Every year, about a month before Purim, I make three to four batches of hamantaschen. Then, I post a pretty photo on Instagram of the last batch.

Want to know what really happens? The first few batches are a total disaster. The dough is too dry and keeps cracking, making assembly frustrating. The filling bubbles over in the oven creating a giant mess. I inevitably burn my mouth by stress-eating the ugliest hamantaschen right when it comes out of the oven so they disappear from my sight, and my husband comes home to find me crying and exasperated (yeah, I’ve cried over cookies) about my hamantaschen disaster. Unsure of what to do to console me, we just start eating the ugliest ones together.

I know this seems completely ridiculous (I realize there are much bigger, sadder problems in the world than a cookie disaster), but sharing this embarrassing story is the first step to my perfectionist recovery journey. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has had an experience like this?

This year, for the first time, I decided I had had enough! It was me versus the hamantaschen and I was going to master making perfect hamantaschen. I’d share my pro tips, so no one had to experience a hamantaschen disaster ever again. Or better yet, those of you who have never made hamantaschen can avoid all my mistakes the first time. I realize I should have recognized this as perfectionism, but I did it anyway and here’s what I learned:

• Don’t chill the dough for too long: Most recipes say to refrigerate dough for a couple of hours, which leads to dough
• that is hard to roll out and cracks. If you only chill it for 30 minutes, it’s still pliable and cracks less.
• The dough WILL crack: When it does, put down the rolling pin and take a deep breath.
• Thicken the filling: I like to use already made jams as fillings. Most jams are too thin for hamantachen, hence the bubbling over in the oven problem.
• Before I make the dough, I put the jam in a small pot and simmer it on low heat until it’s reduced. You should feel some resistance when stirring it when it’s hot, and it should solidify when it cools down.
• Use a 3.5 inch round cookie cutter: For years, I used 2.5 inch round and vowed every year to get a bigger one but never did. A larger round is MUCH easier to work with and allows more space for the filling to bubble (as long as you don’t over-stuff).
• Seal with egg wash: Once your cookies are folded, brush an egg wash over each of them, sealing in the folds.
• Have fun: If this is your first time making hamantaschen or celebrating Purim, don’t worry as much as I do about the outcome–enjoy the process and have fun with it! Purim is a very festive holiday, so share those cookies with friends, pour some drinks and enjoy.