Esther's Purses

Half moons of tender, orange-scented dough folded over a spoonful of sweet filling, these heritage cookies are cousins to the traditional hamantaschen served at Purim. They are a project cookie, the kind worth making with a partner and a pot of coffee, and the payoff is dozens of sugar-dusted treats that keep for days.

The dough has a clever twist: orange juice replaces milk, which gives a bright citrus backbone without any zest crunch. Canola oil keeps the crumb tender rather than short and flaky like butter pastry would.

Here is the critical note straight from the recipe: when the dough feels sticky, resist adding more flour. Those extra cups are what turn tender cookies into hard ones. Instead, work each re-rolling batch with leftover scraps folded into fresh dough so flour exposure stays even.

Fill each three-inch circle with just one teaspoon of filling, either date and orange or a nut mixture (recipes listed separately). Overfill and they burst. Seal with fork tines, bake 20 minutes, then roll warm in powdered sugar for the snowy signature finish.

Pro Tips

• Chill the dough 30 minutes if it feels too sticky to roll, avoid the flour shortcut.
• Roll to an even eighth inch, uneven dough bakes unevenly.
• Seal edges firmly with a fork dipped in flour so filling does not leak.
• Roll in powdered sugar while warm for coating that clings, not while hot (melts) or cold (slides off).

Variations

• Try a poppy seed filling for a traditional hamantaschen-style filling.
• Use apricot preserves or fig paste for a jam-style fill.
• Swap orange juice for lemon juice plus zest for a sharper citrus profile.