Apricot Fig Hamantaschen with Pistachio & Spices
 
Prep time
Cook time
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These Apricot Fig Hamantaschen with Pistachio and Spices are the perfect addition to your Purim celebration. They feature a chewy, mildly sweet, and fragrant filling inside a tender, crumbly cookie that melts in your mouth. You might want to make a double batch, because they're going to disappear!
Author:
Recipe type: Baking, Pastry, Cookies
Cuisine: Jewish, Holiday, Purim, Dessert
Yield: 24-30 cookies
Ingredients
  • Dough:
  • 95g (¾ cup) brown rice flour
  • 95g (⅔ cup) white rice flour
  • 47g (6 Tbsp) tapioca starch
  • 47g (5 Tbsp) potato starch
  • 16g (3 ½ tsp) sweet white rice flour
  • 5g (2 tsp) xanthan gum
  • 4g (1 tsp) baking powder
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 112g (8 Tbsp) dairy-free shortening, room temperature
  • 108g (½ cup + 1 Tbsp) organic cane sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla
  • Filling:
  • 14g shelled pistachios (yield 1 Tbsp chopped)
  • 6 oz dried apricots
  • 6 oz dried figs, stems removed
  • 20ml (4 tsp) lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • ¼ tsp ground cardamom
  • ⅛ tsp ground ginger
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • Assembly & Baking:
  • Sweet white rice flour for dusting
  • Parchment paper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Damp tea towel
Procedure
  1. Make the dough: Add dry ingredients (brown rice flour through salt) to a mixing bowl, whisking to combine thoroughly; set aside.
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat shortening with sugar on medium-high speed until pale, creamy, and slightly aerated, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, scraping down sides if necessary. Reduce speed to medium-low and beat in lemon zest and vanilla.
  3. Add half the flour mixture and mix on medium-low speed to combine; mix in remaining flour mixture, increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough is sticky and shaggy.
  4. Turn dough out of processor and form into a disc - it will be very soft. Wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for several hours until firm.
  5. Make filling: In a food processor, pulse nuts until finely chopped, transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add apricots and figs to food processor along with lemon juice and zest, cardamom, ginger, and salt. Puree until fruit is very finely chopped and mixture gathers into a ball. Add chopped pistachios and pulse to combine thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  6. Rest dough: Remove dough from freezer and let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before rolling out, just until soft enough to roll without cracking.
  7. Roll and cut dough: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two sheet pans with parchment and set aside. Sprinkle work surface with a very light dusting of sweet white flour, and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Dust surface lightly with flour, lift dough with a pastry scraper, and flip dough over (alternatively you can roll out dough on a sheet of parchment and flip over the entire sheet). Dust dough surface again and continue rolling out to slightly thicker than ⅛ inch.
  8. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter or round drinking glass to punch rounds out of the dough, cutting as close together as possible. Line up the rounds on the prepared baking sheets, then gather up the scraps and roll out again. Punch rounds out of the re-rolled dough and add them to the sheet pans. You should end up with 24-30 rounds. Cover rounds with a damp towel as you work to prevent dough from drying out.
  9. Assemble and shape hamantaschen: Scoop out a packed teaspoon of filling, form into a ball, and flatten into a disc. Place disc in the center of a dough round. (It’s tempting to pack extra filling in there, but please don’t - it will likely cause the cookies to unfold during baking, and the filling will leak out.)
  10. Brush exposed dough with beaten egg. Fold the left side of the dough toward the center so the flap now covers the left third of the cookie at an angle. Grasp the right side of the dough circle and fold it toward the center in the same manner, overlapping it at the top to form a triangular tip and pinching to seal. Fold the bottom edge of the dough upward to complete the triangle, leaving a triangle of filling visible. Tuck the left side of this final flap underneath the flap of dough on the left side, and let the right side rest on top of the flap of dough on the right side. This specific method keeps the flaps from buckling and prevents unfolding during baking. Pinch the corners gently but firmly to secure the dough, brush the surface of the cookie with egg, and place the formed hamantaschen back on the sheet pan. Repeat the process with the remaining dough rounds.
  11. When all hamantaschen have been filled, space them evenly about 1 inch apart.
  12. Bake: Bake cookies for 25 minutes until corners are lightly golden and dough is cooked through, rotating trays 180 degrees after 15 minutes. Cool on trays for 2-3 minutes, then transfer hamantaschen directly to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. or zipper bag at room temperature.
Notes
If you’d rather use a pre-mixed flour blend, replace the flours and starches with 316 grams/2 ¼ cups of your flour. If your blend doesn’t contain a gluten replacer such as xanthan gum, guar gum or pectin, keep the xanthan gum in the recipe, otherwise omit it.


Use the freshest dried fruit you can find so the filling is moist and sticky. If your apricots or fig seem leathery and dry, rehydrate them in warm water for a few minutes, then drain them and gently press out excess water. Proceed with the filling as instructed.
Recipe by Good Health Gourmet at https://goodhealthgourmet.com/apricot-fig-hamantaschen-pistachio-spices/