Purim bakers out there will know that hamantaschen are surprisingly difficult to make. The problem is that the dough is incredibly soft, so the simple process of dolloping the filling, folding the pastry and moving it to a lightly floured cookie sheet, all without the dough starting to melt, is actually quite tricky.
The other major issue, which we’ve blogged about before, is spillage. Sometimes that filling just doesn’t want to stay in its place. This has led to the debate of pinching vs. folding when it comes to creating the pastry’s corners.
After testing different recipes, we’ve landed on one that seems to work for us every time. It takes the folding approach, is parve and orange flavored. The key is to thoroughly chill the dough ahead of time, and in between batches.
Despite having found our go-to, we couldn’t resist trying a new recipe this year, which featured in this week’s IJN. It’s an Italian influenced hamantaschen, with a ricotta filling instead of the classic jam or poppy. The only adjustment we made was leaving the chocolate chips out of the filling, but adding 1 tsp. of lemon zest. For us, the drizzle was enough chocolate, and we wanted to make sure not to overpower the ricotta flavor.
For some reason though, these hamantaschen just did not stick together! One guess is probably all you need to figure out which one is ours in the picture above, and which came with the recipe. The flavor of the hamantaschen, however, was luscious, and chocolate drizzle and icing sugar go a long way to hiding mistakes.
RMJ Tips: Use less flour (scant quarter cup) than directed so that the dough is softer, making the pinches more likely to stick; roll the dough much thinner than directed; do not mix the egg white with water — it should help seal the dough better.
Cannoli Hamantaschen
Ingredients
Hamantaschen Dough
- 1 stick unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
- 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ½ C sugar
- ½ C milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 C flour
- ½ tsp. salt
Cannoli Filling:
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
To Finish:
- 1 egg white beaten with 1 tbsp. water for sealing
- ½ C chocolate chips for drizzling
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
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Beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar till light and fluffy; scrape down the sides. Add the milk and vanilla and beat till incorporated. Scrape down the sides. Add the flour and salt and beat again. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and place each between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Roll each to a ½" thickness, stack the doughs on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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Meanwhile, beat all filling ingredients except the chocolate chips until light and fluffy. Fold in the chocolate chips and refrigerate, covered, until needed.
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Preheat oven to 375ºF.
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Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one dough at a time, place on your prepared baking sheet and cut out circles using a drinking glass or 2.5" cookie cutter. Gather trimmings, re-roll and cut.
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Brush the edges of the circles with a bit of the beaten egg white and place ½ tsp. of filling in the center. Fold the dough into a triangle shape and pinch the corners and edges firmly together. Brush the dough with more of the egg white.
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Bake hamantaschen until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When cooled, place on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
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Last, melt the ½ C of chocolate chips in the top half of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Cool slightly and transfer to a disposable pastry or Ziploc bag. Snip a small opening in the corner and drizzle the chocolate over the hamantaschen. Refrigerate till set. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
