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Dates Purim Cookies Recipe - Dates Filled Purim Cookies

A Purim party is incomplete without Purim cookies also called Hamantaschen or Oznei Haman cookies, which are an absolute addiction. This simple, easy and effortless recipe for festive Purim cookies, are filled with naturally sweet delicious dates and pecans. Then, folded in a shortbread cookie dough to get a traditional triangle shape before being baked until they are lightly golden on the edges.

Dates Purim Cookies aka Date filled Purim cookies - Jewish Cookies Recipe

The festival of Purim is almost here. So, you can imagine how excited the kids are. Usually, festivals are all about family. And yet with Purim, the kids are all about costumes, parades, and gift baskets. In addition, these Purim cookies are everywhere in plenty.

Yes, it is all about the costumes. This year, Aadi plans to dress like a scary clown and Rhea wants to be an Indian princess. She actually has a pretty new Indian dress my sister sent her. So, she's just using Purim as an excuse to wear it. While Aadi has spent hours browsing costume shops with a friend since they plan to wear the same outfits. Finally, they found what they were looking for.

I'm not a big sport when it comes to dressing up in costumes. So, usually when the kids ask me what I am going to be this Purim - I always say I'm going to be a mama - nothing else. I know I'm so boring!! This year, however, Aadi has been nagging me to wear a costume. So, I got myself a Maleficient hairband and plan to wear all black. That should do it - what do you think?

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Dates filled Purim cookies, Jewish Cookies, Hamantaschen Cookies, Oznei Haman Cookies

The Purim cookies

Over the years, Purim cookies have evolved from being just filled with traditional poppy seeds to unlimited new modern variations, including chocolate, Nutella, apricot and other fruit fillings. I love making these, and yet, not necessarily with traditional fillings. These dates and pecans are Ziv's favorite filling and I make them every single year along with some Strawberry Hamantaschen cookies, which are Rhea's favorite. Mine is the Apple Pie Hamantaschen and Pecan Pie Hamantaschen.

I have also previously shared another Purim cookie recipe with you. While this is quite similar in shape and technique, the cookie dough is different. You know I love to experiment and make new recipes all the time. So, these are quite similar to shortbread cookies, with that melt in the mouth sensation, unlike the traditional butter cookie dough.

Apple Pie Hamantaschen Cookies, Apple Pie Purim Cookies

Eggless Hamentaschen Cookies Recipe

Hamantaschen Cookies, Purim Cookies, Oznei Haman Cookies

Pecan Pie Hamantaschen Cookies, Pecan Pie Purim Cookies

Let's talk ingredients and substitutes - (Save/Pin)

• Dates - I love using Medjool dates. They are naturally sweet and are also soft and can be mashed beautifully into a filling.
• Nuts - This is optional and can be omitted if you want to keep them nut-free. Personally, I like the combination of dates with either pecans or walnuts. And yet, almonds and pistachios work too!
• Butter - I always use unsalted butter because I like to control the amount of salt. And yet, if salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it. Just omit salt from the recipe.
  As I explained about butter in my Tip Thursday - how butter affects cookie baking - use room temperature, not soften butter for better results.
• Sugar - I highly recommend you use fine grain sugar to shorten the creaming time. Always cream the butter and sugar well. And fine grain sugar works best.
• Cornstarch  - Also called cornflour, makes the cookie dough crisper and gives it that crumbly texture we love in cookies.
• Eggs - I use large eggs about 65 to 70 grams each.
• Extract - Orange is quite traditionally used in Purim cookies. And yet, if you don't have some go ahead and omit the orange. Vanilla always works like a charm.

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Hamantaschen, Oznei Haman - Date filled Purim cookies

How to make Hamantaschen cookies - Oznei Haman or Purim cookies (Save/Pin)

Useful tips and tools

• I'm not a slave to mixers. And yet, when you need some good creaming I have to insist that you use the K-Mix or Kitchen Aid.
• A good baking tray is always important. Try using a light colored baking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with parchment paper.
• If you aren't going to fill or decorate these cookies a regular rolling pin will work just fine. And yet, a cookie rolling pin has the side spacers that will also help you with rolling. So all your cookies are leveled and bake evenly.
• Also, it is really important to cool cookies completely on all sides as soon as they come out of the oven. So take them off the baking tray to prevent them from cooking further and place them on a cooking rack so they air circulates on all sides. This prevents steam from going back into the cookie thus keeping them crispy not soggy.
• Always bake cookies on the center rack of your oven. If you have more than one tray simply bake them one at a time. You can bake two trays at the same time, and yet this can lead to some of the cookies in the bottom tray spreading too much. Also, you can rotate the trays during the baking. This is helpful with some cookies.
• Most cookies usually bake between 10 to 12 minutes. These cookies took me about 10 minutes. Since cookies bake quickly they can also get over-baked. This is due to our tendency to get distracted at the last minute. Hence, my solution is a kitchen timer that is always set to 10 minutes. I turn it on as soon as I place the cookies in the oven. This has saved me many cookies since my kids always keep me busy.

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Hamantaschen, Jewish cookies, Date filled Oznei Haman Cookies

Make the filling

• Remove the pits from the dates and roughly chop them.
• Place them in a saucepan with orange juice, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
• Cook on low until the dates are soft enough to be mashed with a fork (3 minutes).
• Once all the dates are mashed completely, add the chopped nuts and stir well to combine.
• Let cool completely before you fill the cookies.

Making the dough

• Sift and combine together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
• Cream butter, sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla or orange extract.
• Next, add egg and egg yolk, one at a time.
• Add flour and orange juice.
• This is a soft dough.
• Divide the dough into two.
• Form each into a flat disc.
• Wrap in cling/plastic wrap.

Chill dough /roll cookies

• Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
• Roll the dough using as little flour as possible.
• Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter cut as many discs as you can.
• Place the circles on a baking tray.
• If the dough has softened place in the fridge to chill again.

Add filling and fold (see video below)

• Place a small teaspoon of filling in the center of the disc.
• Dampen the disc edges very lightly with water or egg white ( very lightly - just to secure them).
• Overlap one side edge over the other.

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Dates filled Purim cookies, Jewish Cookies, Hamantaschen Cookies, Oznei Haman Cookies

• Then, overlap the second over the third.

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Dates filled Purim cookies, Jewish Cookies, Hamantaschen Cookies, Oznei Haman Cookies

• And lastly, the third overlaps the first.

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Dates filled Purim cookies, Jewish Cookies, Hamantaschen Cookies, Oznei Haman Cookies

Chill cookies and bake

• Preheat the oven at 180 C / 356 F.
• Chill the cookies for at least 20 minutes while the oven is preheating. (Chilling helps the cookies hold their shape better).
• Bake in a preheated oven for about 12 to 14 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack completely before you store in a cookie jar.

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Dates filled Purim cookies, Jewish Cookies, Hamantaschen Cookies, Oznei Haman Cookies

Storage

• These cookies will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks but they taste best in the first week of baking.
• The cookie dough can be chilled for a week in the fridge or frozen for up to three months in the freeze.
• Fruit fillings will last for a week in the fridge.

Dates Purim Cookies Recipe, Dates filled Purim cookies, Jewish Cookies, Hamantaschen Cookies, Oznei Haman Cookies

Dates Purim Cookies aka Date Filled Purim Cookies

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 15 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Chilling time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Calories: 159kcal

Adjust Servings Here: 36 cookies

Description

A Purim party is incomplete without Purim cookies. And these dates Purim cookies are an absolute addiction. This simple, easy and effortless recipe for festive Purim cookies, also called hamantaschen or Oznei Haman, are filled with naturally sweet dates and pecans. Then they are folded in a shortbread cookie dough to get a traditional triangle shape.

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE - 36 cookies

Ingredients

For the shortbread cookie dough

• 170 grams (0.75 cups) Butter (3 sticks) unsalted, room temperature
• 200 grams (1 cups) White sugar
• 410 grams (3.25 cups) All-purpose flour
• 30 grams (2.00 tbsp) Cornstarch /cornflour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Egg large
• 1 Egg yolk
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract or orange extract
• 4 tbsp (0.25 cups) Orange juice

Other Filling suggestions - Nutella, halva, dulce de leche, strawberry jam (any other jam)

I - Date Filling

• 350 grams (2.00 cups) Medjool dates
• 60 ml (0.25 cups) Orange juice
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 tsp Lemon zest
• 1 cup (5.00 oz) Nuts chopped

II - Poppy Seed Filling

• 1/2 cup Poppy seeds
• 120 ml (0.50 cups) Milk
• 15 grams (1.00 tbsp) Butter
• 30 grams (2.00 tbsp) Sugar or dried apples
• 100 grams (0.75 cups) Raisins or apples

III - Prune Filling

• 1 cup (1 cup) Prunes
• 100 grams (0.5 cups) Sugar
• 100 grams (0.75 cups) Raisins
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Lemon zest

IV - Chocolate filling

• 200 grams (7.00 oz) Chocolate
• 2 tbsp Whipping cream
• 1 tbsp Butter unsalted

Instructions

Make the date filling

• Remove the pits from the dates and roughly chop them.
• Place them in a saucepan with orange juice, lemon juice, and lemon zest. 
• Cook on low until the dates are soft enough to be mashed with a fork (3 minutes).
• Once all the dates are mashed completely.
• Add the chopped nuts - stir well to combine.
• Let cool completely before you fill the cookies.

Making the Dough

• Sift and combine together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
• Cream butter, sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla or orange extract.
• Next, add egg and egg yolk one at a time.
• Add flour and orange juice.
• This is a soft dough.
• Divide the dough into two.
• Form each into a flat disc.
• Wrap in cling/plastic wrap.

Chill Dough /Roll Cookies

• Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
• Roll the dough using as little flour as possible.
• Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter cut as many discs as you can.
• Place the circles on a baking tray.
• If the dough has softened place in the fridge to chill again.

Add Filling and Fold (See video above)

• Place a small teaspoon of filling in the center of the disc.
• Do not add too much filling. The cookie dough is delicious on its own too.
• Too much filling will cause an overflow and open up.
• Dampen the disc edges very lightly with water or egg white ( very lightly - just to secure them).
• Overlap or pinch the three sides of the disc/circle using one of the methods below.

Chill cookies and Bake

• Preheat the oven at 180 C / 356 F.
• Chill the cookies for at least 20 minutes while the oven is preheating. (Chilling helps the cookies hold their shape better).
• Bake in a preheated oven for about 12 to 14 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack completely before you store in a cookie jar.

Storage

• These cookies will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks but they taste best in the first week of baking.
• The cookie dough can be chilled for a week in the fridge or frozen for up to three months in the freeze.
• Fruit fillings will last for a week in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

 

Storage

• These cookies will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks but they taste best in the first week of baking.
• The cookie dough can be chilled for a week in the fridge or frozen for up to three months in the freeze.
• Fruit fillings will last for a week in the fridge.

Equipment

Stand Mixer

M. Cups & Spoons

Cookie cutters

Nutrition Information

Serving: 45grams per cookieCalories: 159kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 634mgPotassium: 0mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 0IUVitamin C: 0mgCalcium: 0mgIron: 0mg

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

Did you make this recipe? Tag @veenaazmanov on instagram or #hashtag it #veenaazmanov

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