All you need to make them is some pastry (buy it ready-made if you want), a filling (jam, curd, chocolate spread, nut butters are all great but the thicker the better for them to hold their shape) plus a little beaten egg for glazing them before they go into the oven.

The folding technique that gives hamantaschen their unique shape can be surprisingly tricky.

I took photos of a recent batch of lemon curd-filled hamantaschen to demonstrate how it’s done. You will have cut out 7cm or 8cm circles of dough rolled to 2mm thick and spooned a scant teaspoon of filling onto the circles. (And yes, that is lemon curd and not egg yolk pictured)
 

Here are the steps:

1. Take the left side of the circle and fold it towards the centre to make a flap that covers the left third of the circle.

2. Take the opposite side of the circle and fold it towards the centre, overlapping the upper part of the left side flap to create a triangular tip at the top of the circle. You should be able to see a small triangle of filling in the middle.

3. Fold the bottom part of the circle upwards to create a third flap and complete the triangle. When you fold this flap up, tuck the left side of this new flap underneath the left side of the triangle, while letting the right side of this new flap overlap the right side of the triangle.

This way, each side of your triangle has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under-- it creates a "pinwheel" effect. This has the benefit of not only looking pretty, but also keeping the hamantaschen from unfolding during the bake.

Then you want to chill them for at least 20 – 30 minutes so that the dough is firm before baking. That will also help them keep their shape. 

Good luck and chag sameach Purim. 

Updated version of article first published February 2018