Cherry Cheesecake Hamantaschen
Makes 24 cookies
I wrote this recipe in 2014 while writing recipes for my book, Making Artisan Cheesecake when my life was everything cheesecake. This is a family favorite now.The cookie is lemony and crisp balanced with the creamy cheesecake filling. If you are making these by hand, the dough will appear crumbly - keep mixing it! It will come together.
For the dough:
1 stick or 4 ounces room temperature unsalted butter
2 ounces room temperature cream cheese
6 ounces granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons or 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 ¼ cups or 10 ounces all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the cheesecake filling:
6 ounces room temperature cream cheese
2 tablespoons or 1 ounce granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons lemon zest
Pinch of fine sea salt
24 pitted sour cherries, optional
Heat the oven to 350F.
For the dough:
In a bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment combine the butter and cream cheese and mix on medium speed until softened, about 1 -2 minutes. Add in the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix until light and fluffy, about 1- 2 minutes. Add in the egg and mix about 30 seconds until combined. Add in half of the flour and salt; stir on low until just combined. Add in remaining half of the flour and stir until just combined. Set aside
For the filling:
In a medium bowl mix the cream cheese with a rubber spatula until softened, about 1 minute. Add in sugar and continue mixing about another minute until there are no visible lumps. Add in the egg yolks and mix just until combined. Stir in lemon zest and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Divide the dough in half and flatten. Liberally flour a piece of parchment, place dough on top, flour and roll dough ¼ inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds of dough. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough. Re-roll any scraps and cut out. Using an off-set spatula transfer the rounds to a parchment lined cookie sheet about ½ inch apart. Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each circle. Fold in each side of dough to form a triangle, making sure you can still see the filling. Place in the oven and bake about 15-17 minutes, or until the hamantaschen are lightly golden and firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
