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Caramelized Onion and Poppy Seed Hamantaschen
![Caramelized Onion and Poppy Seed Hamantaschen](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/03/13/dining/13purim-A1-ref/merlin_151680807_a7c32aeb-94d0-45a8-b0a2-16b0cb62b9ae-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2cups/255 grams unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- Kosher salt
- 10tablespoons/140 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1½teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1large egg, yolk and white separated
- Ice water, as needed
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1large onion, halved and very thinly sliced
- 2fresh thyme sprigs
- 1fresh or dried bay leaf
- 1teaspoon honey
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1tablespoon poppy seeds
- 3ounces good-quality feta or goat cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup)
Preparation
- Step 1
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add 9 tablespoons butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form. Add ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar and the egg yolk and pulse, adding 2 to 3 tablespoons or so of ice water if needed to form a soft dough. Wrap the dough in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate, about 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, heat the oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium nonstick pan over medium-low. Add the onion, thyme, bay leaf and honey, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Stir in the poppy seeds and the remaining 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and season to taste. Let cool.
- Step 3
Remove the dough from the fridge, heat the oven to 375 degrees and cover 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 4
Roll out the dough onto a floured surface until ⅛ inch thick. Using a 2½-inch round mold or glass, cut the dough into rounds. Top each round with a hefty pinch of cheese in the center, then a heaping teaspoon of the cooled onion mixture. Working with one round at a time, dip a pastry brush or your finger into the egg white and moisten the edges of the excess dough surrounding the filling. Fold up 3 sides of the round to form a triangle, partly covering the filling with the dough, and pinch the dough firmly at all 3 tips of the triangle. Transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheets and repeat to make about 36 hamantaschen.
- Step 5
Bake until golden, rotating midway through baking, 15 to 20 minutes, then serve warm.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Ate a few. Still alive.
Onion filling is great! No fresh thyme so made it with a little dried chopped thyme. I made half the hamantaschen with jam filling; also delicious. Problem dough recipe, though: Either too much flour or needing a whole lot more water. Even with double the water the dough was still crumbly. If making the full recipe, pull only half of the dough out of the fridge at a time because if it's too warm when the pastry goes into the oven, it looses its triangle shape.
hi Judith- I can assume that the dough that was chilled 1 hour was just a bit too cold and expanded more as a reaction to the more extreme temp. change. The moisture that was captured in the dough had trouble escaping as it baked so it produced steam and puffed, causing the triangles to open. I'm sure your next batch will be perfect!
I agree that this is delicious, but the dough is rather unforgiving. I went with the 3T ice water recommended and knew as I was putting it to chill it was not going to come together, still very crumbly. After chilling, I wet my hands and kneaded it a few short times to get more liquid in. That helped it, but it was still dry and miserable to roll out. It held the shape of the triangles very well and was very tasty, but hard to get 36 and wasn't fun to get there. Next time I'll try 4-5T water.
Will try this, under caution from others recommendations. Wouldn’t store bought puff pastry work as well or a pie dough? It wouldn’t be traditional, but less heart ache.
These are delicious. I made the dough entirely by hand and didn’t have any trouble with it coming together, although I probably used around 6T of water. I also let the dough chill for about an hour and has no problems rolling it out. I also used dried thyme.
I made these and they were consumed quite quickly. People were quite surprised. Some did open. I think that brushing on the egg white did help keep most closed the way they are in the picture. I did add additional water. I also added a couple of ounces of cream cheese in place of some of the butter (like you do with rugelach) and added some baking soda in place of some of the baking powder. I didn't use a food processor (I don't have one).
I have a question for the experienced bakers preparing this delicious recipe. I did a test run rolling out a piece of dough from the disc in refrigerator, making two. They came out perfectly. An hour later, I made the rest of the batch for my guests. Most of these hamantaschen opened up like flowers during baking. I thought I pinched and sealed them all with egg white in exactly the same way as the testers. Any ideas about what went wrong?
I made these last night and they are delicious. I got nowhere near 36 hamantashen out of it - I ended up with 18. I think adding more water as others noted would have allowed me to roll the dough out thinner (and more easily!), but I still have a hard time imagining that would double my output - my 18 do not really feel or taste too thick.
I also found the dough was a bit difficult to bring together, so added an additional 1T of water (bringing the total to 4T) and that was enough. It was quite soft and crumbly at first, but I kneaded it a bit in a separate bowl and it came together fine.
Followed others' suggestions and added 2 extra tablespoons of water to the dough. I only refrigerated for half an hour and all of the Hamantaschen opened up completely in the oven. Not sure what went wrong here, but would love some tips!
I accidentally left these out on my counter top after baking (foolishly thinking of them as cookies). Are they safe to still eat after being out for 2 nights? I used goat cheese - not feta. Thanks!
Read through comments before attempting. Used extra water in the dough (4Tbsp) which made for an easy to roll dough. Used a 3inch glass for cutting and made 24 with a second roll of the dough. Also used parmigiana cheese. They were delish and enjoyed by all at our annual February Beach Party. We live in New Hampshire! Will definitely make again
I may not have rolled the dough quite thin enough, but this made more like 24, not 36 pieces. Next time I will divide the dough into two, and leave one in the fridge while I work on the first batch, to both make it easier to roll to 1/8-inch, and to keep the remaining dough colder when I roll and cut it.
Delicious, but don't see how you get 36 cookies from this. I also ended up using more cheese than is specified.
Cheated: Used Just-Rol pre-rolled thin pizza dough from the dairy case. Perfect. and Delice de Bourgogne instead of feta.
These were delicious! I made half with goat cheese and half with feta and couldn't pick a favorite. Definitely requires more ice water than the recipe suggests and the egg is a must to keep the pinched corners from opening.
Much better dough to work with than the Chocolate recipe you have listed. And the onions carmelized with goat cheese and poppy seeds as a filling was glorious!
I may not have rolled the dough quite thin enough, but this made more like 24, not 36 pieces. Next time I will divide the dough into two, and leave one in the fridge while I work on the first batch, to both make it easier to roll to 1/8-inch, and to keep the remaining dough colder when I roll and cut it.
I wonder if the dough really needs sugar when the filling is savoury. Has anyone tried it without ? This recipe sounds delicious; I'm going to make it today. I hope my triangles hold their shape.
Delicious! I would recommend doubling the cheese and onions, as I only had enough filling for 17. I also had problems with them unfolding in the oven.
I just love these hamantaschen. Yes the dough is a bit tricky. I used 5.5 tbsps of water today, my third time making them here on a dry day in the Sierra Foothills. But it rolls out just fine, and if you squeeze the corners really firmly, only a few open up. The caramelized onion filling is delicious. I've used both goat, feta, and a combination of the two. Thank you Joan for this knockout dish; great as an hors d'oeuvre or light main course on Purim or any time of the year.
Cooked this at the weekend with Blue cheese, very nice - highly recommended
Read through comments before attempting. Used extra water in the dough (4Tbsp) which made for an easy to roll dough. Used a 3inch glass for cutting and made 24 with a second roll of the dough. Also used parmigiana cheese. They were delish and enjoyed by all at our annual February Beach Party. We live in New Hampshire! Will definitely make again
Can these be frozen?
Can these be frozen after baking and then reheated?
I'm a bit annoyed that the ingredient list told me to cube 10 tablespoons of butter when only 9 were used. Editing note: in the ingredient list, say: 10 tablespoons butter (9 cubed, for the dough; 1 reserved for the filling) 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (1/2 tsp for the dough, 1 tsp reserved for the filling)
try 4-5T water
Savory hamantaschen. Genius. Easy to make, and so delicious. Served them at a dinner party as an hors d'oeuvre, and they disappeared.
The dough is a bit finicky, but very much worthwhile. I’m sure the filling with other doughs (as some have asked) would also be very tasty, but this dough is definitely a highlight of this particular recipe. I made these for a party and all were devoured, some were photographed. Some of mine did open up during baking, but I think more diligent brushing and pinching would have done the trick (I was in a rush).
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