Tag Archives: purim

Cookies n’ Cream Hamantaschen

Cookies,

Cookies n' Cream Hamantaschen | Lil Miss Cakes

Sometimes I get a dessert idea that is too good to be true.  After seeing Melinda’s (Kitchen-Tested) Black and White Cookie Hamantachen I immediately got inspired.  Melinda used black and white bakery cookies to make a cookie butter filling.  Then all at once I thought-cookie butter filling is genius…chocolate sandwich cookies…cookie crumbs in the dough…cookies n’ cream hamantaschen!  This idea went from my mind to my oven in less than 24 hours.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I really really wanted this cookie to work-and it did!  I made my own cookie filling that comes together so fast,  it’s only 2 ingredients! I clearly love baking hamantaschen; and I love coming up with fun combinations such as Peanut Buttter and Jelly, and Pina Colada, but I think this is my best idea yet!

Save Print
Cookies n' Cream Hamantaschen
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3 dozen
 
Ingredients
Cookie Dougn
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2½ cups flour
  • ¾ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 Tbs. soy milk
  • 3 chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crushed
Chocolate Cookie Butter Filling
  • 12 chocolate sandwich cookies
  • ¼ cup liquid non-dairy whip topping, defrosted (such as rich's whip)
Instructions
Prepare the dough
  1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening with the sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and mix until combined. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and slowly mix on low speed. Pour in the soy milk and mix until a dough is formed. Sprinkle in the cookie crumbs and mix until evenly distributed. You can use the dough right away. If the dough is too sticky, wrap and chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Prepare the filling
  1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, crush the 12 sandwich cookies until finely ground. Pour in the ¼ cup of defrosted whip topping and process until smooth. Refrigerate if it is too runny-it will firm up. Filling can be made in advance and stored in the fridge.
Form the hamantaschen:
  1. On a lightly floured surface, or on a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out a piece of the dough until thin. Use a round cutter (2½ to 3 inch in diameter) and cut out circles of dough. Fill each round with a ¾ tsp. of filling and pinch the seams together to form a triangle. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!
  2. * The filling puffs in the oven so if you overfill, you will lose your perfect shape, but they will taste even more amazing! The filling settles in once the cookies are cooled.

 If you need help forming the hamantaschen, check out my handy video!

Gumball Machine Cupcakes

Cupcakes and Muffins

Gumball Machine Cupcakes

I thought of this idea for a gumball machine cupcake a while ago.  I have seen similar ideas around, but nothing exactly like this.  Let me explain with lots of pictures how I made these cute edible favors.

Vanilla Cupcakes

I started by baking vanilla cupcakes in these cute individual paper liners.  I love these cupcake cups by Paper Eskimo.  These paper cups can be baked right on a baking sheet, no need for a special cupcake pan.

Royal Icing Topped Cupcakes

Once the cupcakes were cooled I covered the tops in royal icing and turned them directly onto these silver cardboard disks.  They are like tiny little cake boards.  I found them at my local craft store.  I allowed the icing to dry for a few hours to make sure the cupcakes were good and stuck.

Cutting Holes In Cupcake Cup Bottoms

I used a craft knife to slice holes into the bottom of the cupcake cups.  Then I poked a dowel through the slits to make the holes a little larger.  The final step is to fill a Christmas ornament with gumballs and fit it upside down into the hole of the cupcake.  I ordered my ornaments from Oriental Trading and didn’t realize they were very small.  The opening in the ornament was super tiny, and I couldn’t find gumballs small enough so I used candy coated chocolate Sixlets.

Wrapped Gumball Machine Cupcakes

They looked super cute all wrapped up!  Wilton sells these treat bags with the silver board and a ribbon (I used silver twist ties instead) in a great little pack.  Everyone loved these cute little party favors and I can’t wait to make them again.  They can be made with any color cupcake cup and filled with any colors of candy to match every party color scheme!

{Video} Tips On Forming Perfect Hamantaschen

Tutorials and Videos,

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!