Pecan Pie Hamantaschen

Let’s be real- no Purim is complete without the yummy hamantaschen plate.

We already talked about hamantaschen in my previous Purim post, but here’s a short refresher: they’re triangle-shaped cookies made to celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim. Hamantaschen were named after Haman from the Purim story in the Bible and is shaped like the three corners of his hat.

Growing up, Hamantaschen were reserved for Purim every year. We didn’t make them outside the month of March, despite hamantaschen being one of my favorite desserts.

Our holiday hamantaschen were the standard, marmalade, prune or poppyseed, but not anymore. I combined my husband’s two favorite desserts into one delicious triangular cookie – pecan pie and buttery hamantaschen! It’s a much easier sell than my grandma’s prune filling…

The filling tastes just like a regular traditional pecan pie- sweet and gooey, with an almost caramel-like flavor. Most pecan pie recipes require a fair amount of corn syrup, but not this filling. Instead, it’s made with a combination of maple syrup, chopped pecans, and vanilla extract so it has a really nice rich flavor that doesn’t taste too overdone.

Bring the classic pecan pie to your favorite traditional Purim festive cookie with this Pecan Pie Hamantaschen recipe. If you love pecan pie as much as we do in our family then you will devour these Pecan Pie Hamantaschen and clear out the plate in no time.

P.S. If you’re looking for more unconventional Jewish hamantaschen recipes for Purim, check out my Peanut Butter and Jelly Hamantaschen recipe here!

Pecan Pie Hamantaschen

Author: Micah Siva
Makes 20-24 cookies

Prep time: 30 minutes
Rest time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15-30 minutes

Ingredients:

Dough:

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup cane sugar
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg + 1 egg white, yolk reserved
• 3 ¼ cup all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder
• 1 tsp baking powder

Filling:

• ⅔ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 cups pecans chopped
• Sea salt
• 3 tbsp butter, cubed

Egg wash:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp water

Preparation:

1. In a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until fluffy.
2. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time until incorporated.
3. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add to the butter and egg mixture until a dough forms.
4. Remove from the mixing bowl, and form into a disc. Wrap tightly in cling film, and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 3 trays with baking paper.
6. Whisk together reserved egg yolk and water to make the egg wash.
7. Meanwhile, make the filling.
8. Add maple syrup, vanilla, water, pecans, and sea salt to a pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 3-5 minutes or until thickened.
9. Add butter, and stir until melted. Transfer to a heat-safe bowl, set aside.
10. Generously flour a work surface, and roll dough until it is ¼ inch thick. You may want to do this in batches of 2-3 portions of dough.
11. Use a glass or round cookie cutter to cut 3 ½ inch rounds. Transfer to the baking tray.
12. Add ½ tbsp pecan filling in the middle of each circle. Brush the egg wash around the pecan filling.
13. Fold the dough into a triangle, pinching the edges tightly. Brush lightly with more egg wash.
14. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until golden.
15. Transfer to a cooling rack.
16. Enjoy!