Gluten-Free Bay: February 2010

Purim just isn't complete without the delicious triangular purim cookies we call hamantaschen. I love my original gluten-free hamantaschen recipe, which is made with agave nectar instead of refined sugar, but it's a little too cakey for some people. Today I tried my hand at revising the recipe to make the cookie a bit more crisp, more like a sugar cookie in its consistency. Did it work? Well, these are certainly more crisp than the original recipe. They're still more cakey than the crisp style some people prefer, so I'll try again next year... but I think they're tasty and I hope you do, too. I used apricot jam in some and lekvar (a/k/a prune butter or prune pastry filling) in others. They use regular sugar. They're also nut-free, and if you want to make them dairy-free I am guessing they'd be quite fine with margarine instead of butter. One perk of this recipe is that the dough is very, very easy to handle. When I had a little dough left over, I twisted it up into various shapes which you can see in the photo below the recipe.

Chag sameach! Happy purim!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

HAMANTASCHEN - VERSION #2

[Gluten-Free / Nut-Free / Soy-Free ]

1 stick (8 tbsp) salted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 heaping tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup white rice flour (finely milled)
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3/4 cup potato starch
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 additional egg, beaten well and set aside

With an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter with the sugar.
Add the unbeaten egg, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla and continue combining.

In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry mixture into the liquid mixture. Mix until combined into a cohesive ball of dough. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Flour a counter or other surface thoroughly. Remove dough from refrigerator and immediately roll into a ball and roll the ball in flour before placing it on the floured counter. Roll out until 1/4" to 1/8" thickness.

Using a juice glass or biscuit cutter, cut into 3-4" circles. Immediately move dough circles to parchment-lined cookie sheets. Use a pastry scraper to gently transfer the disks of dough. Place approximately 1 teaspoon of filling (apricot preserves, lekvar, poppyseed filling, raspberry jam, etc) in the center of each circle.

Using a pastry brush, apply well-beaten egg to the perimeter of each dough circle and immediately fold 3 sides of circle together so that the cookie becomes a triangle, and pinch corners to seal. Seal completely and firmly, using beaten egg so they do not come apart in baking. The final cookie should look like a triangle with the filling showing through only at the center. Use the remaining beaten egg to lightly brush the top of each pastry.

Bake at 350 F for 22-28 minutes or until golden on top with some slightly browned areas (the more browned, the crisper the cookie - but be careful not to burn!) Allow to cool slightly before serving or transferring to cooling rack.

Makes approximately 24-28 cookies.

GOT LEFTOVER DOUGH? HERE'S AN IDEA: