This past week many of my evenings have been filled with hamentashen. This year I need to make somewhere between twenty and twenty four dozen hamentashen so the freezer has been my friend. I have been baking about five doezen a night and stashing them in my freezer so I will be ready for next week. I have made a lot of different flavors of hamentashen, some more traditional and some less so, and I have a few more to try.
While I have pretty much gotten the system down to a science, every once in a while I put too much filling in one and it bursts open in the oven. Because that is the thing about hamentashen. There can only be a little bit of filling in each cookie or they will explode. This is why I think it is critical that the cookie part of the hamentashen is worth eating on its own and that the filling is intensely flavorful (this apple butter makes a fantastic filling, by the way).
But I got to thinking. What if I did something different with the next batch? What if the outside of the hamentashen was as integral to the flavor of the hamentashen as the filling? I knew I wanted to make s’more hamentashen. Rather than simply fill a hamentashen with marshmallows, chocolate and graham cracker crumbs I could make the outside of the hamentashen with a graham cracker dough and fill it with marshmallow and chocolate.
These hamentashen were a huge success. They certainly do not taste like traditional hamentashen, but they do taste just like a s’more. The dough isn’t crunchy like a graham cracker but the flavor is spot on. Using marshmallow fluff instead of marshmallows keeps the inside soft and gooey for that delicious s’more like consistency. While these hamentashen certainly won’t replace the more traditional flavors of hamentashen they are a fun addition to the assortment. I will be making another few batches of these to round out my hamentashen collection this year.
I have been making extremely tiny hamentashen (using a 2 inch cutter) this year so I don’t know exactly how many normal sized hamentashen this recipe would make, but I got approximately 3 and 1/2 dozen.
S’more Hamentashen
Graham cracker dough adapted from Nancy Silverton’s Pastries from the La Brea Bakery via Smitten Kitchen
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (375 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (176 grams) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon (6 grams) baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt (4 grams)
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) margarine, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
(if using salted margarine decrease salt slightly)
1/3 cup (114 grams) mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons (77 grams) almond or soymilk
2 tablespoons (27 grams) pure vanilla extract
12 tablespoons marshmallow fluff
2-3 ounces finely chopped chocolate
Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the margarine and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and dust it lightly with flour, then turn the dough out onto it and pat it into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Chill it until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350. Remove half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper. Cut out circles using a round cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass and transfer the circles to a parchment lined cookie sheet. (If the dough gets too sticky while working with it place the parchment with the dough on a cookie sheet in the freezer for a few minutes) Fill four of the circles with a small amount of marshmallow fluff and sprinkle with a small amount of chocolate. Marshmallow fluff is very sticky so the easiest way to push it off the spoon onto the hamentashen is with a slightly wet finger. Use less filling than might seem right because marshmallow fluff expands in the oven. For 2 1/2 inch circles use a scant teaspoon fluff. Fold up two sides of the circle and pinch them together. Lift the third side and pinch the remaining two corners closed. Repeat with the remaining circles. (It is important to fill no more than four hamentashen at a time because marshmallow fluff begins to ooze as soon as it is spooned out onto the dough an the hamentashen need to be folded before the filling has oozed too much). Roll out and fill the remaining dough.
Bake the hamentashen for 8-10 minutes, or until set. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before enjoying.
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
These look so amazing! I hope I can find enough energy to make them…this is really a problem with being a rabbi and working on all the holidays. Happy Purim!
Ok, these look amazing! I am not going to try them for fear of my tush expanding as the marshmellow fluff!! But I am going to save this on pinterest, etc!
Clever! I love this idea.
Wow, you have outdone yourself, love this idea, always looking for new doughs and this sound fantastic, can’t wait to try it.
made these and subbed an equal amt of oil for the margarine and taste so yummy! will prob try during the year also as a different shape. Thanks!
I’m glad to know that the oil works, that is a great option if you can’t fine the natural margarines without trans-fats. Have a wonderful Purim!
you have a great website. I will try these am used to years of baking raspberry and prune hamentashens.
i think we should try chopped liver ones
lchaim alan
Thanks. I love the idea of savory hamentashen. One year I want to make an entire purim sudah entirely of hamentashen, maybe chopped liver will have to make an appearance!
Love it , love it ..
Just pinned it and sent it to my daughter in law. Will be on the list for next year.
I hope you enjoy it!
Ok, you win!! I thought I was stepping outside the box with cinnamon bun hamentashen. http://saltandserenity.com/2012/03/03/hamentashen/
S’mores hamentashen are without a doubt “outside the box”. I love them. Can’t wait to try them.
Those cinnamon bun hamentashen look delicious! I love outside of the box hamentashen!
this looks amazing! great idea!
This looks incredible, and I’ve been surfing for 20 minutes and indeed for some recipes it really “couldn’t be parve”. The pictures are fantastic matching the easy to print recipes.
Thanks so much! I’m glad you like the site.
Really curious to try out this one!
Looks yummu
To Shoshana: You wrote that you froze multiple batches of hamantashen. Are these included in the ones that you froze? Does the filling taste good after defrosting?
Yes, these were among the ones I froze. Marshmallows and marshmallow fluff freeze pretty well. The texture is strange right out of the freezer but once they defrost they taste just as good.
One more question – the recipe calls for parve milk – I read in a different section that you use unsweetened and add flavor as necessary. So, in this recipe, should I use unsweetened milk? It sounds like there’s enough sweetness coming from the brown sugar and honey…..
I almost always use unsweetened and the dough is plenty sweet. If I was choosing I would go with unsweetened. However, if all you have is sweetened I don’t think it will make a huge difference.
These came out great, but we made a few adjustments that we wanted to share with you. First, we did not have dark brown sugar, so we used 3/4 cup of light brown sugar and a tablespoon of molasses instead. Our main reason for reducing the brown sugar, however, was that we also decided to use a cup of finely ground graham crackers in place of one of the cups of flour. We were concerned that the dough would be too sweet if we used all the sugar the original recipe called for, having switched some flour for crushed cookies, which of course already contain sugar. In addition, we added orange zest and a drop of the orange juice in place of some of the soy milk. In the end, we feel that using actual graham crackers in the dough helped preserve the authentic taste of s’mores. Happy Purim and thanks for the inspiration!
I’m glad you enjoyed these. I find that the dough itself tastes like graham cracker, but I’m glad you liked them with the additional graham cracker in the dough as well. Thank you for letting me know how you made them.
I tried making these tonight. I prepped my dough yesterday and left it in the frig overnight. When I rolled, filled, and folded the dough I worked some extra flour in because it was still very sticky. When I baked them they didn’t hold their shape well at all. They didn’t open up, they just spread and flattened out too much. The second tray I put in the freezer for a little bit to see if that helped (I do that for plenty of other cookies with good results) but they still didn’t hold their shape. I made the dough as directed but substituted rice milk for almond or soy milk. Could that be the difference?
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with these. The dough is a rather soft dough, which is why I roll it out between parchment paper and freeze it if it is getting too sticky. I have never tried rice milk, because I like the other milks much better, so that could be the problem. Also, it could have been the filling. Did you use marshmallow fluff or marshmallow creme? The creme (jetpuff) is too soft and does not provide enough height to the filling so that could be part of the problem. Sorry again they didn’t work for you.
I had the exact same problem. I used sweetened almond milk but other than that followed the recipe. I must try again if others had success.
When you say they flatten do you mean the corners come undone and the filling spills out or do the stay in triangles but come out very flat? I am retesting them this afternoon, I’ve never had trouble so I want to figure out what is going wrong. Thanks for helping me troubleshoot.
They stayed as triangles an puffed but spread in the oven. Then they completely flattened while cooling. I thought it was the lack of egg. I rolled the dough between parchment and refrigerated for about 5 hours before cutting circles. It wa still difficult to remove from parchment. I would love to try again if I can make them look like yours. :)
I did weigh the ingredients except the honey which I measured. I could send a pic if that helps.
I will try them tonight using sweetened almond milk to see if that is the problem. Did you measure to baking powder carefully? I had a batch of my regular hamentashen flatten on me for the first time this week and it was because I accidentally added too much baking powder. I’ll get back to you later tonight with my results with the other milk.
So I tried them again tonight with the other almond milk and they came out just like the first time. The fluff does spread a lot so if they were filled too full that might be part of why they didn’t look right. I have a couple more thoughts for troubleshooting. What kind of margarine did you use? Also, are you baking at high altitude? Let me know how else I can be helpful in figuring this out.
REPLY
I made the dough as directed but it’s crumbles, not dough :(
so I added more milk, and it seems like the right consistency. Hope they come out in the end! Am I supposed to freeze them for the 2 hours or refrigerate them?
I’m sorry the dough seemed crumbly. Did you measure by weight or volume? I measure my cups of flour by spooning and sweeping which gives a lighter amount per cup than scooping so that may be the problem. The chilling is on the refrigerator, so that it is firm enough to roll out. I hope you like them, let me know if you have any other problems and I will try to help troubleshoot.
thanks Shoshana.! I did scoop the flour out! :)
HI! I made these tonight. I have “mixed emotions about them.” They did not end up looking like hamentashen. They opened and lost their shape, etc.” The overall taste is really good, (and a wonderful idea!) though I would reduce the salt and even some sugar next time. Thank you!!!!
I’m sorry they didn’t come out looking like you had hoped. The fluff really expands in the oven so if you use too much the hamentashen will bust open and flatten. I use less than a teaspoon in 2 1/2 inch circles and that puffs up to be plenty. I’m glad you at least liked the taste!
Hi Shoshana! I arrived at your blog from The Baking Sisters, and I am *blown away* by this Hamantaschen idea!! I’m always looking for creative hamantaschen interpretations, and this changes EVERYTHING! I wasn’t going to make them this year, but these definitely need to be made pronto, even if I’m a little late for the holiday. I am drooling just thinking about them!! I’ve been wanting to try Smitten Kitchen’s graham cracker recipe for ages too, so this is the perfect reason. Thanks so much for this idea– I can’t wait to check out other recipes on your blog! :)