Amanda D.
Google
I moved to Texas a little over 4 years ago from New York and have not had any Jewish bakery foods since moving here.
Since the Jewish holiday of Purim is coming up in a few days I decided to look to see if anyone near me sold hamantashen, a triangle shaped cookie filled with jam, eaten on this holiday. Traditionally, back home in NY, the flavor jams one might typically find in a hamantashen would be apricot, raspberry, prune & poppy seed. However, any jam, jelly, chocolate ganache, or hazelnut spread would be appropriate.
Upon doing a Google search, I found Three Brothers Bakery. Not only did they have several different locations, they had 10, TEN, different flavors of hamantashen! I was in awe, I called one location to verify this and yes, it was accurate. I was advised the cookies were about palm sized and sold individually, by the half dozen or by the dozen. Well, with 10 different flavors, you know I had to get one dozen of them! The flavors they had were: apricot, cherry, chocolate, chocolate chip nutella, raspberry, poppyseed, lemon, apple, strawberry and prune.
While on the phone, I asked about their different challah breads & whether or not I had to preorder them. I was told they always had in-store for Fridays, but if I wanted to guarantee a specific flavor or amount, it would be best to order. I just wanted one with raisins. One I was used to having growing up. I was feeling rather nostalgic (and kind of home-sick) at this point. I was briefly put on hold while he checked in the back and upon returning to the phone, happily told they did have one available. I was super pleased, so I added that to my order. Then, to my surprise, he asked if I wanted it whole or sliced! Wow! Yes, please slice it! While I have a bread knife, I do make a mess of it. Not only that, but I planned to sneak a taste on the way home.
Next, I had to know... did they have any black & white cookies? This is something you see EVERYWHERE in NY, at every bakery, every diner, in all the delis. And trust me when I tell you... as much as I love Black Bear Diner, it is not a traditional diner in any sense of the word. And delis... Texas has no clue. LOL. Anyway, yep, they had them. For all you guys who do not know what a black & white is, it is called a cookie, but it is typically 4" to 6" across in diameter and it is more of a cake-like consistency, measuring anywhere from 1/2" to as fat as 1" high at its thickest in the center, with the outer part of the circle being much thinner. The top part of the cookie is covered in a thick, icing, half is chocolate and half is vanilla, hence black & white. The cheap versions have a hard, candy-like coating, but those are not real.
The man I spoke to on the phone was so polite, so very kind & sweet. At one point he even called me "m'lady". I could almost feel myself blush. When I arrived at the store, it was clean and smelled amazing. The cookies were boxed in a nice box & the challah bread was sliced into nice 1/2" slices, in a bag. I looked around to see what else I wanted, but decided to leave that for my next visit.
On the way home, my taste of the challah turned into eating quite a few slices. It was so delicious! It did not need anything on it, no butter, no jam, no honey, nothing! It was delicious as is. In fact, that is what I ate for breakfast again this morning with my coffee! 🍞☕️ And last night for dessert I had just 1 hamantashen because they were so big and delicious. I tried the poppyseed one, and let's just say... I can't wait to try all the flavors now!
Three brothers Bakery, I am so glad I found you. Thank you for the delicious bakery items. You have definitely found a new repeat customer! 😁