While Purim might look a little different this year, you can still celebrate this joy-filled holiday with these recipes collected from some of the best blogs on the internet.
Funfetti Cheesecake Hamantaschen
Photo & recipe from Nina Safer via kosherinthekitch.com
Servings: about 20 hamantashen
Ingredients: 2 eggs 1 t vanilla 1/2 cup oil 2/3 cup sugar 2 t baking powder 2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup sprinkles 1 cup cheesecake filling (recipe below)
Cheesecake Filling: 1 8oz package of cream cheese 1/3 cup of sugar (you could use 1/2 cup if you like it very sweet) 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
Combine ingredients until smooth. Makes about 1 cup.
Directions: Cream together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour and baking powder. Mix together. The dough might be crumbly, use your hands to smooth it out and combine it. Add sprinkles to dough. (add the sprinkles in slowly, depending on how many sprinkles you want in the dough and don’t over mix them with the dough) Roll out dough on floured surface (about 1/4 to 1/8 thick. Not too thick since then the circles are hard to shape and will open up. Not too thin since then it will rip when shaping or filling) and cut out circles using a large circle cookie cutter or the rim of a large glass cup or mason jar.
Fill center of circle with cheesecake filling (about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp) and bake on 350′ for 12 to 15 minutes depending on how soft or crispy you want them. I like them super soft so took them out around 12 minutes. Once hamantaschen have cooled off drizzle melted white chocolate or cheesecake icing on top. Optional, top with more sprinkles! For cheesecake icing, I took leftover cheesecake filling and added some powdered sugar and milk to get a thinner consistency. Regular icing (powdered sugar and milk or water) would work great as well.
* How To Shape Hamantashen: Place filling in center than slowly fold over one side. Then the next and finally bring the bottom on top. Gently pinch the corners. You can also simply bring up the sides, forming a triangle by pinching the corners together.
Dairy-Free Hamantaschen
Photo & recipe from Tori Avey via toriavey.com
Ingredients: 2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1-5 tsp water (if needed)
Nonstick cooking oil spray
Directions:
Before you begin making the hamantaschen, choose and make your filling and have it on hand to work with. This dough will dry out quickly if left to rest too long, so it's best to have everything ready to assemble when you start.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, canola oil, orange zest and vanilla.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt
Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet, using a large wooden spoon and using circular motions till a crumbly dough begins to form.
Knead until smooth and slightly tacky to the touch. 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.
Lightly flour a smooth, clean surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. 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, if you need to.
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.
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.
When all of your hamantaschen have been filled, place them on a lightly greased baking sheet, evenly spaced. You can fit about 20 on one sheet... they don't need to be very spaced out because they shouldn't expand much during baking.
Place them in the oven and let them bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, till the cookies are cooked through and lightly golden.
Mint Chocolate Hamantaschen
Photo & recipe from Amy Kritzer via whatjewwannaeat.com
Ingredients:
For hamantaschen:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg plus 1 for egg wash
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
For filling:
1 block 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon mint extract
Green food coloring if desired
2-3 cups powdered sugar
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
Directions:
In a large bowl, with a stand or hand mixer, mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then add vanilla, egg and orange juice and combine. Then add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and mix just until combined. Dough should be slightly sticky.
Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the filling, cream together cream cheese and mint extract (with some green food coloring if desired) with a hand mixer add in powdered sugar until very thick and not sticky (between 2-3 cups depending on humidity).
Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch and cut into circles using a 3 or 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter (a wine glass also works well!)
Add a heaping teaspoon of the filling to the center of each hamantaschen. Fold in three corners to form a triangle and overlap the edges to seal. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze 30 minutes to prevent spreading.
Wash with remaining egg wash and bake for 12-15 minutes until just browned on the edges. Cool, and if desired drizzle with chocolate melted in a double boiler or microwave.
Want more recipes like these? Check out this BUZZFEED ARTICLE for all your hamantaschen needs!