Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (2024)

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A Mandel bread recipe (also called mandelbrot) that creates a twice-baked crispy cookie that can be enjoyed on its own or dunked into coffee. Historically, it was a popular dessert amongst eastern european Jews. Our favorite mandelbrot is from the kitchen of my friend Susan Braverman, who shares her thoughts and her mandel bread recipe below.

This delicious crispy cookie bar is not a bread at all. In fact, it’s also known as a Jewish biscotti!

This treat, filled with cinnamon and chocolate chips, can be customized by adding nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, or other flavored chips. They are perfect for dunking in coffee or tea!

Mandel bread (mandelbrot) vs biscotti

The first two names on the list refer to the same food. Mandel bread is English, whereas mandelbrot is of Germanic heritage. While mandelbrot literally translates to ‘almond bread’, it traditionally describes a crispy cookie with roots in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.

Biscotti, on the other hand, is of Italian origin and tends to have less fat than found in a mandel bread recipe, and biscotti is, therefore, drier.

What you need to make this mandel bread

While Susan’s complete recipe is below, here is a list of what you will need for her delicious mandelbrot recipe.

Supplies

Ingredients

Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (1)

Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (2)

Susan’s tips for creating crispy mandel bread

Desired crispiness is a personal taste. I sprinkle raw sugar and extra cinnamon on top before I bake. This gives an added crunch.

Also, after they are baked and sliced, I return them to the oven for 10 minutes to crisp.

Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (3)

Mandel bread recipe

This recipe was contributed by my friend Susan Braverman.

Note: we love this recipe as is, but we have had feedback from one of our readers that they like to add 1 tsp salt.

Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (4)

Mandel bread recipe

Yield: 2 loaves (24 pieces)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Mandel bread (also called mandelbrot) is a twice-baked crispy cookie that can be enjoyed on its own or dunked into coffee. Historically, it was a popular dessert amongst Eastern European Jews.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 3½ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling

  • 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
  • Optional substitutions: raisins or nuts (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
  3. In a large bowl, mix oil and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
  4. Add (⅓ at a time) the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Use your hands to mix, if necessary.
  5. Add chocolate chips and/or other optional fillings. (Total filling should be 12 ounces)
  6. Form the dough into 2 loaf-type rectangles on the cookie sheet with parchment paper.
    (Optional: Sprinkle raw sugar and extra cinnamon on top before baking, for an added crunch.)
  7. Bake at 350ºF (175ºC) for 30 minutes.
  8. Remove from oven. Slice into 1½ inch pieces and separate a little.
  9. Optional: Return to the oven for 10 minutes to crisp. NOTE: Crisping is a personal taste. If you want a softer cookie bar, don’t do this step.

Notes

Nuts, raisins, etc. can be added in addition to the chocolate chips but keep the overall amount to about 12 ounces.

These freeze very well.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 24Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 263Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 104mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 4g

Nutritional information isn't always accurate and it will vary based on the specific ingredients used.

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Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (5)

Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (6)

Which optional ingredients will you add to the mandel bread recipe when you make it?

More Jewish-style recipes you might like or check out one of our favorite Jewish cookbooks.

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Easy Chickpea Flour Falafel Recipe (Gluten-free and Vegan)

More about Susan

Susan Braverman is a retired Special Education teacher from New Jersey. She currently lives in sunny Arizona, close to her 2 daughters and granddaughter. Susan also has 2 stepdaughters and 2 granddaughters in Virginia. She loves to bake and share her recipes with all her girls!

Her other hobbies are reading, baseball, and communicating with new friends worldwide on social media!

We love sharing recipes! If you have a favorite non-terefah recipe you want to share on Kibitz Spot, please see ourcontact pagefor details on how to submit your recipe.

Mandel Bread Recipe: Easy Options for Chocolate Chips, Raisins, or Nuts (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between biscotti and mandel bread? ›

Like biscotti, mandel bread is crunchy. However, it's made with more fat than biscotti, so the resulting cookie is a bit richer and less dry. You don't need to dip it in coffee or tea to enjoy it – it's delicious all on its own.

What does Kamish mean in Yiddish? ›

Mandelbrot (Yiddish: מאַנדלברויט), with a number of variant spellings, and called mandel bread or kamish in English-speaking countries and kamishbrot in Ukraine, is a type of cookie found in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine and popular amongst Eastern European Jews.

Why is my Mandel bread crumbly? ›

Too much flour can dry the cookies out and make them crumble. Baking powder – Gives the cookies lift. Sugar – For sweetness. Cinnamon – Adds a warm flavor throughout the cookie.

Why is it called Mandel bread? ›

They're called Mandel Bread, and the name comes from the Yiddish word mandlbroyt, which means almond bread, as a common ingredient in the cookies is almonds.

What is Elvis bread? ›

Serves 8. This "Elvis" banana bread is loaded up with a smooth and creamy peanut butter glaze and brown sugar-candied bacon. It's just basically freakin' awesome. 55 min. 2 hr 25 min.

Does all biscotti have nuts? ›

Modern biscotti recipes often contain nuts (traditional almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, and hazelnuts are popular choices) or spices such as anise or cinnamon. Modern recipes include adding baking powder and spices to the flour.

What is the Yiddish word for jerk? ›

A schmuck is a loser, idiot, or jerk. This Yiddish word is a little old-fashioned and not very harsh. If you've ever felt like a dummy or sucker, you've felt like a schmuck. This is one of many Yiddish words for "jerk" or "idiot" that are common in English, including schmo, schlub, schlemiel, and schnook.

What is the Yiddish word for poor thing? ›

Nebbish comes from a Yiddish word, nebekh, "poor thing," and it's been used in English slang since the late 19th century.

What does fa*gel mean in Yiddish? ›

a young girl

Alternatively spelled "fegele", this literally is the diminutive of "fogel", which means "bird" in old German. It is used in normal parlance to mean "hom*osexual man" or "young girl".

Are Mandelbrot and biscotti the same? ›

Yep: Biscotti are pretty much the exact same thing as mandel bread, a.k.a. mandelbrot — a nut-studded, crunchy, barely sweet cookie that's baked twice, once as a loaf and the second time in slices.

What is twice baked bread called? ›

A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk.

What can I add to bread to make it less crumbly? ›

If you achieved windowpane and you're bread loaf was still crumbly, then it could be an issue of being too dry. In this instance, my recommendation is to add a little bit more fat. My favorite fat to add to my bread is melted butter. I personally love the flavor and extra richness that the butter gives the bread.

Why is it called cowboy bread? ›

Pan de Campo is also called Cowboy bread and is a sort of flat bread. The bread was eaten by Cowboys who worked the ranches in early Texas. The cowboys prepared it in small portable ovens which gave it its distinct texture and flavor.

Where did Mandel bread originate? ›

Mandel bread, also called mandelbrot, is a type of cookie similar to the Italian biscotti and popular in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. The cookies were popular throughout the 19th century among Eastern European Jews, often consumed by rabbis, merchants and other Jewish community members.

What is Mandel bread made of? ›

Ingredients. About 1 cup golden raisins, mini chocolate chips, and walnuts or a combination of the three (Malgieri's recipe calls for almonds, and no raisins or chocolate chips.) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Malgieri calls for a teaspoon of almond extract in addition to the vanilla extract, but I skip it.)

What is another name for biscotti? ›

Today, I want to share a little bit about Italian cookies called Biscotti. Biscotti, also known as cantuccini or mandelbrot (Mandel bread), are traditional Italian cookies with a long history and rich cultural significance.

What do Italians call American biscotti? ›

Italians use the word biscotti when referring to products that Americans call cookies. The word cantucci is used by Italians when referring to the product Americans call biscotti.

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