Purim is just around the corner and I am still in shock that I’m preparing hamantaschen and shalach manot in February. I just can’t believe I’ll be driving around the neighborhood with snow still on the ground to share homemade treats with my friends and family. So with winter as my inspiration, I’ve created a perfect blend of cold weather flavors, including white chocolate, vanilla sugar and candy cane. The sweet and fluffy cheesecake filling produces a creamy contrast to the crunchy candy and flakey hamantaschen dough for the perfect winter wonderland bite.
Check out my Candy Cane Cheesecake Hamantaschen featured on Cook Kosher!
Candy Cane Cheesecake Hamantaschen
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 sticks (2 cups) margarine, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 (8 oz) container whipping cream
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese (can use parve cream cheese), room temperature
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp vanilla sugar
- 3 Tbsp confectioners sugar
- 1 egg white, for forming cookies
Toppings
- ½ cup white chocolate
- 2 tsp peppermint extract
- ¼ cup crushed candy cane (5 candy canes)
Instructions
- 1. Start with the dough, which needs some time to chill before baking. Beat together the margarine and sugar then add the whipping cream and vanilla extract. Once everything is combined, slowly add the flour until the mixture is completely combined.
- 2. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 10 minutes. You can also place in the fridge for up to 3 days before using.
- 3. While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling and toppings: Beat together the cream cheese, 1 egg and vanilla sugar. Separately, crack an egg white into a small bowl and set aside. Place the candy canes in a sandwich bag and crush with a rolling pin. Chop the white chocolate, add the peppermint extract and set aside to melt later.
- 4. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes, just to warm it up a bit. It’s much easier to roll out at room temperature. Lightly floured (and I really mean lightly flour) the counter and roll out the dough. Don’t make the dough too thin or it won’t hold together while it bakes. Cut out rounds of dough using a cookie cutter. You can pretty much use whatever size cookie cutter you want based on the size of the hamantaschen you are looking for!
- 5. Move the dough rounds to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush the edges of the dough with the egg white then add 1 teaspoon of filling.
- 6. Pinch the edges together to create a triangle. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown.
- 7. While the cookies cool, melt the white chocolate until smooth. You can either use a double boiler or you can carefully microwave them. Just place in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds and mix. Cook for another 30 seconds and mix. Then cook one last time for 30 seconds and mix.
- 8. Once the hamantaschen are cool, dip one side of each cookie in the melted white chocolate then let the excess chocolate drip off then place on parchment paper and sprinkle with the crushed candy cane.
- 9. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Enjoy and Happy Purim!
