ISO hamentash recipe without shortening / margarine

seeker

Sat, Feb 28 2015, 7:51 pm

The recipe I have been using and loving for years requires crisco. I've been moving towards a healthier diet and at this point I dint want to use it even of just one day a year. But I still want hamentaschen and they had better be yummy! I don't like just any hamentaschen.

So, does anyone have a really really good recipe with no shortening, or an idea of what I can use instead of crisco in my favorite recipe?

amother

Beige

Sat, Feb 28 2015, 8:14 pm

My mom's! Enjoy Smile

5 ½ c. flour
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. oil
1/4 c. water
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
pinch salt

(roll, cut, fill etc.)
Bake at 350 for 15-20 mins.
makes 40

Last edited by amother on Sun, Jun 04 2023, 12:16 am; edited 1 time in total

Dolly Welsh

Sat, Feb 28 2015, 8:46 pm

You might try a small test batch with WW flour, and a little more baking powder than usual, to hoist that heavier protein up. You might increase the sugar just slightly because WW has a sourness sometimes.

ra_mom

Sat, Feb 28 2015, 8:50 pm

seeker wrote:

Thanks! I'm sure this is a hopeless cause, but do you also happen to have one that will work well with whole wheat flour?

I'm sorry, I don't know but maybe a mix of white flour and white whole wheat flour would work with any of your recipe.

Reality

Sat, Feb 28 2015, 9:08 pm

Why don't you use your recipe with coconut oil? It's a solid at room temp so it works like Crisco and it is a healthy fat. Or organic palm oil. It's also a solid at room temp. Not as healthy as coconut oil but not bad for you and less expensive if money is a problem.

Laiya

Sat, Feb 28 2015, 9:12 pm

I read once, I think on King Arthur flour's website (?), that when substituting whole wheat you should add a small amount of orange juice to cut down the bitterness (tho I haven't tried that)

Personally, for the hamantashen I'm planning to use half white whole wheat, or maybe a bit less, although my family is already used to that flavor.
Also--
you can't sub whole wheat or white whole wheat 1:1 for white flour bec. whole wheat is heavier. If a recipe calls for 2 c. white flour, I would reduce to 1 3/4 c. whole wheat. (1/4 c. = 4 T.).

Last year, my mother actually made 100% whole wheat hamantashen (and I suspect, reduced the sugar as well). Def. didn't taste the same but she put in such generous amounts of choc. filling that my kids actually ate them!

Re oil:
I find that in baking, you can't substitute oil for margarine 1:1, bec. the oil spreads and the finished product will be greasy. Rather, 1 stick margarine (which is half a cup) can be sub'd for 1/3 c. oil. The texture won't be identical, but the recipe will "work".

One last thing: Coconut oil can be sub'd for margarine or butter 1:1, and it maintains the exact same consistency as butter. Of course, there's also a definite coconut-y flavor, which you may or may not like.....

Good luck!

Reality

Sat, Feb 28 2015, 9:20 pm

Also regarding the whole wheat flour, I would only use white whole wheat flour. Much milder and lighter. I buy landaus brand(18th Ave in BP). It is ground very fine. Some brands are coarser and therefore much heavier.

I don't know if I would bake hamentashen with whole wheat flour. I usually use it only when I'm baking something with a strong taste like chocolate or apples. Or oatmeal cookies because it has graininess anyway.

Good luck!

lkwdmom2

Sun, Mar 01 2015, 11:48 am

we are making this recipe now. dough is easy to work with and hamentashen taste yum!

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 c oil
juice of one lemon (1 TBS lemon juice)
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder

beat eggs and sugar add rest

bake 350 20 min

zaq

Sun, Mar 01 2015, 1:26 pm

Almost all my recipes, inherited from my mom, call for shortening. I sub 2/3 the volume of oil, a bit less if I use olive oil, and have never had a problem. If I feel the results are still too greasy I further reduce the volume of oil.