Making vegan hamantaschen isn’t much of a stretch from the original recipe for the delicious traditional Purim cookies. Here we replace dairy butter with vegan butter, and use applesauce instead of egg. Though you can use all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, light spelt flour, or einkorn flour make these more wholesome.
Though poppyseed and prune hamantaschen are more traditional, I like to make them with at least two, or even three types of jam (or prune-poppyseed filling, which is included here) for variety and color.
About the Purim holiday
The Jewish holiday of Purim is all about fun and festivity. It falls on the 14th day of the month of Adar on the Hebrew calendar, which ends up being in late winter or early spring — usually some time around March.
The story of Purim, from the Biblical book named for the young Jewish woman Esther, who defeated the evil Haman, adviser to the Persian king, to save the Jewish people of Persia.
Hamantaschen literally means “Haman’s ears” — not a very appetizing image, but the cookies themselves are amazing.
Legend has it that while Queen Esther was (unwillingly) a part of the Persian king’s court, she ate only legumes, grains, nuts, and fruit as a way to maintain a Kosher diet. She loved seeds, as well — caraway and poppy in particular, which is likely why poppy seed hamantaschen are a tradition. Here’s more on the story of Purim.
A few tips on making vegan hamantaschen
The recipe box will give you all the information you need to make these cookies, but I wanted to give you a few extra notes on the variables.
Consistency of the vegan butter will affect the texture of the dough: The more commercial brands are softer and a bit easier to work with; the artisanal varieties are firmer and harder, more like dairy butter. But they all work, as long as they’re well integrated into the dough.
If you’re a fan of coconut oil, some vegan recipes suggest using it instead of vegan butter. It needs to be solid when used.
Make sure the dough is cold when you roll it: Many recipes say to place the dough in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes, and you can cut the time down by popping it into the freezer for 15 minutes or so.
The size of the cutter will affect the yield: I think the ideal size for a round cutter to make hamantaschen is 2 1/2 to 3 inches. So if you use a smaller one, obviously, you’ll get more cookies (though don’t go smaller than 2 inches), and fewer if you use a larger one. That’s why there’s a rather wide range in terms of the yield.
No cookie cutter? No problem. Truth be told, I used a wine glass whose diameter is a bit shy of 3 inches.
Once your dough is cut and arranged on a parchment-lined baking sheet, it’s time to add the jam. Place about a teaspoon full in the center of each round of dough.
To close up the cookies, start by pinching one end, then two other ends to form a triangle. It doesn’t hurt to do this with slightly damp fingers.
Pinch the cookies over the jam a bit more than what you think you’ll need to, as they open up a bit during baking. As you can see, I’m not the most skillful baker when it comes to working with dough, but no matter, they look great once they’re baked, and more importantly, they’ll taste amazing!
The prune and poppyseed variation (with a hint of cocoa)
Prune or poppyseed hamantaschen may be even more traditional than the jam variety. Using all poppyseed is really intense (and expensive), so I like to combine the two, and add some cocoa for a lovely flavor. Here’s the formula for this quantity of cookies:
- 3/4 cup moist prunes
- 1/4 cup poppyseeds
- 2 tablespoons cocoa or cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
- Pinch of cinnamon, optional
Combine these ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until smooth, with the consistency of a thick jam. Proceed as directed in the recipe. This will be repeated in the recipe box, in case you wish to print it out.
Vegan Hamantaschen
Making vegan hamantaschen, the traditional Purim cookies, isn’t much of a stretch — simply replace dairy butter with vegan butter. The yield varies according to the size of your cookie cutter.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat pastry, spelt, unbleached all-purpose, or a combination), plus more as needed
- 3/4 cup natural granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup vegan butter
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fillings (use any, or a combination)
- Apricot or peach all-fruit preserves
- Strawberry all-fruit preserves
- Blackberry or blueberry all-fruit preserves
- Prune butter
- Prune, poppyseed, & cocoa (see directions in Notes)
Instructions
- Combine the flour with the sugar, baking power, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine completely.
- Add the vegan butter, divided up into bits, along with the applesauce and vanilla. Work together with a pastry blender or large fork; or, truth be told, it’s easier to work together with clean hands. If the dough isn't holding together, add a little more vegan butter or apple sauce until it does.
- Once the dough holds together smoothly, wrap it in plastic wrap or a produce bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes; 15 minutes in the freezer works, too.
- When ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Divide the dough in half and roll out evenly on a well floured board to about a 1/8-inch thickness. With a cookie cutter or the open end of a glass, cut into approximately 2 1/2- to 3-inch circles. Repeat with the remaining dough; combine scraps of dough together until it’s all used up.
- Put a teaspoon of filling or fillings of choice in the center of each circle of dough, then pinch the dough into a triangle with the filling securely inside, yet open to view (see photos above the recipe box). Pinch closed a bit more than you think you’ll need to, as the cookies open up a bit as they baked.
- Arrange the cookies on a lightly oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden. Don’t overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly on racks or plates before serving.
Notes
Here's how to make the prune, poppyseed, & cocoa filling:
- 3/4 cup moist prunes
- 1/4 cup poppyseeds
- 2 tablespoons cocoa or cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
- Pinch of cinnamon, optional
Combine these ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until smooth, with the consistency of a thick jam.
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Find more Jewish vegan recipes and desserts & sweets.
can I make the dough the night before and refrigerate it until ready to use?
Hi Wendy — yes, that should work, as long as you wrap it really well. Enjoy!
my first pinched batch came out completely circular flat. After googling “why do my hamantaschen open in the oven” I found a post that states one should FOLD them, not pinch them. I folded the rest of them and came out nicely triangular.
Thank you, that’s a good tip — I’ll try that next time. Though I find if I pinch them really well, they don’t open up. Have a wonderful holiday!
There are weird symbols over some of the ingredient amounts. I don’t know how to get rid of them so I can’t tell if it’s 1/2 of applesauce or 1 1/2 cups. Same with the salt. What are those things?
This doesn’t seem to be posting. Guess I’ll have to look for a recipe elsewhere.
Hi Alison — I see what you mean! It’s funny, for all the (literally) thousands of people who have come for this recipe, no one mentioned anything. It was a rare glitch, and it has been fixed.
Do you recommend a certain type of granulated sugar? I have coconut sugar, date sugar, and brown sugar.
Hi Lauren — I’ve only used natural sugar like Florida Crystals; while I can’t guarantee what the results will be like, of those three my first choice would be coconut sugar. I’ve never used date sugar, but that might work as well. Have a sweet holiday!
They turned out good! I used coconut sugar. Only thing is that recipe says yields 20-28, and mine made 51 lol. I used 3 inch and made the dough around 1/8 thickness 🤷♀️.
So glad it turned out! Wow, 51 — perhaps you used a smaller cutter and make the dough nice and thin … I never get more than 28, maybe due to thicker dough (and laziness). Happy holiday!