Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread (Jewish Biscotti Cookies)

Mandel bread or mandlebrot (the word mandel is Yiddish for nut or almond) is a traditional Eastern European Jewish delicacy. Baked as a loaf and then sliced, the texture is slightly softer than Italian biscotti (which I love) but there are certainly similarities. Although my parents are Eastern European, sadly my mother's baking repertoire did not include these cookies. The only ones I'd ever tasted were the packaged ones from the store and I'd just as soon pass on those, thankyouverymuch.

The first time Brian brought me home to meet his family was for a Passover dinner and his mother, Doreen, served mandel bread for dessert. I was surprised because they're typically made with flour and she kept a traditional, flour-free Passover home. But I'm not observant and her homemade version was beyond delicious. I was instantly hooked and asked her for the recipe. Turns out she used matzo cake meal and potato starch which made these cookies perfectly appropriate for Passover. I couldn't detect it in the taste so all I knew was that they were perfectly delicious.

I made such a fuss over them that she generously made sure to bake them for every family gathering.  I was grateful and I always looked forward to holidays at her house, not just for my beloved cookies, but for all the warmth and welcoming and giant feast prepared with love. The amount of work she put into those gatherings was quite remarkable. But the part that always touched me most was after each dinner, when her two grown, big, tall sons expertly cleared the table, washed up and put everything away for their mother.

She raised three children and worked a full time job at a decade when most women stayed home. She put herself through college and graduate school to become a school administrator while still maintaining a home and children. And clearly she taught her boys that helping their mother was something boys do. Bravo for that, Doreen.

Since Passover is coming up, I dug out the recipe she hand wrote and gave to me and made her excellent mandel bread. And I still love it as much as I did the first time I tasted it. Enjoy!

by Hungry Couple

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

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Ingredients (24 Cookies)

• 2 Cups sugar
• 2 Sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 Eggs
• 2 3/4 Cups matzo cake meal *
• 1 Teaspoon salt (original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon)
• 3/4 Cup potato starch *
• 1 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 Cup sliced almonds, or your favorite nuts
• 1 Teaspoon cinnamon, for topping
• 2 Teaspoons sugar, for topping

* Available in the ethnic or Passover food aisle of the supermarket

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using either a stand or hand mixer, cream the sugar and butter together in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

In a separate bowl, sift together the cake meal, salt and potato starch and fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Divide the dough in half and form two loaves, approximately 2-3" high on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The loaves will neither rise nor spread in the oven but I did find them very sticky to work with so I used a bit of extra cake meal on my hands to pat them into shape.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the two loaves. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool slightly but slice, with a serrated knife, while still warm.

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