Violet’s Mandel Bread Biscotti

Crunchy, chocolatey & delicious, Violet’s Mandel bread (Mandelbrot) is a traditional Jewish, twice baked cookie, like Italian biscotti. A new favorite, we could not get enough so Violet & her daughter Kim graciously taught us how to bake them! Violet adds cherries for extra flavor. Makes about 25 cookies.

Simple Ingredients:

· ½ cup + 1 tablespoon Villa Graziella Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

· 3 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten, if possible organic

· 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted. Or for Passover, two-3/4 cups matzah cake meal (or GF matzah cake meal)

· 1 cup sugar

· 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

· ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans, pistachios, walnuts, or slivered almonds (optional)

· ½ cup Maraschino cherries, stems removed, quartered and without the juice

· 1¼ tsp. cinnamon sugar

· 1 tsp. almond extract

· 1 tsp. baking powder

· 1 tsp. salt

Easy Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

  2. In another bowl combine the almond extract, olive oil and sugar, then add the eggs and mix to thoroughly combine.

  3. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir.

  4. Add the cherries, chocolate chips and nuts if using.

  5. Preheat oven to 350◦F and set the oven rack to the center position.

  6. With your hands, shape the dough into a two 13-inch-long, 2-inch-wide, and 1-inch-tall logs on a parchment lined baking sheet.

  7. Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven.

  8. When still hot, using a serrated knife, cut across each loaf diagonally into 3/4-inch-thick-slices, sprinkle cookies with cinnamon sugar and return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

  9. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet or transfer to a cooling rack.

  10. Serve with your favorite coffee, hot chocolate, or tea!

Helpful Hints

· For an extra chocolatey version, once completely cooled, dip individual cookie ends in a bowl of melted chocolate.

· To avoid crumbly cookies, allow the loaves to fully cool before cutting.

· Cookies will have cracks on top and become crunchier as they cool.

· Store in between wax or parchment paper in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Did You Know? Mandelbrot cookies are an Ashkenazi Jewish dessert dating back to the early 19thcentury? Almond (mandel) and bread (brot) in both German and Yiddish!

To download this recipe click here

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Recipes, VideosChristi SinclairComment