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These Gluten Free Hamantaschen, traditionally served during Purim, are tender, light, and delicious. This cookie has a shortbread like texture, wrapped around jam and are quite simple to make. Everybody loves these Hamantaschen cookies around this time year, and you can have fun with what you fill them with, traditional or creative!
Hamantaschen are shaped to resemble Haman’s (3-cornered) hat and traditionally stuffed with sweet fillings made of jams/preserves, poppy seeds, dates, or dried fruits. As kids during this time of year (Purim) we loved Hamantaschen! It was always the treat in the house during Purim! My mom would get an assortment so we’d all have our favorite fillings, and they were (are) the perfect cookies that you just can’t help but grab a few of every time you pass by the kitchen. I am so excited for our gluten-free version. They are the REAL DEAL and nobody will know they are gluten free.
And the best part about making this cookie? They’re so easy to put together! Made in one bowl, with minimal chilling time! And definitely a fun and achievable cookie to make with the kids! Purim is super fun, so add this baking project to your Purim fun with your kiddos!
Gluten-Free Hamantaschen Ingredients
We love how simple and short this ingredient list is!
- Almond Flour
- Tapioca Flour
- Coconut Oil
- Baking Powder
- Maple Syrup
- Egg
- Jam (or other filling options, see below)
Substitutions
Flours: We haven’t tried a substitute for either of these flours. We’ve had luck switching out almond flour for oat flour in the past, but don’t think it will work in this recipe. You might be able to substitute arrowroot for tapioca in a pinch.
Coconut Oil: You can easily use butter in place of coconut oil. We’ve tested it with both with success. Obviously using butter lends to a more buttery flavor.
Maple Syrup: You can switch this out with honey, but the cookie will bake up much darker.
Egg: An egg substitute will likely not work in this recipe, though we haven’t tried it.
Filling Ideas
- Easy Blueberry Jam (traditional)
- Strawberry Chia Seed Jam (traditional)
- Date/Prune Paste (traditional)
- Poppyseed Filling (traditional)
- Apricot Jam (traditional)
- Homemade Nutella
- Apple Pie Filling
- Lemon Curd
- Caramelized Onions and Poppy Seeds (think: savory and sweet)
- Roasted Red Peppers
- Get extra creative: top them with sprinkles, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, or a drizzle of chocolate!
Tips for Rolling Out the Dough
As with all gluten-free dough, it can be tricky to roll out without the right technique. But once you get the hang of it, dealing with gluten-free dough is easy. My biggest tip? Be gentle. The dough is delicate.
Make sure your dough has been chilled for at least an hour. Not only does chilling it firm up the coconut oil, but it also gives time for the flour in the dough to absorb some of the moisture which makes it easier to handle.
Once your dough is chilled, set out a large piece of parchment and sprinkle it with tapioca flour. Set the dough on top and sprinkle the top of that with tapioca too. Using gentle but consistent pressure, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 – 1/8 of an inch.
Tips for Forming the Triangle
Once your dough is rolled out, you want to use a 3″ round cookie cutter (or something similar in size) to cut about 18 cookies from the dough. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you could use a glass with a 3″ round opening. It’s fine to change the size of a circle to cut out, but if it’s significant bigger or smaller than 3″ (as in a whole inch different) than you’ll likely have to adjust how much filling you add and how long they’re baked!
Once you have your circles, it’s time to turn them into triangles! Some people like to make folds on the Hamantaschen, but with this dough, it can be a bit tricky to do it. The dough is delicate and can crack, so it’s best to pinch it together to close up any tears.
To form the triangle:
- Gently fold over one side of the triangle.
- Then, fold up the other two sides at the same time, pinching together one corner.
- Then pinch together the last corner, and neaten up any cracks that might have formed. This dough is forgiving to pinch and press it back together.
Tools used in this recipe
Here are some helpful tools to have on hand while making this recipe.
- Rolling Pin
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Pastry Brush
- Circle Cutter (no cookie cutter? read above!)
How to Store Hamantaschen
As with most all dough made with almond flour, these Hamantaschen are best eaten on the day they are made. On the day they are made they are light, crisp on the outside, and softer in the middle.
However, you can store them up to 3 days in an air-tight container, but they start to get softer as time goes on.
Looking to freeze them?
As noted above, these get softer as time goes on. The same will happen in the freezer. But if you want to freeze them you can, for up to six months! Mike’s family eats them frozen, and that will work fine with this recipe!
If you like this gluten-free cookie recipe, check out these others:
Gluten Free Hamantaschen
Ingredients
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs divided
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cup 196 grams almond flour
- 1 cup 120 grams tapioca flour (plus more for rolling)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Jam for filling
Instructions
- Whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, one egg and the salt in a large bowl.
- Add in almond flour, tapioca flour, and baking powder and combine together thoroughly with a sturdy spoon until the dough is well hydrated and no dry spots remain.
- Transfer the dough to plastic wrap, and chill, for at least an hour or up to 1 day.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Set out a large piece of parchment and sprinkle it with tapioca flour. Set the dough in the middle of the parchment and sprinkle the top with tapioca too. Using gentle but consistent pressure, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 - 1/8 of an inch.
- Stamp out 3" circles using a cookie cutter, or something similar. You can re-roll the scraps up to two times. You should get about 18 circles.
- Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet. If any of the dough sticks to the parchment, run a small spatula dusted with tapioca starch underneath the dough to loosen it.
- Make an egg wash by whisking together the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Lightly brush each circle with egg wash. Place 1 teaspoon of jam (or the filling of choice) in the center of each circle.
- Form the circles into triangles: Gently fold over one side of the triangle. Then, fold up the other two sides at the same time, pinching together the corner where they meet. Then pinch together the last corner, and neaten up any cracks that might have formed. This dough is forgiving and you can pinch and press it back together if necessary.
- Once all of the cookies are formed, place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill. This is optional, but it helps the cookies keep their shape better.
- Brush the chilled cookies with egg wash on the outside of the dough, and then bake on the middle rack for 13-15 minutes. The cookies will be lightly browned on the bottom, but will not have any color on the edges.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before enjoying.
These cookies come together so well. The dough is very manageable and the tips/notes are super helpful. I make these often and everyone is surprised that they are gluten free they are so delicious and tender.
Excellent recipe. Very tender but not too soft. My husband preferred these to the ones we also made with white flour. Will make again foresure
So good! My friend made regular ones and you could barely taste the difference!
They were a little bit difficult to shape but came out quite well for a paleo baked good. I will definitely keep this recipe for next year. My daughter and I made our own date filling and approximated the recipe below.
Date Filling:
12 pitted Medjool dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
Add the dates, spices, and vanilla extract to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until you form a paste, scraping the sides as necessary.
I made these with flaxseed instead of eggs and while I’m sure they’re a little different they turned out! Just putting it out there for egg alternatives
Thank you so much for sharing!