Chocolate Hamantaschen with Chocolate Dough

We all know and love Hamantaschen (in Hebrew Oznei Haman). These triangular-shaped cookies are filled with sweet and flavorful fillings, making them a favorite treat during the festive celebrations. But this easy Chocolate Hamantaschen with Chocolate Dough recipe takes them to a new level.

Craving more Hamantaschen? Check out my S’mores Hamantaschen, Raspberry Hamantaschen, and my classic Hamantaschen.

Ingredients Overview 

**Before you start baking, measure and prepare your ingredients so the baking process will go smoothly and easily. I highly recommend using a food scale to weigh your ingredients.

All-purpose flour: Regular all-purpose flour forms the base of these Hamantaschen cookies. Be sure to measure your flour carefully for the best texture.

Cocoa powder: For a beautiful dark color and a chocolatey flavor.

Powdered Sugar (confectioners’ sugar): For sweetness, for a pretty garnish, and it helps absorb moisture from other ingredients, giving the cookies an extra tender and chewy texture.

Butter: Unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature.

Egg: The egg helps form the cookie’s structure and has lots of water, which interacts with the flour’s proteins. 

Filling: Traditional Hamantaschen fillings include poppy seed paste, chocolate spread, chocolate chips, jams, and prunes. My favorites to use with chocolate dough are chocolate spread, Lotus (Biscoff) spread, Halvah spread, and strawberry jelly.

How to Make Chocolate Hamantaschen with Chocolate Dough? 

Step 1: Make the dough: Place softened butter and powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Mix at a low speed, using a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the butter mixture is pale yellow, light, and fluffy.

Add vanilla and mix just until combined. *Scrape the bowl and paddle down two or three times with a spatula during mixing to ensure all the butter bits are mixed in.

Add egg and about half of the flour with the motor running and beat until fully incorporated. Add the rest of the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and mix until a dough forms. If the dough is too sticky, add a teaspoon of cocoa powder. If it is too dry, add a little water or milk (a teaspoon at a time).

Step 2: Chill the dough: Shape the dough into a disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and transfer it to the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours (up to overnight).

Step 3: Shape the dough: Roll the dough on a floured surface to a ¼ -inch (½ cm) thickness and cut circles using a cookie cutter. Place a flat teaspoon of the filling in the center of each circle, pinch the edges together in three places so that they meet in the middle to form a triangular cookie shape, fasten, and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Don’t put in too much filling, or you won’t be able to close the Hamantaschen.

Arrange the Hamantaschen on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 4: Chill the Hamantaschen: Place the Hamantaschen in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour before baking.

Step 5: Bake: Bake at 350°F/180°C for 15-20 minutes until the dough is slightly golden at the bottom. Let it cool.

Pro Tips

The dough:

• Work as quickly as possible to prevent the dough from becoming warm. 
• Don’t skip the chilling time. Chilling prevents the cookies from spreading out too quickly once they’re in the oven. 

The filling: 

• The filling should be thick enough to prevent the cookies from collapsing and losing their shape during baking. 
• If you are filling your Hamantaschen with jam or jelly, you can make them a little thicker by mixing them with cookie crumbs (like graham crackers), cake crumbs (from a stale leftover cake), or chopped nuts. It will prevent them from spilling out during baking. 
• Don’t put in too much filling, or you won’t be able to close the Hamantaschen. One teaspoon is enough. 

Baking:

• When you bake cookies that are dark, it’s often hard to tell when they are finished. All you need to do is put on an oven mitt and pull the baking halfway out. Then, use a spatula to lift one of the cookies gently. If the bottoms are golden brown and solid, they’re ready to be pulled out of the oven.

How many cookies are in a batch?

• With a 3.5 inch diameter cookie cutter or a glass about 14-16.
• With a 3 inch diameter cookie cutter or a glass about 16-22.

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