The recipe calls for butter and cream cheese. I used low-fat cream cheese, Smart Balance spread, and Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour.
If you don't want a dairy recipe, here is an alternative from Gluten-Free Bay.
Reprinted and modified with permission of Giora Shimoni, About.com's Guide to Kosher Food.
- 7 oz. (200 g) butter
- 8 oz. (250 g) cream cheese
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (use your favorite blend of gluten-free flours)
- Apricot jam, strawberry jam, or prune butter for filling
- 1 egg, beaten (optional)
- Sugar for garnish (optional)
- Extra flour for handling the dough
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cover baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle the paper with flour.
Coat your hands with flour and break off enough dough to roll between your palms into a ball of about an inch to an inch-and-a-half in diameter. Make sure the ball is coated with flour, and place it on the baking sheet.
Coat the bottom of a drinking glass or custard cup with flour, and flatten the ball of dough to about 1/8 of an inch. (Don't press too hard or the dough will stick to the glass.) Place about a teaspoon of filling on the circle of dough.
With a flour-coated spatula, gently lift the edges of the circle. Pull up the sides and pinch three corners together to form a triangular cookie, with filling showing. It doesn't matter if the dough doesn't look perfect. Use your finger to close any holes in the sides.
Repeat the process until the baking sheet is filled, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.
Some people like to brush their hamantaschen with beaten egg and sugar before baking. Others like to sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar after they're baked. I made mine plain.
