In Israel there is something called Halva cream, which is basically a spreadable form of the halva dessert common here, it is sweet, creamy and delicious. I particularly love it when it is oozing out of a chocolate rugelach, the combination is amazing.

For these hamantashen I used my own healthier version of halva spread, feel free to sprinkle in some chocolate chips.  I also made my dough with coconut oil and spelt flour and while it was a little more difficult to work with, the results were some of the best hamantashen I ever had.

Duration: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 24 Hamantashen

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons orange juice
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups spelt flour (plus more for rolling)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
  • 1/2 cup halva spread or chocolate halva

PREPARATION

1 Mix coconut oil, sugar and orange juice in a large bowl until well blended.  Add eggs and mix again.

2 Add flour, baking powder and orange zest and mix until dough forms, adding more flour if needed.

3 On a well floured surface, roll out dough and cut out circles.  Fill with halva spread or chocolate halva* or your preferred filling.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 400 for 12 minutes.

Halva spread is a mix of tahini with date honey, you can make a chocolate halva filling by combining tahini 1:1 with melted chocolate (I usually place tahini with chocolate pieces in the microwave just until melted and mix well)