Welcome to Mr. Farmer’s Daughter’s 12 Days of Cookies!
Many years ago my parents began a 12 Days of Christmas tradition with my sister and me. It began on the 13th of December and ran through Christmas day. It was so great to spread out the love (and gifts) for that period of time. So, I’m passing the tradition on to you in the form of cookie recipes! I’m going to keep the posts short because it’s Christmas time and I can’t be writing book-long posts for 12 days in a row. I just don’t have it in me to put that many words on paper. Suffice it to say, some of the recipes are favorites of ours, some I’ve adapted to be more allergen friendly and some are just recipes that I’ve wanted to play around with. All of them will be delicious though. Merry Christmas!!!
Day 6!
Gluten-free Hamantashens!
Oh, boy! Did I look forward to doing this recipe! My neighbor has been making these cookies every year since we’ve lived here and she’s always been kind enough to bless us with some of them. Sadly, they are not gluten-free so I haven’t had one in the last 5 years. They used to be one of my favorites (did you notice I have a lot of favorite cookies?), especially the ones with prune jam.
Now, don’t turn up your nose just yet. You can certainly make these cookies with whatever jam or jelly is YOUR favorite but let me tell you WHY prune tastes so delicious in these cookies.
The dough on these cookies is pretty sweet. It’s a basic rolled out sugar cookie dough. So, the tart, deep flavor of prune is the perfect complement to the sweetness of the cookie part. Keep that in mind as you’re choosing your filler.
These cookies hold up really well too. The jam in the center keeps them from getting dry so even 4 days later here at our house, they’re moist and chewy.
They’re a simple cookie to make but it does take some time since you have to roll them out and form the cookies one at a time but it’s so worth it.
A couple notes:
- The dough will roll best if it’s slightly chilled. When it gets too warm it’s difficult to handle it without making holes it or stretching it. I put mine in the refrigerator overnight then let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes before rolling it. It worked great.
- Like I said, a tart jam such as prune or apricot will taste best in this cookie but you’re free to make them as sweet as you like.
- I’ve seen them with powdered sugar sprinkled overtop but I choose not to do that because, well, that’s not how Chris makes them. It would’ve been pretty for the photo though, huh?
- To form the triangle, pinch together three areas around the edges, allowing the edges to lay in the center of the cookie. To make sure the jam doesn’t push the sides out, make sure the top lip of the dough is tilted in towards the jam, not up. Gluten-free dough is not as sturdy as wheat dough so the jam, as it bakes, puts pressure on the sides and occasionally collapses them out. If you’re not sure that you’re doing it right, bake a few and see if they hold up. Adjust from there.
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 cups gluten-free flour*
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Jams of your choice
- In a mixer, cream butter and sugar together.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- Add flour and blend carefully. Dough will be somewhat stiff so you may want to finish by hand.
- Chill for at least an hour.
- When dough is slightly chilled, roll out onto flour covered board.
- Cut 3” circles.
- Fill with ½ tsp. jam and pinch sides together. Continue with all circles, rolling scraps again until all are used up.
- Bake at 350˚ for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned. Do not let jam bubble over!
- Cool completely.
- *I used King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour mix. A different mix may take a little less or a little more.