Date & Almond Hamantaschen

Date & Almond Hamantaschen

You know Purim is coming around when the blogosphere is overflowing with creative hamantasch recipes. It almost feels as if no-one makes classic hamantaschen anymore! The funny thing is, I’ll make just about any triangular-shaped-cookie-concoction besides classic hamantaschen. I’ve heard way too many disaster stories of the corners splitting open and jam spilling all over the place.

Call me a hypocrite but if I want good old-fashioned hamantaschen, I reach for the highly-processed Reisman’s variety. I mean, if I’m gonna eat a hamantasch, I might as well eat. a. hamantasch. Right?

But if I’m eating a different kind of hamantasch, well then I might as well go crazy, right? And by crazy I mean whipping up some sushi hamantaschen, baklava hamantaschen, or a trio of savory puff pastry hamantaschen.

Believe me, I’ve been dreaming up some crazy hamantaschen ideas all year long! But as we got closer to Purim, I couldn’t imagine breaking the momentum of my diet for some 3-cornered cookies. Instead, I challenged myself to come up with a healthy hamantasch for a change. And by healthy, I don’t mean spelt, or whole wheat, or even sugar-free. I’m talking no-flour, no-baking, no-dough or jam of any kind!

My first thought was to create a raw hamantasch using dates to create a cookie “dough”. I went to my local produce market to pick up some medjool dates and there was my inspiration – marzipan stuffed dates! Brilliant!

I got right to work creating my healthy no-bake hamantaschen. It’s amazing how something with such few natural ingredients can come out so spectacular! Not only do the raw hamantaschen resemble a real cookie, they taste incredible too, all without the guilt.

The best part about making these cookies is choosing what to roll them in. While coconut, pistachios and cocoa keep things healthy, you can up the fun-factor with some nonpareils or colorful sprinkles. Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. We’ll call it our Purim secret ;)

Other hamantasch recipes:

trio of savory puff pastry hamantaschen
sushi hamantaschen
baklava hamantaschen
“The Hamantini” Purim cocktail

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35 thoughts on “Date & Almond Hamantaschen

    1. Thanks Lisa! I tried making a version with honey but I was unsuccessful. I wanted to keep it egg-free too so it was difficult without the egg whites.

  1. Cool! Do you think they’ll be good with just crushed almonds or walnuts in the middle instead of the paste?

  2. I’m thinking maybe some kind of raw raspberry or strawberry “jam” would be good with the chocolate flavor. I may just have to try this out :) thanks!!

  3. Dates are so flexible — forming them like dough is a wonderful idea. This is like a snack ball, but prettier. Think I will do this and just use an almond in the center when my family comes. The kids will love doing this with me.

  4. For about a second, all the ingredients turned into a nice ball, but then it all became very sticky. I added a bit more water but it wasn’t helping, so I took it out of the food processor as is. It was VERY sticky. I rolled it out a bit but then decided to put it in the fridge. Any advice would be appreciated before I try to assemble these. Thanks!

    1. Hi Annette. It makes sense that the mixture turned into a ball – and it is sticky. That’s why you’re meant to roll it out under the plastic wrap. Adding water won’t help the stickiness (it will actually make it stickier). Putting it in the fridge or freezer is a great idea and makes it a bit easier to work with. Also, if you wet your hands, you can handle the dough better.

  5. I ended up adding another half a cup of nuts and it was much better. I haven’t tasted them yet because I’m saving them for Shabbat. I’ll let you know! Thanks for your answer.

  6. Hello,
    I would like to use the almond paste recipe as a base for a sweet tart, do you think It will hold if I try to roll it with a rolling pin, maybe between wax papers?
    thanks!

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