I love baking cookies with my kids, and as a family we love to explore cultures and traditions through food. This past weekend I prepared dough to make hamentashen with my kids this week but for whatever reason I just couldn't get the kids to engage (if you have kids, you know these days happen from time to time!). We still haven't baked our hamantashen, and the Jewish holiday of Purim starts tonight at sundown, so, I figured I would provide you with a list of some great places to buy these delicious cookies this week, in case you're in a similar boat!
Here are five places to get delicious hamantaschen in and around Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac!
1) Attman’s Deli (12505 Park Potomac Avenue, Potomac)
Attman's offers a few different varieties of jumbo hamantaschen including raspberry, chocolate, prune and poppyseed. This is a legit. Jewish deli, open in Baltimore since 1915, and now in Park Potomac! Definitely spend some time with the extensive menu before you go - I guarantee you will want some other goodies to bring home with your cookies!
2) Breads Unlimited (6914 Arlington Rd, Bethesda)
Definitely a local favorite for hamantaschen, this year's flavors include cherry, apricot, poppyseed, prune, chocolate, and even blueberry! Located in the Strosniders' shopping center, Breads Unlimited does its name proud - gorgeous breads, plus delicious cookies, donuts, cronuts, breakfast sandwiches and more.
3) Goldberg's New York Bagels (7731 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac)
Known for being one of the best bagel places in Montgomery County, Goldberg's is also a crowd favorite for hamantaschen around this time of year!
4) The Red Bandana Bakery (8218 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 101, Bethesda)
The Red Bandana Bakery offers a gluten free, celiac friendly facility and makes delicious gluten, nut and soy free hamantaschen with an assortment of fillings, including funfetti! They also offer dairy free vegan hamantaschen when ordered in advance.
5) Sunflower Bakery. Bakery: 5951 Halpine Rd., Rockville; Cafe 6101 Executive Blvd., No. Bethesda)
Sunflower Bakery is a Maryland-based nonprofit on a mission to provide training and job skills to adults 18+ who have learning differences. They have a wide variety of traditional and specialty hamantaschen flavors including cookie dough, coco-caramel, and even gluten-free hamantaschen! Sunflower Bakery was even taking orders for hamantaschen to be shipped this year! According to their website they have sold 50,073 hamantaschen so far and are no longer taking orders. However, their Bakeshop and Café locations will be open with a selection of hamantaschen from 10-4, Feb. 24-26.
More about Hamantaschen and Purim
A hamantaschen is a triangular cookie with a center filled traditionally with poppyseed or jam. In these modern days, you can find a wild variety of hamantashen, featuring funfetti, marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate dipped edges, cookie dough or anything else that makes your heart sing! hamantashen is typically associated with the the Jewish holiday of Purim, which is celebrated this year on February 25 and 26. Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrated in the spring which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an Achaemenid Persian Empire official who was planning to kill all the Jews, as recounted in the Book of Esther.
The cookie's name, hamantaschen, refers to Haman, the villain in the Purim story. Many also claim the shape of the cookie is symbolic of a triangular hat that Haman is said to have worn.
