Chocolate-Tahini Hamantaschen

Updated: Apr 29, 2021

Chocolate cookie filled with a sweet tahini filling that has chocolate pieces in every bite.

Every time Purim rolls around I plot my next Hamantaschen recipe and every year I get ANGRY that my cookies explode in the oven. Why do I keep doing this to myself?? I only remember this just as I'm about to begin baking, but thanks to Molly Yeh's Instagram I learned a cookie hack!

I think I might have heard about using an egg wash with these classic Purim cookies, but it always seemed like an unnecessary step. Which in hindsight is dumb since my cookies would always come out ugly looking like freshly exploded volcanos 🌋. The best unkept secret for making Purim Hamantaschen cookies is to brush an egg wash onto them before beginning your folding. An egg wash is a beaten egg with the smallest splash of water. The added sealant makes a huge difference!

These cookies use an oil based dough recipe from Leah Koeing's Modern Jewish Cookbook featured on Food52. To get the chocolate dough, sub out ½ cup flour for ½ cup coco powder.

This filling is tahini based, sweetened with powdered sugar and swirled with bits of chopped chocolate. I was really craving chocolate when I was developing this. If you are looking for added pizzaz in your hamantaschen I highly recommend doing the dusting of sesame seeds. It gives the cookie added crunch and really brings home the sesame flavor. To do this I placed my already rolled/cut cookie dough into a pile of sesame seeds on the table and pressed firmly a few times. They will stick through the baking, I promise!

One final hamantaschen making tip before I send you off to make your own. When pinching the corners of your cookie, pinch higher up so the center opening is on the smaller side. I noticed that they widen as they bake anyway and the ones I attempted to make showing more filling all oozed out.

So don't forget, brush with egg wash, add the filling and pinch those corners tight!