The Best Darn Hamantaschen Cookies

Chag Purim Sameach! While Purim is filled with costumes, gift baskets, and other festivities, one thing that you can be certain of is that there will always be hamantaschen! Hamantaschen, also known as Oznei Haman or Purim cookies are a delicious triangle treat made of shortbread cookie dough and poppy seeds or fruit jam. These cookies are meant to resemble the triangular hat worn by Haman from the Purim story in the Book of Esther and are always eaten to celebrate Purim. Not only are they a significant part of this holiday, but they are also very delicious, especially when made with Coachella’s Best Organic Medjool Dates! Here’s how to make them:

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 large eggs
• 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

Filling

• 75 g Coachella’s Best Organic Medjool Dates (you can buy them in bulk HERE!)

• ¼ cup chopped pecans
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions

1. Cut your Coachella’s Best Organic Medjool Dates vertically and remove the pit.
2. Roughly chop the Medjool dates into pieces.
3. Add the chopped dates, orange juice, lemon juice, and lemon zest into a pan and cook on low for about 3 minutes or until the dates are fully soft.
4. Add the mix into a bowl and mash all of the dates with a fork.
5. Add the chopped pecans into the mix and combine.
6. Set aside and let cool.
7. In a separate large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt, making sure to sift each ingredient.
8. Add the butter and sugar into a mixer and mix until the sugar melts and the texture is creamy and light.
9. Add one whole egg and just the egg yolk of the other egg into the mixer one at a time.
10. Add the vanilla extract then the orange juice and sifted dry ingredients into the mixer and mix until it becomes a soft dough.
11. Divide the dough in half and slightly flatten to create a disc-like shape.
12. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm or about 2 hours.
13. Once the dough is chilled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is about ⅛ inch thickness.
14. Use a 3-inch circle cookie cutter to cut out the dough and evenly place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
15. Add about a spoonful of the cooled date filling in the center of each circle.
16. Lightly dampen the edge of each circle with water.
17. Fold in one side of the circle and fold the opposite side to overlap it creating almost a triangle shape. Fold up the third side and tuck under the two already folded sides.
18. Let the cookies chill in the fridge.
19. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
20. Once the oven is ready, remove the cookies and brush them with an egg wash.
21. Bake the cookies until they become lightly golden or for about 10 minutes.
22. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
23. Enjoy!