Could Hamantaschen be going mainstream? According to Bobby Jucker, 5th generation baker and co-owner of Three Brothers Bakery, “Based on our daily sales, I believe the Hamantaschen will take on a life similar to the bagel or ruggelach. In 2011 we sold approximately 35,000.”
Hamantaschen, a triangle shaped cookie filled with usually poppy, prune or apricot, and sold in most places only during the Jewish holiday of Purim are found daily at Three Brothers Bakery in none other than Houston, Texas.
This delectable delight named Hamantaschen, literally meaning Haman’s Pockets, but also called Haman’s Ears, or French, Napoleon or Patriot Hats has been sold daily for about 15 years at Three Brothers Bakery in Houston, Texas.
“The daily production began when a non-Jewish customer, Mrs. Rodriguez, would call every two weeks for two or three dozen hamantaschen, so we’d make extra, and they were selling, so we started making them daily,” explained Jucker. But now Jucker is seeing them emerge as Christmas gifts and even eaten in coffee houses.
Three Brothers Bakery’s triangular shaped pockets are filled with the traditional poppyseed, prune or apricot and also one will find cherry, raspberry, blueberry, lemon, cheese, date, peach, strawberry, or chocolate filled. The top three are poppy, chocolate and apricot fillings.
During Purim the Hamantaschen are made either with yeast dough or a secret cookie dough recipe, which is kept securely in a safe. The same cookie dough can also be found at the bottom of all their award winning pies, for it also serves as their crust. When asked if most of his clientele was Jewish, Jucker replied, “90% + of our customer base is not Jewish, but as we now serve our fourth generation of customer, they have come to enjoy the cookie and hence their children like them, so the demand keeps growing.”
They ship well, so Three Brothers Bakery ranks them in their top 10 best selling baked goods online. Jucker ended by saying, “Thank you Mrs. Rodriguez for creating a bakery trend we hope will be passed on from generation to generation.”