Gluten Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free Sugar Cookies and Hamentaschen Recipe

The other night I was in the mood of eating something, but wasn't sure what. All I knew is that nothing that I had in the house appealed to me. Not the fruit, not proteins, not carbs... and then it hit me! I want junk! (The funniest thing happened, actually. I went over to Mike and told him "I want junk" and his phone happened to be on a setting where it heard what I said, and loaded a page that said "The effect that junk food has on your brain." Hahaha!)
But anyhow, I wanted junk, yet it's not something I keep in stock in my house regularly.
What to do, what to do.
Maybe I'd make cake or cookies?
But most of my cake and cookie recipes are cocoa based, and I was out of cocoa powder. A problem of epic proportions, I tell you!

And then my friend posted a link to this sugar cookie recipe, and I was so excited, since even though I was running low on ingredients (I'm going shopping just as soon as I finish this post- haven't really been shopping in nearly 2 weeks), I had everything needed for that recipe.
Well, not quite.
I wouldn't be making that recipe as is- I do things gluten free, refined sugar free, and dairy free, and ideally egg free. I decided I'd attempt to convert that recipe to suit my dietary needs and preferences- and while I was at it, decided to turn them into hamentaschen, traditional Jewish triangle shaped filled cookies.

They were amazing.

I sent them with my husband to work the next day, and he was sure they were store bought, they looked so perfect.

And they were easy too, not finicky like hamentaschen recipes (especially gluten free) I've tried in the past.

But of course, you can just make these as regular sugar cookies, as originally intended, rolling them out and using cookie cutters to shape them.

After making a half batch the first time, I ended up doubling the recipe and making it again today, this time without eggs either. Again, perfection. This recipe below is the doubled recipe. Feel free to halve it or even quarter it depending on your needs.

I highly, highly, highly recommend this recipe.

Oh- and in case you were wondering- yes- they filled that craving for junk. And they were definitely not junky!

P.S.- Nope, not pregnant. Just was craving junk. It happens.

Gluten Free, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free Sugar Cookies and Hamentaschen Recipe

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons ground flax seeds and 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon boiling water OR 4 large eggs
1 cup coconut oil (or butter or ghee or palm shortening or other solid fat)
2 cups coconut sugar (or sucanat or brown sugar or white sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 cups all purpose gluten free flour mix containing xanthan gum or wheat or spelt flour if gluten isn't an issue OR
1 tablespoon xantham gum AND
1 1/2 cups green buckwheat flour AND
1 1/2 cups sticky rice flour AND
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour AND
1 1/2 cups potato starch
Pureed dates or other fillings, like apple butter, homemade jam, or chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Mix your flax seeds with boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes before continuing with the recipe. If using eggs, skip this step.

2. Add solid coconut oil and coconut sugar to the flax eggs (or regular eggs) and beat or mix very well. To ensure it mixes well, I used a blender stick to mix this- a beater would work just as well, as would a blender or food processor. My coconut oil is solid at room temperature at the moment, so this is how I did it. You don't want to be working with liquid coconut oil for this recipe, so if your is liquid, I suggest that you chill it to harden somewhat in the fridge before starting.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. It may seem dry at first, but just keep mixing until all the flour is incorporated. If you literally cannot add the rest of the flour to it because it is too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you can do so.

4. Unlike most sugar cookie recipes... do NOT chill this one! In fact, my kitchen is chilly now and when I left this dough too long and didn't play with it/work the dough, it got harder and started cracking when I tried shaping it. So just bear that in mind.

5. Roll out the cookie dough in fist sized chunks of dough, between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll them as thin as you can make them- around 1/4 inch or so is ideal.

6. If making into hamentaschen, use a cup as a cookie cutter. Fill with about 1/2-1 teaspoon of filling (I use date paste which is pure pureed dates) in the center and then moisten the edges of the circle with a bit of water (dip your finger into a cup of water, and then rub along the edge).Lift two sides with your index fingers and pinch the seams together. Repeat with the third side.  If my explanation isn't clear enough, this video should help a little bit.

7. If making rolled sugar cookies, cut out with cookie cutters.

8. After cutting out your shapes, roll the scraps out again.

9. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes if making hamentaschen, and 6-10 minutes if making rolled sugar cookies.

Enjoy!

Have you ever made or eaten hamentaschen before? What was in them? Does this look like a recipe you'd try out?