Dalgona Coffee Hamantaschen

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla mixing until they’re combined. 

Gradually add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula mix until it’s well incorporated and you have a smooth dough. If the dough isn’t coming together and seems dry, add in a teaspoon of milk (dairy or non-dairy) until you have a dough that’s smooth and holds together. If your dough seems very soft and sticky, add 1 tbsp of flour at a time until you have a firmer dough that holds together in a ball.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.

While the dough is chilling, make the chocolate espresso-ganache filling. Place the chocolate and instant espresso powder in a medium metal or glass bowl (you don’t want to use a plastic bowl because it will give the ganache a grainy texture).

In a small pot, heat the cream over medium heat until it reaches 110 degrees fahrenheit on a candy thermometer. You don’t want to heat the cream above this temperature because the cream will be too hot and split the ganache when you mix together the cream and chocolate. If you don’t have a thermometer, warm the cream until you’re able to test the temperature of the milk with your finger and not have to remove your finger from the liquid immediately. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate, and let it sit for 2 minutes so that the chocolate softens.

Using a metal spoon, slowly stir the cream and the espresso chocolate mixture until they’re combined, and the chocolate is melted. The ganache will look smooth and glossy. Let the ganache sit at room temperature for 1-1.5 hours until it has cooled and thickened. If you need the ganache to cool more quickly, put the ganache in the fridge for 10 minutes, stirring the ganache halfway through. Note that this will affect the texture of the ganache, making it slightly grainy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the disk of dough in half. Working with one half  at a time, keep the other half in the fridge, lightly dust your work surface with flour to keep the dough from sticking, and roll it out until it’s about ¼ inch thick. Using a 3.5 inch round cookie cutter or glass, cut dough, and, using an offset spatula, place rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Gather the scraps of dough, reroll, and cut out more rounds. 

Working three at a time, brush the edges of the rounds with the beaten egg, and place one slightly heaping teaspoon of the espresso-chocolate ganache filling into the center of each round. Fold the rounds into triangles, pinching the corners to seal, leaving some of the filling exposed in the center of the cookie. 

Fill one baking tray with hamantaschen and place the hamantaschen in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This will prevent them from splitting open as they’re baking. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from the oven, and let cool on baking sheets. 

Repeat with remaining dough.

As the hamantaschen are cooling, make meringue. Bring about an inch of water to a simmer in a small pot. As the water is coming to a simmer, in a medium-sized, heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar.

Once the water has come to a simmer, place the bowl over the pan, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Whisk continuously until the mixture reaches a temperature of 160°F in order to pasteurize the eggs. Once the meringue reaches the desired temperature, take it off the heat. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you should heat the egg and sugar mixture for 10-12 minutes.

Using a hand held or a stand mixer, beat the warm mixture until the meringue holds soft peaks (this will take about 8 minutes). Add in the vanilla extract, the instant espresso and the cocoa powder, and beat until incorporated. As with all meringues, it is best made just before use, but you can also make this meringue a day in advance and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge.

Top the cooled hamantaschen with the coffee meringue as you eat them.

Store the hamantaschen (not topped with the coffee meringue) in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.