By Jacqueline Hyman
Editor-in-chief
@jacqbh58

You could easily buy a pack of hamantaschen in the store, but the pickings at Shoppers aren’t great and it’s a long drive to Shalom Kosher or Max’s. Plus, there’s something fun about folding the edges and pinching the corners yourself. So in case you want to, here’s a video explaining how to make them FROM SCRATCH! Who doesn’t love some good hamantaschen around Purim?

I used this recipe for my hamantaschen, which I also used last year and has always produced good results. Also, I doubled the recipe.

The recipe guidelines on Tori’s blog are great, so I recommend following along. But if you’re a college student like me, you may not have all these resources in your apartment. Here are some things that I changed or adapted out of convenience:

• Chill dough in freezer for 10 minutes instead of overnight. It worked fine. Last year I chilled overnight though, and they turned out great.
• Use a tall glass to roll dough instead of a rolling pin. Great substitute.
• Work through salt and flour with a fork to “sift” it.
• No orange zest.
• Use mason jar lid rims for the cookie cutters! Super easy if you have them on hand, and the sizes are great.

Growing up, my favorite hamantaschen flavors were always apricot and raspberry. I use Smucker’s apricot preserves in my hat-shaped pastries and they always come out delicious. Just don’t put too big a dollop, or it’ll flow out of the seams. I also made a couple with chocolate chips in the middle instead, just for fun.

Hope you enjoy!