Nuts for Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Hamantaschen

Yum! Hamantaschen.

To be honest, of all holiday food, hamantaschen have not been leaving a huge void in my life. These are the three-cornered cookies that are a tradition at Purim. Their name and shape recall the three-cornered hat of the villainous Haman, who plotted to kill the Jews of Sushan.

Hamantaschen were never a tradition in our family, though it wasn’t hard to develop a fondness for the delicate, buttery triangles that Mr. Eos brought to the marriage. So much for that!

It’s not exactly that I’ve been craving hamantaschen, but with Purim around the corner, I’ve been finding it hard to resist a challenge. Gluten-free, dairy-free hamantaschen it is!

All thanks, then, to Gluten-Free Nosh for this gluten-free hamantaschen recipe that I doctored just a bit for a treat that was totally a slightly cake-y, non-delicate, non-buttery hit with Mr. Eos and Boy Scientist.

I’m not a fan of orange in my pastry, so I decided to turn the basic dough into one with an almond flavor. Here’s how:

• I omitted the orange rind entirely.
• For orange juice, I subbed in rice milk, and also added a teaspoon of almond extract along with the vanilla.
• I omitted the sorghum and sweet rice flour and instead used a cup of almond flour. Since almond flour is quite a bit lighter, I had a generous hand with it and also added some additional potato starch to make up the weight.

It’s a strangely sticky dough that most definitely needed the overnight in the fridge and required working in small batches. It also took more like 20 or 25 minutes for the cookie edges to brown.

This batch was aesthetically challenged (a little less jam next time, and a little more care with the pinching), but I don’t think any will go to waste. Next year, I may even consider the hamantaschen bake-off at our synagogue. The boys tell me a little practice between now and then is fine with them. Purim sameach!

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