September 10, 2018

Mandel Bread

dani@slyrooster.com DeeDee's Recipes, Dessert biscotti, cookie, dessert, holiday, Jewish, mandelbrot, Rosh Hashanah 7 Comments

or Mandelbrot, as this biscotti-like cookie is referred to by Eastern European Jews. This cinnamon sugar cookie is a DeeDee Classic (DeeDee, my mom, that is). Anyone who spent any time in my house growing up has raided our cookie jar and, more often than not, found Mandel Bread. As a matter of fact, still to this day pop into my parents house and you’re likely to find the last couple of slices waiting to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee or as that little something sweet after dinner. There are many versions of Mandel Bread. Some studded with chocolate chips, others with almonds. Every bubbe made them but as far as I am concerned, this mandel bread is the only mandel bread.

I decided to share this recipe with you today in honor of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It’s not necessarily a traditional holiday recipe although I don’t see why not. After initially baking the cookie loaves, you slice them into strips, turn each strip on it’s side and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. The cookies bake some more before being flipped, sprinkled with even more cinnamon sugar and baked again. Despite all the sprinkling, the cookies are not overly sweet but certainly sweet enough to represent a sweet new year.

Ironically, this will be my first post that my mother will not be the first to comment on because even more ironically, she and my dad are landing in Eastern Europe this morning. They are embarking on a long-awaited, much deserved trip to Croatia where they are sure to sample many different Eastern European cookies and satisfy my mother’s desire for adventure. I wish them an incredible trip and all of you a Happy New Year. Enjoy!