I love making homemade gluten-free hamantaschen for Purim. I also love to give them away in my Shalach Manot bags for Purim (and, of course, I don’t mind eating a few myself!). In this post, you’ll learn how to easily make gluten-free hamantaschen cookies at home. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
The Jewish holiday of Purim is celebrated with delicious hamantaschen cookies. While the cookie is delicious and filled with symbolism, people with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivities, gluten intolerance, and wheat allergies were left out of the cookie fun.
I got to work creating a tasty gluten-free hamantaschen cookie recipe. And boy, did I ever! I came up with a delicious recipe that rivals any gluten-full cookie around. My mother-in-law says my cookies are better than the regular hamantaschen she buys every year. How is that possible?
What is Hamantaschen?
Hamantaschen is a traditional symbolic cookie eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. The cookie is shaped like a triangle to mimic the look of Haman’s hat, the villain of the Purim story. It is then filled with preserves or sweet filling.
The cookie is symbolic because the filling is “hidden” from sight. The story of Purim is full of hidden symbolism.
- The root word for Esther is “hester,” which means “hidden.”
- Esther is the only story in the Jewish Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible, which is also referred to as the Christian Old Testament) where G-d’s name is never explicitly mentioned, even though G-d’s presence is felt throughout the story.
- Further evidence of the symbolism of the word “hidden” is also found in the idea that Esther kept her identity as a Jew “hidden” from King Ahasuerus.
As you can see, a cookie with a hidden filling is quite apropos for a holiday with so much hidden meaning.
How to Make Gluten-Free Hamantaschen Cookies
The key to a good gluten-free hamantachen cookie is a good gluten-free flour blend. The blend should contain a mixture of different flours, starches, and xanthan gum.
I’ve tested this recipe with several flour blends. They all taste slightly different, but they all work nicely. The biggest issue is that people use way too much flour. You must measure your flour by weight or spoon and level the flour in the measuring cup. DO NOT PACK THE FLOUR IN THE MEASURING CUP.
This recipe has been tested with the following flours, and all worked well. The choice is yours. Again, make sure you don’t use too much flour. You’ve been warned.
- Hand + Heart All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- GF Jules All Purpose Flour
- Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend
- Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour
Step #1: Make the Cookie Dough
Combine the eggs, sugar, oil, cream cheese, and vanilla in the bowl of a large standing mixer. Mix until combined. Then, slowly add the flour and baking powder and mix on low until the flour is mostly incorporated into the mixture. Set the mixer to mix medium-high for two minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and use your hands to shape it into a ball.
Step #2: Chill the Dough
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes (or longer) while you prepare your workspace. The longer you allow the dough to chill, the better. You could even prepare the dough the day ahead of baking
A chilled dough is less sticky and easier to work with, and chilling gives the flour time to absorb the wet ingredients fully. This article explains more about working with gluten-free flour and dough.
Step #3: Roll and Shape the Dough
Lightly flour a clean, flat surface or countertop, then roll out the dough. You can roll it out all at once or divide the dough in half and work in batches. I divide the dough in half to work in batches.
Alternatively, I have discovered that placing a silpat mat on my counter with a bit of flour makes less of a mess. Use it if you have it!
You’ll want to roll out the dough so it’s about 1/4 inch thick, then use a round cookie cutter (or even the top of a glass) to cut out circles.
Tip: You can roll the leftover dough to make more cookies. The dough is very forgiving!
Step #4: Add Jam and Shape Cookies
Now, it’s time to add a dollop of preserves, Nutella, or another filling to the center of each circle. You can use any flavor you desire.
I love filling cookies with apricot jam, raspberry jam, and/or Nutella, but many people also love fig and poppy seed filling. Use whatever you like; you can’t go wrong.
Fold the cookie into a triangle. To do this, cup the dough circle with your fingers so it forms into three edges, then pinch the edges together so they stay connected when baking.
Watch this video to get a sense of how to fold hamantaschen.
Here’s what my hamantaschen looked like once I added a dollop of filling in the center of each circle. Remember, if you put too much jam in the middle, it might leak out or be more challenging to pinch into a triangle. If you use too little, the cookie will be dry. I use about 1/2 tablespoon and generally don’t have any issues.
Step #5: Bake the Hamantaschen
Once you fold all the cookies, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake them for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Here’s how these beautiful cookies look when baked and cooled.
Troubleshooting
You’ll notice that the dough is relatively easy to work with. It rolls out well and holds together at the three edges as long as you gently pinch the edges together well. You may, however, run into one or more of these issues:
Cracking: The dough may crack a bit when handling or baking. This could mean you used too much flour. Do not pack the flour in the measuring cup. Always spoon and level it. Also, don’t use too much flour when rolling out the dough. This is adding more flour back into the dough, which will dry it out.
Cookies Opening: Some of the cookies may open when baking. This happens to me all the time. Be sure to pinch the edges gently but firmly before baking. Any cookies that open during baking are samples to be eaten immediately – lucky you!
Jam Leakage: Some of the fillings may leak out of the cookie, which could be because the cookies weren’t sealed well or overfilled.
Dry Cookies: The cookies may taste a bit dry the first day you make them, mainly if you accidentally use too much flour. Put them in a zip-top baggie in your fridge, then taste them the next day. The dough will absorb moisture from the jam filling and soften each day. The hamantashen tastes great on Days 2, 3, and 4. They don’t last longer than that!
Vegan + Dairy-Free + Gluten-Free Hamantaschen
I have a friend who eats gluten-free, as well as dairy, egg, corn, and soy-free. I always like to make her my gluten-free hamantaschen cookies, but she can’t eat them because of the dairy and egg. This is why I’ve created a vegan, gluten-free, and just as tasty hamantaschen cookie recipe.
You’ll also notice I halved my regular gluten-free hamantaschen recipe to make a small batch for my vegan friend.
Here’s what you need:
- 2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour + more for flouring the surface
- 1 tsp baking soda (I use baking soda instead of baking powder because baking soda is corn-free)
- 2 flax eggs (mix 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal + 6 tablespoons of warm water and allow it five minutes to gel)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup avocado or other vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup applesauce
Mix all the ingredients together and follow the rest of the instructions to make your dough and fold your cookies.
You can use any jam as the filling, but my friend made a special request for chocolate hamantaschen, so I stuffed them with chocolate chunks from Enjoy Life.
How Do They Taste?
Both of my gluten-free hamantaschen recipes taste incredible. You’ll end up with a flaky, tender, slightly dry cookie filled with delicious jam, chocolate, or your choice of filling. Remember, the cookies will moisten with time as they soak up the moisture from the jam filling, so it’s okay to make them a day or two ahead of time.
And I wish all my Jewish friends a very happy Purim! I hope you enjoy the taste and symbolism of these beautiful gluten-free hamantaschen cookies.
For more symbolic foods for Purim, read my article, 6 Symbolic Gluten-Free Foods for Purim.
Gluten-Free Hamantaschen Cookies
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum spoon and leveled (do not pack the flour in the measuring cup) – see notes
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup avocado oil (or oil of choice)
- 1/2 cup cream cheese 4 ounces (or non-fat Greek yogurt)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
- 1-2 jars preserves or jam of choice about 15-20 ounces
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free flour and baking powder. Mix together and set aside.
- In the bowl of a large standing mixer, add the eggs, sugar, oil, cream cheese and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Slowly add the flour to the wet mixture and mix on low until the flour is mostly incorporated. Then set the mixer to medium-high speed for about 2 minutes.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes or until you're ready to assemble the cookies. You can prepare the dough the night ahead of time. Chilling will make the dough easier to work with and allow the gluten-free flour time to soak up the wet ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface or silpat mat until it's about 1/4" thick.
- Using a circle cookie cutter or top of a glass, cut dough into large circles. Place circles on the baking sheet about 1/2" apart (the cookies won't spread).Tip: You can roll the leftover dough to make more cookies. The dough is very forgiving!
- Add 1/2 tablespoons of choice preserves to the center of each cookie. Carefully pinch the round dough in three places to create a triangle. (See instructions in the above post.) Make sure you really pinch the dough well so the cookies don't open when baking.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow the cookies to fully cool before enjoying.
- Place the cookies in a zip-top bag in the fridge until you're ready to enjoy them. They will taste even better on days 2-4 because the dough will soak up the moisture from the jelly and soften the cookie.
Notes
- 2 3/4 cups 1-to-1 gluten-free flour (see article for recommendations)
- 1 tsp baking soda (I use baking soda instead of baking powder because baking soda is corn-free)
- 2 flax eggs (mix 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal + 6 tablespoons of warm water and allow it five minutes to gel)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup avocado or other vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup applesauce
Yes
Can I halve the recipe?
I’ll look into it.
recipe looks interesting, but your print recipe function doesn’t work in Firefox. It just reloads the page.
Probably not. If you’re not vegan use the original recipe.
Can I use “real eggs” as opposed to the vegan substitute
Oh My Goodness, these cookies were amazing! So, true confessions, I am a TERRIBLE cookie baker! TERRIBLE! I make Otto’s cookie mixes all the time and ONLY make them into bars because I cannot make cookies. Well, this week is Spring Break for us and for some reason, I wanted to make these cookies. They turned out amazing. My daughter and her husband came over for supper. She loved the cookies and could NOT believe I made them. HaHa, she knows me well and knows I cannot make cookies. I followed the instructions and the helpful tips and … they were perfect. I did not use piped icing, I just sprinkled with powdered sugar. I made Apricot, Cherry and nutella ones. They were all good.
These are fabulous! I used butter instead of oil, and added some orange zest to the batter, I followed a suggestion I’d seen elsewhere to put the constructed cookies on the baking tray into the freezer for 15 minutes before baking, so tried that – don’t know if that had any effect, but no cracking or running. And I also put a bit of an egg wash on before cooking. These were the perfect texture – soft yet stable enough to hold the filling in place. NOTE: Your directions say to roll the dough out to 1/2″ – which is clearly an error – you probably meant to say 1/4″ ? I made mine a bit (not much) thinner than 1/4″. Thank you for this recipe!
Try cassava flour. Use 140-150 grams of it per cup
I now can’t eat rice as well as gluten. So both of those blends are out for me. I do have some rice free blends, and I can try one that can produce a crust. Has anyone else had this problem?
I love this recipe too. Happy Purim!
our special needs students are on a strictly gluten free diet. This recipe was a perfect hit and it made them so happy and excited for Purim!!!
delicious, easy recipe and it came out YUM!!!!!
I haven’t tried it with butter but typically it’s a one to one swap.
Would like to replace butter for the oil in th GF version. How much butter should I use?
Love hearing this. Happy Purim!!
My stepson has celiac and I wanted to make hamentashen with him so I gave this recipe a shot. This was the EASIEST and most forgiving dough I’ve ever worked with, gluten or not. I made regular ones with his brother and that dough was temperamental on a good day. Everyone couldn’t believe how good these were. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Sounds like the sugar. I haven’t heard of this issue before.
I just made these for a Purim party tonight. They turned out so good. I used 2oz of cream cheese and 1/4cup Greek yogurt. I kneeded the dough some before rolling it out. They are so yummy. My husband couldn’t tell they were gluten free. No cracking.
I too made these with Bobs 1:1 GF flour and measured in Grams. The only difference is I used Lakanto Sugar substitute (Lo Han Go + Erythritol). My dough did not set up enough to even roll out. Much Too crumbly. Do you think it was the sugar or did I mix it too much or not enough?
Great recipe. I used vegan cream cheese. No cracking or leaking. Thanks!
I make that swap with other cookies but haven’t tested with this one per se.
Could I use Butter instead of oil? I want to make them as authentic as possible. Thanks!
Yes. I was also making the vegan version extra allergy free (corn free) so no baking powder since it contains cornstarch.
Your GF recipe calls for baking powder; the vegan version calls for baking soda. Is this correct? Planning to try these soon! (I will make them dairy free, but will use real eggs)
My pleasure. I hope you love it!!
I was so excited to find this recipe! Because of food allergies, our family has a mix and match list of allergies including peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, corn, soy, dairy, eggs and nightshade vegetables. I’ve been looking for a hamentashen recipe for years, having tried it years ago (before discovering my allergies) at a friend’s house. I am so excited to try this recipe and look forward to checking out the rest of your blog. Hopefully I’ll find some more treasures! Thank you for sharing your recipe!! ♥️ All the best to you!
Yes mine cracked too. You could smooth the dough before putting in the oven. You could also add a little extra fat (oil) or applesauce to make the dough more bendable. Also make sure your circles are not too small. This way the dough doesn’t have to bend as far. My circles are about 3inches in diameter.
I used the 1:1 GF flour but I found the dough to crack a whole bunch before I even put them in the oven. How do you remedy? Thanks!
The weight for 5.5 cups of Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 GF flour would be about 32 oz. I hope you make these cookies. They are SO good! I got mad compliments on them.
I always have trouble with volume measurements, do you know how much the BRM flour weighs for this recipe?
This recipe has only been tested with the Bob’s 1-to-1 GF flour. I imagine you’d need a different recipe if you use almond or soy flour though. Happy Purim!
Hi there! Happy Purim! Can you make these with almond meal or soy flour instead?
Yay, I’m excited to have you test the recipe since it’s so new. Let me know how it goes!!
Thanks for the vegan recipe, these look amazing!!! Will try to make them this weekend.