Chocolate Chip Hamantaschen
- Total Time
- 2 hours 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2large egg yolks
- 8ounces unsalted butter at room temperature, in small pieces
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2¼cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- Dash of salt
- 1large egg, beaten, for the glaze
- 3egg yolks
- ¼cup sugar
- 1¼tablespoons cornstarch
- 2teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾cup milk
- ½vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 2ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 2½ounces semisweet chocolate chips
For the Dough
For the Chocolate Chip Pastry Cream
Nutritional analysis per serving (30 servings)
147 calories; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 13 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Put the confectioners’ sugar and the egg yolks in a food processor and blend. Add butter and lemon zest and process to blend. Gradually add the flour and the salt, pulsing until it forms a ball. Divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and cocoa powder until smooth.
- Step 3
Pour the milk into a small saucepan with the vanilla bean. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and remove the vanilla bean. Scrape the inside of the bean and add to the pan.
- Step 4
While whisking vigorously, pour ⅓ of the milk into the yolk mixture, then pour back into the saucepan. Continue to whisk constantly while simmering over low heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens into a creamy pudding consistency.
- Step 5
Remove from heat, add the bittersweet chocolate and whisk until the chocolate has melted and the cream is smooth. Pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, placed directly on the cream. Refrigerate until cool, at least 30 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Step 6
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 pastry sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 7
Unwrap one of the chilled dough disks and place on a piece of parchment paper that has been dusted lightly with flour. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Cover with a second piece of parchment paper. Let stand at room temperature until malleable, about 5 minutes. Use a rolling pin to press and roll out the dough into a ¼-inch- thick round between the sheets of parchment, flipping the dough occasionally. Use a plain biscuit or cookie cutter or glass to cut 3-inch circles, placing the circles on the prepared baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill until firm while you repeat the rolling/cutting process with the second round of dough.
- Step 8
Remove the first pan of dough rounds from the refrigerator. Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each, and press up the sides to form triangles, pinching the ends closed. Top the filled cookies with a few extra chocolate chips. If the dough is too firm, let stand a minute or two to soften; returning the baking sheet to the refrigerator if the dough becomes too soft. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds.
- Step 9
Brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake until golden and dough is delicately firm all the way through, about 13-18 minutes, rotating the racks front to back and top to bottom after about 10 minutes.
- Step 10
Place trays on wire racks for 10 minutes before transferring cookies on parchment to racks to cool completely.
Private Notes
Comments
What weight does Ms. Nathan use for a cup of all purpose four? Please use weight in grams for NYTs recipes. Thank you!
I absolutely loved how these turned out. However the only thing I would like to add is that I didn't need the full 2 1/4 cups of flour. I ended up having to throw my first batch of dough out because it just wouldn't stick. Second time around I only added 1/4 c of flour at a time and took it out of the food processor when it was still fairly wet.
I use Nutella mixed with mini chocolate chips in my chocolate hamantaschen. Much easier and tastes great.
This dough was a nightmare to work with. Cold from the fridge, it would crack. Room temperature, it was too soft and wouldn't hold any shape. Somehow, the dough was never anything in between those two states. It would magically go from too cold to too warm, never stopping in the middle. I have been baking for 30 years and never experienced anything like it. The absolute worst dough.
Allegedly there are hormones that make you forget how painful childbirth is so that you go on and have more kids, and I feel a little bit like this about these hamantaschen. They are delicious! I love them! I set about making them every year — but somewhere between putting whole vanilla bean in my shopping cart, hauling out the food processor and trying to roll out two fridge-hardened discs of dough, I am reminded of what a pain these are to make. Will I bake them again next Purim? Almost certainly. This year I got to share them with my two-year-old, and based on his enjoyment alone, these are worth the effort. A couple notes: The food processor is unfortunately a necessary evil to get the texture right. My hamantaschen fold better and hold their corners when I’m not so obsessive about keeping the dough cold, so I skip the step when you stick the baking sheet back in the fridge.
The dough / cookie is sublime. Ignore all the comments about adjust this ... too wet .. my grandmother used to ... Just follow the directions to the letter. Especially the two chill periods - after mixing the dough discs and after forming the 3 inch discs. Like many pastry recipes, patience and time are required to perfect this gem.