Gluten Free Hamantaschen (Haman’s Hat/Haman’s Pocket, pronounced hah-men-tasch-en) cookies are certainly unique and symbolic at Purim, but are also so good you should add them to your recipe box for any time of year.
These soft, shortbread cookies cradled around your favorite jam are another take on thumbprint cookies … only with some pretty yummy history.
I first learned of these delicious cookies when I was reading one of my reader’s accounts of how heavenly this cookie could be when made with my gfJules Gluten Free Flour!
I began to read more about the history of this cookie and more about Purim – more, that is, than I already knew from my kids’ mini-Bible books including favorite stories like Esther’s. (By the way, go Esther! You’re a rockstar in my book, girl!)
The Hamantaschen cookie’s long history includes yeast incarnations and more cookie-like incarnations, the latter of which sounded more intriguing to me. I mean, what’s not to like about a buttery shortbread cookie with sweet fruit filling?
So, I dove into the history further, read reams of recipes and decided to give this seasonal sweet a try. I love that Purim traditions include sending gifts of food to friends, and of course, a Purim feast! (These cookies would be wonderful for either!)
They are very easy to make with my gfJules Flour, since it provides stretch where other gluten free flours in rolled doughs often do not.
Whether you concoct a homemade poppyseed filling, or just use your favorite preserve, jam, chutney or paste (like quince) — you choose. It is not even necessary to chill this dough before rolling, so it’s quick, too! (EVEN QUICKER: just use my gfJules Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookie Mix!)
Just roll out the dough, cut out with a sharp round cutter (like a biscuit cutter), brush lightly with milk and honey and fill the center with a dollop of your favorite jam or poppyseed filling.
Fold the corners over each other 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 so that they overlap, or alternatively, pinch the edges together well, dabbing the dough with water first to keep them from separating. Some folks prefer one method over the other — see which works best for you!
After the cookies are formed, sprinkle with sugar and bake! In under 10 minutes you’ll have gluten free Hamantaschen cookies you’ll love but hate to have to share!
Search no further for a great way to celebrate this Purim, or just this wintry weekend – take your pick! (And don’t forget to check out my Challah recipe if you are in need of more yummy recipes for Purim!).
And here’s another reader’s experiment with my gfJules Flour versus my gfJules Gluten Free Cut Out Cookie Mix and my gluten free Hamantaschen recipe. I love a good (edible!) experiment!
Ok just one more photo from another reader — they look too good to pass up!
Gluten Free Hamantaschen Cookies
Gluten free Hamantaschen Cookies (also known as Haman's Corners and Hamantash) are a fun way to celebrate Purim, but they're delicious anytime!
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 gfJules Gluten Free Cut Out Sugar Cookie Mix -- follow directions to make dough from mix
OR
- 1/2 cup palm shortening (recommended) or solid coconut oil shortening
- 1/4 cup butter or non-dairy alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
- 2 large eggs (or Ener-G® gluten free egg replacer works well here)
- 2 Tbs milk of choice
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (405 grams) gfJules® Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. citrus peel or zest (it makes all the difference!)
Filling
- preserves, chutney or jam for filling (I often use Bonne Maman® Preserves)
- or Pistachio Cream or vegan Pistachio Spread (pictured)
Topping
- 1 egg (or 4 Tbs. milk of choice)
- 1 tsp. honey or agave nectar
- 2 tsp. water (omit if using milk in place of egg)
- demerera or coarse sugar (optional)
- shopped pistachios or other nuts (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° F (static).
To prepare the dough, cream shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs (or substitute), 1 tablespoon milk and vanilla.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually stir in with the wet mixture until fully incorporated. A smooth dough should be formed at this point – not sticky or dry. If it is crumbly, stir in more milk, one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together easily.
Prepare a clean surface or pastry mat by dusting lightly with gfJules® Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (don’t use gritty rice flour to roll the dough!). Roll dough to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness and cut 2 1/2 – 3 inch circles using a sharp round cookie cutter.
Place a teaspoon-sized dollop of filling in the center of each circle. Fillings can include any fruit preserve, jam, chutney or paste, such as quince. They should not, however, be watery.
Brush edges of each circle lightly with water, then fold into one point (use the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 method pictured above), then bring the bottom rim of the circle up to form the bottom of a triangle.
Pinch each of the three corners firmly, brushing again with water if necessary to keep the corners stuck together during baking.
Gently transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Stir these toppings together: egg (or 4 tablespoons milk of choice), honey and water. Brush lightly on tops of each exposed portion of the cookie. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar, if desired.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 11 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned. Dust with confectioner’s sugar, if desired. If cookies are very crumbly when eating, they were slightly overcooked.
Yield: approximately 24 cookies
Make these yummy cookies any time you’re in the mood for delicious shortbread cookies and jam!
Pin for later!
Based on 33 Review(s)
Once again GFJules saves a Jewish holiday! Another stellar recipe.
Gorgeous Hamantaschen, Dana! I love the different fillings you’ve used – so colorful! Happy holidays!!!
~jules
March 16, 2022.
I made these gfjules flour dough hamentashen this morning. They are delicious and they held their shape! I used all of your extra tips (especially helpful about the correct moisture content), refrigerated the first ones as I made more. I made poppyseed filling from the website vganish.com.
Thank you very much!
They look fantastic, Leslee!! So glad you were able to make these for Purim and enjoy this sweet tradition! Love the photo — thanks so much for sharing! I just tried a pistachio filling for the first time this year. I’ll have to look for that poppyseed filling recipe (yum!)
~jules
Can you freeze the Hamantaschens?
Hi Ellen, yes you can! Just seal them well. Enjoy!
~jules
Can I form them the day before ? And then bake the next morning? Do I bake right from the fridge or do they need to come to room temp first ?
Thank you.
Shelley
Hi Shelley, you can make them ahead and bake them right from the fridge! Just be sure to cover them well so they don’t dry out in the refrigerator. ENJOY!
~jules
My dough was very crumbly and i could not make the triangle. What did i do wrong.
Hi Betty, assuming you used my gfJules Flour and made no other ingredient substitutions, it sounds like there was either too much flour or too little moisture. It may have been a measuring issue (check out this article: https://gfjules.com/how-to-measure-gluten-free-flour-and-why-its-so-important-to-do-it-right/), but either way, if the dough is crumbly and not holding together in the bowl, it won’t get better when you roll it out. Add more liquid — even a splash of milk will do — until it holds together in a ball when you squeeze it. Hope that helps!
~jules
Thanks. And yes it was your flour and exact to the recipe. They tasted great.
Betty
Help please. The hamantaschen I made came out tasty but would not keep their shape. I used marzipan filling and I must admit it might have been a bit too liquid. Is their a key to keeping the Napoleon hat form when it is baking?
Thanks!
Debbie
I’m so glad you loved the taste of the gluten free Hamantaschen recipe! If the filling was very wet, that can contribute to the dough corners opening up, but the biggest key is making sure the parts of the dough that are being squeezed together in the corners are brushed off of excess gluten free flour, and then wetted slightly (dab with a wet finger) and pressed together really well. It can still happen that they open up occasionally, but this is the best way to help them stay together. I hope that helps for next time you make this recipe!
~jules
I just went back and added photos showing another technique that might work better for you, Debbie — it’s the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 folding technique. Check it out as it might help your dough to stay together better than the pinching method!
~jules
Thank you so much! I had been pushing off making hamentashen as I didn’t want my ingredients to go to waist! Now I can’t wait to try these!
So happy you’ll be making these for Purim! ENJOY!
~jules
These were delightful! We tried our family recipe last year with a flour from the store and there were TERRIBLE. This year, we used your flour after finding this recipe a few weeks ago, and WOW, what a difference. They were exactly like I remembered from before my gluten free days. Thank you so very much Jules! Sanity restored
So wonderful to hear, Valeri! Thanks for sharing!
~jules