Sesame Hamantaschen with Lemon Curd

A few days ago, I got together with my dear friend Rachel to make some Hamantaschen for Purim. Rachel is the co-founder and CEO of Seed and Mill, which makes the best tahini and halva you can buy stateside. We spend entirely too much time yapping when we’re together (all play, no work) but we eventually decided to make tahini hamantaschen with lemon curd. Three of my favorite things! Thrilling.

This dough takes just minutes to come together and the tahini gives it a really nice, nutty edge. (I adapted it from my old tahini marble hamantaschen recipe, if you’d like to give that one a go!) Rolling the dough into logs and covering them in sesame seeds before slicing and shaping the hamantaschen is a neat trick that means you won’t have individually sprinkle each cookie with sesame seeds- plus, they don’t fall off while baking, as they’re tightly packed into the dough.

It has been a cold, cold winter here in New York City and Purim comes out slightly earlier than usual this year, which means the lemon curd in these hamantaschen is the perfect pop of sunshine. Eat, drink, be merry and celebrate the holiday with these perfect little cookies.

Chag sameach,

Chaya

Yields: about 24 hamantaschen

Why I love this recipe: this dough comes together in minutes, with a nutty flavor from the tahini. Rolling the dough into logs, covering them in sesame seeds and slicing them before forming into hamantaschen is a genius trick for covering each hamantash in sesame seeds.

Notes: don’t love lemon curd? Fill with this delicious spread!

For the hamantaschen: 

• 1 stick room temperature butter, cubed
• ⅔ cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons good quality tahini, like Seed and Mill
• black and white sesame seeds, for sprinkling

For the lemon curd:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1. Make the hamantaschen dough: in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and keep mixing to combine, around two minutes. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat until just incorporated.
2. Add the tahini to the dough in the mixer and beat until incorporated, one minute.
3. Remove the dough from the mixer. Divide into two equal sized logs, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for two hours until firm, or up to twenty four hours.
4. Meanwhile, make the lemon curd: over a double boiler, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, and egg yolks. The water should be simmering, not boiling. Whisk frequently, until the yolks thicken and the mixture forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted from the curd, about 10 minutes. The temperature will rise to about 170°F. If curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and keep whisking constantly until the curd has thickened.
5. Remove the thickened curd from stove top, stir in the butter and whisk frequently for another minute. Stir in the salt.
6. Strain the lemon curd into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer to ensure perfectly smooth curd. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill until cold and firm, one to two hours or until needed.
7. Prepare two baking paper lined baking sheets. Remove the dough logs from the fridge. Pour the sesame seeds onto a rimmed baking sheet and roll the logs through the seeds until covered all over. Use a sharp knife to slice 1″ rounds from the logs, repeating until you have about twenty four cookies.
8. Use your palm to gently flatten each cookie until it is 1/4″ thick. Pinch the sides together to form hamantaschen. Use an offset spatula to transfer the formed hamantaschen to the baking sheet if needed.
9. Pipe a dollop of lemon curd in the center of each hamantash. Arrange on baking sheets with an inch or so between cookies. Pop the cookie sheet(s) into the freezer for fiften minutes before baking to allow the hamantaschen to firm up.
10. Heat oven to 350℉. Bake the hamantaschen for twelve to fifteen minutes, until they’re crisp and lightly golden at the edges. Let cool on racks. Eat, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.