Apricot Hamantaschen
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These hamantaschen, or hat-shaped Purim cookies, are like glistening little fruit pies in cookie form.
With a buttery shortbread crust folded over a dollop of jam, these apricot hamantaschen, or hat-shaped Purim cookies, are like glistening little fruit pies in cookie form. Feel free to play with the filling—any thick jam, or even Nutella, will work well. If you’re a chocolate lover or catering to those who are, these chocolate hamantaschen have a brownie-like filling that will deliciously hit the chocolate spot.
“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.”
What You’ll Need To Make Apricot Hamantaschen
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sweetens the dough and creates a tender texture.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the hamataschen. Measure by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Butter: Adds richness and a flaky texture to the dough.
- Egg Yolks: Contribute to the dough’s richness and help bind the ingredients together.
- Apricot Jam: Fills the cookies with a sweet, fruity flavor. If you’ve got a favorite flavor, any thick jam will work here.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by placing the sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse to combine.
Add the cold butter cubes.
Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add the egg yolk and pulse until evenly crumbly and pale yellow in color.
Add a bit of cold water and pulse until the dough clumps together.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.
Knead it gently into a smooth ball, then divide in half and form into two 6-inch discs.
Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes, then roll it about 1/8-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out 3-inch circles.
Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets and lightly brush with the egg wash. This is the key to getting the corners to stick together.
Dot each cookie one with a teaspoon of apricot jam. Do not overfill, or the jam will leak out while baking.
Fold in the sides, slightly overlapping the filling, to form a triangle so that each side has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under — this creates a pattern that looks pretty (but don’t fuss too much over it). Pinch the corners together so that they form a point — this will keep them from separating while baking.
You can see more closely here.
Refrigerate the cookies on the pans for about 20 minutes, then bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Enjoy!
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Apricot Hamantaschen
These hamantaschen, or hat-shaped Purim cookies, are like glistening little fruit pies in cookie form.
Ingredients
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife, plus more for rolling the dough
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, very cold
- 3 large egg yolks, divided
- 1-2 tablespoons ice cold water
- ¾ cup apricot jam, best quality such as Bonne Maman
Instructions
- Combine the confectioners' sugar, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process for 10-15 seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 of the egg yolks and pulse a few times, until the mixture is crumbly and pale yellow. Add 1 tablespoon of the water and pulse just until the dough starts to clump together. If the mixture seems dry, add the remaining tablespoon of water and pulse again. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times into a smooth ball. Divide in half and pat into two 6-inch discs; wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°F and set racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, make an egg wash by mixing the remaining egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water. Set aside.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll to ⅛-inch thick, turning and dusting with more flour as necessary so it doesn't stick. Using a cookie cutter or glass, cut out 3-inch circles and place about ½-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Re-roll and re-cut any excess dough. Brush the dough very lightly with the egg wash. Place a level teaspoon of apricot jam on the center of each cookie (do not overfill). Fold in the sides, slightly overlapping the filling, to form a triangle so that each side of the cookie has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under -- this creates a pattern that looks pretty (but don't fuss too much over it). Pinch the corners together neatly so that they form a point. Slide the pans into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to chill.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, turning the pans halfway through baking, until the cookies are lightly golden on top and just starting to brown in the corners. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The Dough can be Frozen for up to 3 Months: Shape the dough into 2 discs, wrap each securely in plastic wrap, and place them in a sealable bag. When ready to bake, remove the disks from the freezer, thaw the dough for 1 to 2 days in the fridge, and then proceed with recipe. To Freeze After Baking: Let the hamantaschen cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (30 servings)
- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 128
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Sugar: 7g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Sodium: 63mg
- Cholesterol: 35mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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My family loved them. They are more delicate than the other recipes I use but they held together and were delicious.
Hi Jen!!! For a gluten free version – just substitute a different flour or anything else? Happy Inauguration Day and very early Purim 🙂 Haha!
Hi Amanda, oftentimes readers will have commented that they’ve made a gluten-free version of something but it doesn’t look like anyone has mentioned that here so you may be the guinea pig! I haven’t tried them with a gluten-free alternative myself but I think it will work if you use an all-purpose gluten-free flour. (A lot of people comment that they like this one by King Arthur. Please LMK how they turn out!
This was my first time making this cookie, and it was delicious. I followed your directions for making the cookie dough in a food processor, which was also a first for me, and the dough was perfect. For the fillings, I used a peach ginger jam, fig jam, and a raspberry jam. The folding of the cookie was a little difficult, so they didn’t turn out as pretty as yours, but they were still tasty. Would I be able to use this dough for other desserts, like a tart shell? I would love to use this dough for other recipes.
Hi Andrea, I do think the dough would work for a tart.
Hi Jenn, I live in Florida with high humidity (not sure if that is my issue). I just made this recipe with no luck. My dough was very sticky and hard to work with. I did add flour when kneading it with no luck. I was hoping that refrigerating it for the 30 mins would help when it came time to rolling. It was hard as a rock when I took it out of the refrigerator and let it sit for 5 minutes. When I started to roll it with a floured rolling pin the dough was still sticky. Bottom line is I ended up toss it. Any ideas what I did wrong? I did not substitute any ingredients. Thanks for your help.
So sorry you had trouble, Elaine. What brand of flour are you using?
I am using WhiteLily AP flour. I just bought some King Arthur AP flour so I’ll try that one next. I think my issue is that I over mixed it. Thanks so much for your quick response.
Got it – hope you have better luck the second time around (and I think King Arthur Flour is great)!
The best hamantaschen I’ve ever eaten. The recipe is easy to follow. I had a little trouble working with the dough because it’s really soft and delicate, but the results are worth it. We made it with a few different fillings: raspberry, nutella, strawberry, and peanut butter & chocolate chip. The dough complimented every flavor very nicely. I think next time I’d like to try it with lemon curd.
Made these for Purim and they were just perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
Just made these for Purim and they are delicious! Can you think of another way I could make these (not in the shape of a hat) so I could use this recipe all year round?
Hi Liza, glad you enjoyed them! I suspect you could also do a round version of these.
So delicious! I wanted to send these to my family and was wondering how many days they keep and best way to keep them fresh.
Hi RC, Glad you like them! I think they would stay fresh in an airtight container for 2 – 3 days.
Happy Purim from Sydney Australia! I’m so sure I followed the recipe to the tee, step by step (including the pinch!) – just replaced the jam with hundreds and thousands on one tray, and choc smarties on the other- pics look the same… until we swapped the trays at 6mins and saw that the hamantashen had totally collapsed into flat cookies. Carried on cooking for last 6 mins but while the cookies are tasty they can’t be called hamantashen anymore. Sob! Any idea why this happened? Thanks
Hi Rene, sorry to hear you had a problem with these! I’m wondering if the dough was not cold enough when you put the hamantaschen in the oven. Did you refrigerate them for 20 minutes after assembling? If so, if you try these again, I’d suggest refrigerating them for more time (even up to a few hours) before baking.
Check your oven temperature. My first batch did this and didn’t brown at all but the jam boiled. On the second batch I upped the temperature 25F and they came out beautifully!
Can I use apricot preserves? Have a jar to use up.
Sure – enjoy!