These delicious triangle-shaped cookies are one of our favorite Purim treats. I am offering two fun ways to make this gluten free hamantaschen recipe. Make them the traditional way with jam, or have some fun and make them funfetti!
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When we first went gluten free, we skipped making hamantaschen. It isn't that I felt intimidated...it was more I truly didn't believe a gluten free version could turn out very well. Way back when...there weren't the gluten free products out there that you see now. We couldn't buy a loaf of bread in stores!
After a few years of attending Purim carnivals and not eating hamantaschen, I realized my family missed these triangle-shaped cookies. The first time you take a bite of these cookies, you will be hooked! We hope you love this gluten free hamantaschen recipe as much as we do!
If you are a cookie fanatic like me, you will also want to check out these Gluten Free Duvshaniot, or Israeli Honey Cookies.
Why These Hamantaschen Are Great:
- You can fill them with any jam flavor you like.
- You can make these the traditional way or have some fun!
- These cookies are perfect for any Purim festival; nobody will know they are gluten-free!
- Make them in under 20 minutes!
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten free flour blend - I tested this recipe using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend, Pillsbury Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours and I can not guarantee the recipe will work if you use other mixes.
- Xanthan Gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Butter - Please use room temperature unsalted butter. If you are dairy-free, you can use a dairy-free butter like Earth Balance.
- Sprinkles - If you are making the funfetti version, it is critical to ensure your sprinkles are gluten free. Check my gluten free sprinkles list.
How To Make Gluten Free Hamantaschen:
Step 1: In a large
To Measure Gluten Free Flour:
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using either the spoon method or leveling method.
Spoon Method: You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Leveling Method: Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 2: Add the softened butter, eggs, and pure vanilla extract to a smaller bowl and mix well.
Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the funfetti sprinkles if you are making gluten free funfetti hamantaschen cookies.
Step 4: Mix the ingredients into a cookie batter. You can also use a standing mixer or an electric hand mixer to mix your dough.
Step 5: For best results, if you are mixing with a spoon, I recommend a final mixing of the dough with your hands to make sure it is fully blended. Here is the plain hamantaschen cookie dough.
Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 350º F.
Step 6: Dust a piece of parchment paper or cutting board with a little gluten free flour. Use a rolling pin to roll the hamantaschen cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness.
You can use a biscuit cutter, or glass to cut out circles in the dough. Whichever you use, this will help make all of your hamantaschen even and the same size.
Step 7: One of the biggest challenges is folding up the sides of the hamantaschen, and there is a big debate about whether you should pinch the corners or fold them over.
I usually do the pinch method. To get those nice corners in the dough, lightly fold the sides over each other. Be careful not to pinch the corners too hard.
If you make funfetti hamantaschen, the filling is frosting and will melt in the oven. You will need to bake the cookies without a filling. If you are baking traditional Hamantaschen, the jam filling now before baking the cookies.
Step 8: Bake on a parchment paper-lined
Looking at the photo above, you can see a few of the funfetti hamantaschen opened up. I am not sure if it is because we left them unfilled because none of the jam-filled hamantaschen opened.
Traditional Hamantaschen Fillings:
- Poppyseed filling
- Homemade jam
- Jelly
Unique Hamantaschen Filling Ideas:
- If you love funfetti, or if your birthday falls over Purim, you must make these birthday hamantaschen!! They are delicious and filled with vanilla frosting!
- Bake the hamantaschen empty like with the funfetti but fill the centers with Nutella. You can drizzle chocolate over them as well.
- Make them lemon by adding 1 teaspoon of lemon zest to the cookie dough. Fill the hamantaschen with lemon curd.
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
A hamantaschen cookie is a Jewish cookie that is made during Purim to celebrate the Jewish people breaking free from Haman, who was planning to kill the Jews in his kingdom.
The triangle represents the triangle hat that Haman wore.
You can easily make dairy-free hamantaschen by using dairy-free butter.
Hamantaschen cookies have a similar flavor to jam-filled thumbprint cookies.
You can easily freeze hamantaschen. Let them cool to room temperature, then pop them into a freezer bag. Store in the freezer flat. To thaw the hamantaschen, allow them to sit out on the counter for 30 minutes.
If your gluten free hamantaschen turned out crumbly, your dough was too dry, or you didn't use a flour blend with xanthan gum. You can try to wet the dough with a little water or additional melted butter.
These cookies are usually only made at Purim because they are part of the special celebration. They are a Purim tradition...that being said, go ahead and make them any time you like :-).
More Fun Recipes For Purim:
- These gluten free cheese blintzes make a great breakfast for Purim morning.
- The whole family will love this gluten free matzo ball soup with dinner.
- If you need a great side dish, these brown sugar carrots are a huge hit with our family.
Check out the fun web story too!
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Hamantaschen
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum free
- dash sea salt
- 1 egg size large
- ¾ cup butter softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk or non-dairy milk
- 1 cup jam
- optional frosting and funfetti
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your gluten free flour blend, white sugar, baking powder, and sea salt. Use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients together.
- Add the softened butter, eggs, and pure vanilla extract to a smaller bowl and mix well.
- Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the funfetti sprinkles if you are making gluten free funfetti hamantaschen cookies.
- Mix the ingredients into a cookie batter. You can also use a standing mixer or an electric hand mixer to mix your dough.
- For best results, if you are mixing with a spoon, I recommend a final mixing of the dough with your hands to make sure it is fully blended. Here is the plain hamantaschen cookie dough.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Optional: chill the dough for 15 minutes.
- Dust a piece of parchment paper or cutting board with a little gluten free flour. Use a rolling pin to roll the hamantaschen cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness.
- You can use a biscuit cutter, or glass to cut out circles in the dough. Whichever you use, this will help make all of your hamantaschen even and the same size.
- One of the biggest challenges is folding up the sides of the hamantaschen and there is a big debate whether you should pinch the corners, or fold them over. I usually do the pinch method. To get those nice corners in the dough, lightly fold the sides over each other. Be careful not to pinch the corners too hard.
- If you are making funfetti hamantaschen, the filling is frosting and will melt in the oven. You will need to bake the cookies without a filling. If you are baking traditional Hamantaschen, the jam filling now before baking the cookies.
- Bake on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet at 350º F for 9 minutes unfilled or 10-11 minutes if they are filled with jam.
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack. If you are making funfetti hamantaschen, make sure the cookies are completely cooled before adding the frosting filling.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend in this recipe. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain xanthan gum, be sure to add 1 teaspoon to your dry ingredients.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter and use non-dairy milk.
- These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
- Poppyseed filling
- Homemade jam
- Jelly
- If you love funfetti, or if your birthday falls over Purim, you will have to make these birthday hamantaschen!! They are absolutely delicious filled with vanilla frosting!
- Bake the hamantaschen empty like with the funfetti but fill the centers with Nutella. You can drizzle chocolate over them as well.
- Make them lemon by adding 1 teaspoon of lemon zest to the cookie dough. Fill the hamantaschen with lemon curd.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Jillian Thrasher
To make this lower in sugar, can maple syrup be used?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Jillian, I haven't tested any liquid sweeteners. If you try it, you will probably need to adjust the flour amount.
Ashley
When do you add the milk? It’s not in the instructions.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Ashley, the milk goes in with the wet ingredients. Thank you!
Sonia
Can you substitute margarine for butter ?
Sandi Gaertner
That should be okay.
Linda
Is there any reason not to use the funfetti dough and fill it with the traditional jam or poppy seed? You seem to indicate you can only use it for the recipe that adds the icing after baking.
Sandi Gaertner
You can use any filling you like :-).