I was tired of hamentashen that had opened, filling oozing all over the place. Then I found this recipe for perfect, no-fail traditional hamentashen, and I’ve been enjoying them ever since — even breaking my no mixer, no margarine, no patchke rule for Purim each year!

If you know me, you know that I stay far away from any baked good that requires much more than shaping into balls and dropping onto a cookie sheet. Any and all such desserts absolutely terrify me. (In fact, my editor has told me a cookie is NOT a dessert and that I need to include more actual desserts in my repertoire, but this is what I bake!) But come Purim, I roll up my sleeves, pull out the rolling pin and strawberry jam, and make hamentashen.

Over the years I’ve tried many hamentashen recipes. The most frustrating thing that I found was that no matter how beautiful they looked before they were baked, they often opened up in the oven. Yes, I tried folding them over; yes, I tried the special no-spread jam; yes, I tried a drier dough, a wetter dough, more filling, less filling. Every tip and trick I was given over the years as a “must” for perfect hamentashen resulted in messy ones instead.

As you all know, wherever I go, I discuss recipes. Years ago, I was teaching in a school and loved to shmooze with the mothers when they came to pick up their children. One mother insisted that her hamentashen recipe was THE BEST. I tried it, thinking I would end up adding it to my pile of no-goes, but — whaddya know?! — it actually worked! So even though over the years I’ve had so many people tell me I MUST try their hamentashen recipe instead — to me, if it’s finally not broken, I aint fixing it!

perfect no-fail traditional hamentashen! — *Perfectly sealed hamentashen — at last!*

I like to make my no-fail traditional hamentashen with strawberry jam filling for real, authentic flavor, but you can certainly use any filling you like. My girls like to have fun with hazelnut and chocolate cream fillings. One year, my daughter made brownie batter and used that — it was delicious!

Typically, all my baked goods can be mixed by hand, but this recipe comes together better when done with a mixer.

If you know me, you know that 90% of my baked goods are made with oil, not margarine. I don’t like the flavor margarine gives to baked goods or how it makes me feel after I eat it. But for these hamentashen, I make an exception. The dough just comes out so much better with it.

I like to make these in advance. Once they are fully cooled, they freeze beautifully!

filling in center of dough circle — *Cut out circles of dough with a glass or round cookie cutter. Place a spoonful of jam in the center of each circle.*

top corner pinched — *Pinch at the top to form the top corner.*

second corner pinched — *Pinch at the bottom on one side…*

formed raw hamentash — *…and then the other. There you have it — a perfect, three-cornered hamentash!*

No-Fail Traditional Hamentashen That Won’t Open Up — Guaranteed!

No more opened corners or oozing filling!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

4 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2 sticks margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
1 Tbsp vanilla sugar
11.6 oz. jam, approx. (any flavor, or any filling you want)

Instructions

Place all ingredients (besides jam) in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Beat until it forms a smooth dough.
Refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Divide dough into two balls.
Roll out one ball into a rectangle about 23”x15”.
Using the rim of a glass or a round cookie cutter, cut into circles.
Take a circle of dough in your hand, place a small teaspoon of jam in the middle, and pinch the sides up into three corners to form a triangle shape.
Gently place on a lined cookie sheet.
When you have filled all the circles, gather up the scraps and roll out again, repeating the process until the dough is used up. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.