It can easily go from the right consistency to too wet/sticky, so add water very slowly. If the dough seems too wet, knead in a little flour till it reaches the right texture.
Form the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 3 hours to overnight.
Before you begin to assemble the hamantaschen, choose and make your filling and have it on hand to work with. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly flour a smooth, clean surface. Unwrap the dough disk and place it on the floured surface. The dough will be very firm after chilling.
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. At the beginning, it will be tough to roll out-- you may need to pound it a bit. A heavy rolling pin works best. As you roll, cracks may form on the edges of the dough. Repair any large cracks with your fingers and continue rolling.When the dough reaches 1/4 inch thickness, scrape the dough up with a pastry scraper, lightly reflour the surface, and flip the dough over. Continue rolling the dough out very thin (less than 1/8 of an inch thick). The thinner you roll the dough, the more delicate and crisp the cookies will turn out-- just make sure that the dough is still thick enough to hold the filling and its shape! If you prefer a thicker, more doughy texture to your cookies (less delicate), keep the dough closer to 1/4 inch thick. Lightly flour the rolling pin occasionally to prevent sticking.
Use a 3-inch cookie cutter (not smaller) or the 3-inch rim of a glass to cut circles out of the dough, cutting as many as you can from the dough.Gather the scraps and roll them out again. Cut circles. Repeat process again if needed until you've cut as many circles as you can from the dough. You should end up with around 35 circles (unless you've kept your dough on the thicker side, which will result in less cookies).
Place a teaspoon of filling (whichever filling you choose) into the center of each circle. Do not use more than a teaspoon of filling, or you run the risk of your hamantaschen opening and filling spilling out during baking. Cover unused circles with a lightly damp towel to prevent them from drying out while you are filling.
Assemble the hamantaschen in three steps. First, grasp the left side of the circle and fold it towards the center to make a flap that covers the left third of the circle.Grasp the right side of the circle and fold it towards the center, overlapping the upper part of the left side flap to create a triangular tip at the top of the circle. A small triangle of filling should still be visible in the center.
Grasp the bottom part of the circle and fold it upward to create a third flap and complete the triangle. When you fold this flap up, be sure to tuck the left side of this new flap underneath the left side of the triangle, while letting the right side of this new flap overlap the right side of the triangle. This way, each side of your triangle has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under-- it creates a "pinwheel" effect. This method if folding is not only pretty-- it will help to keep the cookies from opening while they bake.
Pinch each corner of the triangle gently but firmly to secure the shape. If any cracks have formed at the places where the dough is creased, use the warmth of your fingers to smooth them out.Repeat this process for the remaining circles.
When all of your hamantaschen have been filled, place them on a lightly greased baking sheet, evenly spaced.
Place them in the oven and let them bake at 350 degrees for 10-25 minutes, until the cookies are cooked through and lightly golden. Start checking them at 10 minutes; because the dough thickness tends to vary on these cookies they can cook quite fast if rolled thin. In most ovens it will take around 15-20 minutes, but best to keep a close watch over them as they cook to avoid overcooking or burning.Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Store them in a tightly sealed plastic bag or Tupperware.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 81 kcal
Carbohydrates: 9 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 15 mg
Sodium: 19 mg
Sugar: 3 g
Reviews
ELIZABETH FRENCHMAN on 2026-03-05 (5 stars): My only notes are to possibly add a tad more salt and that OJ can be substituted for the water. Otherwise a big hit! Finally have my @forever” hamantaschen recipe! Butter rules!
Hilary on 2026-03-04 (5 stars): I’ve been using this recipe for a few years now, and they turn out perfect every time. Crunchy fresh out of the oven, and delight my tender on day two. The orange zest is always such a nice touch!
Heather on 2026-03-04 (5 stars): Made for Purim with our friends, and we couldn't get enough of them. So delicious!
Kaz on 2026-03-04 (5 stars): Love this recipe! Have been using it for a few years now and not had any issues with folding them or crumbly dough.
Elyssa Davis on 2026-03-03 (5 stars): Great recipe. Thanks for making me look like a master baker to my husband and family!
Trina on 2026-02-28 (4 stars): Could you please provide ingredients weight in metric system ( grams) and egg’s weight without shell.
Thank you
Marcia on 2026-02-28 (5 stars): Best recipe I ever did. Best Hamantachen even
Phil on 2026-02-24 (3 stars): I formed the dough into a 3” log and refrigerated overnight. Sliced rounds and patted them flat to fill. Easier than rolling out. I would add a note to form the cookies with stiff jam as clear jelly spreads to much and also to form the cookies and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes as mine spread in the oven pretty bad. I got a few that look like Hamen’s hat ;-). They taste great but just don’t look great.
Teresa on 2026-02-21 (5 stars): I've been making these for a number of years and enjoy them.
Here are a few tips that help me:
Achieving an even thickness throughout the dough is tricky. For a long time, I used a toothpick marked with the desired thickness and pricked the dough to ensure it was all the same. Then I discovered rolling pins with caps on the end that raise the pin to whatever level thickness you want. It made rolling out much faster.
In order to keep the dough from opening up, I run a wet finger around the edge before folding. This usually seals it well. Also, I measure a level tablespoon of filling and no more. Too much filling can lead to the cookie opening up.
Before chilling the dough, I roll it out to the desired thickness then wrap with plastic wrap and chill. When it's time to cut into circles, I'm not trying to flatten a rock-hard ball of dough.
After forming the cookies and before putting into the oven, I put the cookie sheet in the frig to reharden the dough--about 10 minutes. This results in a larger and prettier cookie.
Deborah F. on 2026-02-14 (5 stars): Can’t remember if I rated these before, but just made them again. LOVE the snappy texture. They’re delicious as is, and they’re even better with vanilla sugar in the dough or a teaspoon of vanilla powder. I experimented this time with 6 versions: vanilla sugar with and without orange zest, vanilla powder with and without orange zest, and plain with and without orange zest. Vanilla sugar a powder and orange zest were our favorite. No zest and no vanilla were least favorite. Making all the fillings first, the dough another day, and baked another. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Cherie M Phelan on 2025-12-08 (5 stars): I posted this comment on December 6, 2025 at 8:27 am but it seemed to post as a reply to someone else's comment. I hope you see this.
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5 stars
Love these Buttery Hamentaschen cookies. They were a great hit at my Bible Study at the end of our study of the book of Esther.
I’m wondering if you know if the dough can be made ahead and frozen. I’m wanting to get a jump start on my Christmas baking. I read in a previous comment that you can freeze the cookies but I wondered about the dough. Thanks for your reply.
Dec 6, 2025
Mary on 2025-04-08 (3 stars): I have only eaten store-bought hamantaschen, never homemade, so I don’t really know how “good” hamantaschen “should” be. How would a Jewish grandmother make them? I can say these were too sweet for my taste buds and they were more crisp than I would have preferred. My dough held together in a nice ball without any water, but when rolled out, it was very dry and cracked easily. I think maybe I should have added some water anyway, even though it didn’t seem necessary. I have since looked at multiple recipes. They are all vastly different from each other. I’m going to try one with less sugar.
