Vegan Hamantaschen

By Raquelita • March 20, 2011 • 2 Comments

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Author Notes: Less-than-traditional dough with some mashed banana. It just happens to be vegan--this is just a copy the recipe from Jewish Vegetarian Year cookbook with some maple sugar added in. I didn't get much maple flavor so that isn't crucial--just use a full 1/2 cup of regular sugar.

The dough is not too sticky, thus you will get some cookies that open up if you only pinch sides together. To lessen the occurence, I started an overlap-fold technique, hopefully the picture can demonstrate the detail, it's hard to explain in words. Enjoy! - Raquelita

Makes 24

2/3 cups vegetable shortening or butter substitute (I like Earth Balance)
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup white or raw sugar
1/2 cup well-mashed banana
big pinches salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
jam, nutella, fruit butter or traditional filling
2 tablespoons water

beat together shortening and sugars
add in banana, water and vanilla, beat well. don't worry if the mixture separates out here--it looks ugly but it works!
beat in the salt and flour to make a smooth dough
form a ball, cover and chill for at least 2 hours
on a floured surface roll out to less than 1/8 inch thick. cut 3-inch circles in the dough. it's good to work in batches as the dough softens quickly. you can gather scraps and re-roll them, but put them in the freezer or refrigerator while you deal with your circles.
dot a scant teaspoon of jam or filling in the middle of each circle.
to make the traditional triangle shape: fold one side of the circle, then fold the next third so there is some overlap, then fold the last third. the jam center should still be visible. note: to keep them from opening up, instead of folding up and pinching sides together "up-side" to "up-side", use some of one edge (what used to be facing up) to fold OVER the other edge (what used to be on the bottom), then pinch.
place a few inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets (in case of runny jam) and bake at 375F for 12 or so minutes, until you can see some browning. let cool before enjoying--the jam will firm up nicely (Nutella turns into a nice dense consistency too)

Tags: cookies, purim, traditions