Hamantaschen

By sschwartz

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 1/3 cups plus 4 teaspoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• various fillings

Details

Servings 22
Adapted from smittenkitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar and mix for one minute longer, then egg, vanilla extract, orange zest and salt, mixing until combined. Finally, add the flour. The mixture should come together and be a tad sticky. If it feels too wet, add an additional tablespoon of flour.

Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To form the hamantaschen, roll out the dough on a well-floured surface until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter (3 inches is traditional, but very large; I used one that was 2 1/2 inches), cut the dough into circles. Spoon a teaspoon of you filling of choice in the center. Fold the dough in from three sides and firmly crimp the corners and give them a little twist to ensure they stay closed. Leave the filling mostly open in the center. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on racks.