This Purim week, I caught my friend Dara asking for the best hamantaschen recipe. Soon after, I saw well, lots of people asking for the best hamantaschen recipe. So I did what I’m really good at: I googled (both hamantaschen and hamantaschen and hamantaschen because you know, Hebrew) — and applied a few tricks I’ve learned here for evaluating online recipes.
Behold! 6 the best hamantaschen recipes, all highly rated, all from trusted bakers, and all in the beginner to medium baking ability range.
So get baking! Purim starts Wednesday night this year. And save me an apricot one, will you?
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Related: 6 creative pie crust alternatives, because sometimes, life’s too short for rolling out dough.
6 best hamantaschen recipes for Purim: Take your pick!
Tori Avey’s Buttery Hamantaschen Recipe
We’ve featured Tori Avey in so many roundups of the best modern Jewish holidays recipes, from the best challah to the best Rosh Hashanah apple recipes. So is it any surprise she makes one of the best hamantaschen recipes, with five-star ratings from 170 bakers? Not at all.
Bonus: Tori has recipes linked for her Apricot Filling, Poppyseed (Mohn) Filling, Prune (Lekvar) Filling; and for a more modern twist, a Caramel Apple Filling, a Nutella Filling. and an outrageous Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Filling.
Tori Avey’s Dairy-Free Hamantaschen Recipe
Why should the lactose-tolerant get all the three-cornered fun? She swears this dairy-free pastry dough is easy to roll out, won’t expand around the filling, and tastes delicious with a nice texture. 130 reviewers give it five-stars, so our rating: guaranteed winner. She even claims it’s easier to make than her buttery version, above.
Isn’t this hamantaschen tea towel such a sweet hostess gift for Purim?
Find it from Arielle Zorger Designs on Etsy
Apricot Hamantaschen from Once Upon a Chef
We’re all fans of Jenn Segal’s website and her wildly popular and well-rated cookbook,Once Upon a Chef: Weeknight/Weekend so no surprise, her apricot hamantaschen recipe is well-reviewed too. 84 reviewers give this one a solid 4.5 stars for its pastry-like dough, easy-to-follow photo instructions, and clever use of Bonne Maman Apricot Preserves — which are so delicious, and can easily be swapped for other flavors. As one reviewer put it, “I made these for the third year in a row. They’re delicious… so much more delicate than the heavy hamantaschen you get in most bakeries.”
Feel free to check out her chocolate hamantaschen recipe too, which she describes as having a more classic hamantaschen dough Yum.
Robin Donovan’s Easy Hamantaschen Recipe
The author of All Ways Delicious both gives you a thorough (and thoroughly entertaining) description of the meaning behind Purim and the various theories around the three-pointed pastry, right along with a truly easy hamantaschen recipe. As promised by the title. I admit, it’s pretty nice to look at a pastry recipe and see 8 total ingredients, all of which you already have on hand. Robin uses oil for butter to make it parve — but feel free to substitute if you’re good with buttery dough. The result: delicious, easy hamantaschen that have earned her 4.5 stars from nearly 50 reviewers, and over 2,000 shares.
Jamie Geller’s Crispy Olive Oil Hamantaschen
Jamie Geller is a favorite food blogger — let alone favorite Jewish food blogger, and author of cookbooks like The Joy of Kosher and Jewlish. So f course I had to include the best hamantaschen recipe I could find from Jamie — and even better, it’s an incredibly simple recipe made with ingredients you have on hand. I also love how she’s decorated them to look kind of like uh… well my daughter’s favorite: the strawberry frosted donuts from Dunkin. Hey why not. It’s Purim, live a little.
Orly Ziv’s Hamantaschen with Easy Poppy Seed Filling
Also on Jamie’s site is her own list of the best hamantaschen recipes, and at the top of the list — this lovely recipe from Orly Ziv. It’s a traditional recipe, or “the way Bubbie made them,” which sounds kind of perfect. The half-cup of finely ground almonds in the dough and some citrus in that filling will give your hamantaschen that extra special something. If your Bubbie can’t be with you to enjoy them, I’m sure you’ll be thinking of her in the most perfect way.
Top image:Anton on Unsplash
