I have always loved shaping hamantaschen for the holiday of Purim.  There is something so calming about trying to create perfect little triangles.  I have to say, I think I got my method down to a science.  In this video you can see how I fold the circles and pinch just the seams.  If you want my no-fail recipe, you should try my recipe for classic hamantaschen.  If you are more adventurous, I have a great recipe for peanut butter and jelly hamantaschen and pina colada hamantaschen as well.

Here are some tips I can offer on forming good looking hamantaschen.

• I like to roll my dough out directly onto a floured piece of parchment paper so I can transfer the whole sheet onto a baking sheet as soon as the hamantaschen are formed.  It’s a lot less handling of the dough.
• Make sure to use enough flour when rolling out your dough, or the dough will stick and the cookies will lose their shape when you try to work them into cute triangles.
• I don’t use water or egg wash to keep the hamantaschen together, I just keep pinching the seams until they are sealed.  Try not to pinch the corners, just the top seams.
• Use a pastry bag and straight round tip (or ziplock bag with the corner snipped off) to fill the hamantaschen.
• Do not overfill the hamantaschen with filling. The filling puffs in the oven and will bust your perfect little triangles open.  Use about a teaspooon or two, but it really depends on how large your round cutter is.
• For a medium sized hamantaschen, I use a round cutter that is 2 3/4 inches in diameter.  Anywhere from a 2 inch to a 3 inch round cutter will yield nice sized hamantaschen.
• Be gentle with your dough.  Try not to stretch out your circles of dough or your hamantaschen can look misshapen.

If you have any questions or other tips, let me know in the comments!  Happy Purim!