Nuts and bolts:

Mandelbrot or Mandel Bread is a cookie I grew up having for a special treat. The recipe my mom used was in our synagogue's cookbook, but that cookbook has long been misplaced, and I missed that cookie. I rediscovered its recipe many years ago on a playdate for my daughter, when she was little, at a friend's house. My friend and I were having coffee, and she offered me a mandelbrot. I was so excited to eat this cookie again. So, she shared the recipe with me. It is a simple cookie, and it is easy to add a variation to it. No matter what you call them, they are deliciously fun cookies.

My thoughts on Mandelbrot

1.     Mandelbrot or Mandel Bread has a fun name, and it brings me joy every time I say it.

2.    This cookie is the Eastern European Jewish cousin of the biscotti.

3.      No matter what you call them or which recipe you use, it is delicious with tea or coffee. 

4.   One variation I make is to add only ¼ cup of almonds and ¼ mini chocolate chips.

5.    For the holidays, I like to dip some of them in chocolate to make them extra special.
   Method:

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Then line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. I use rimmed baking to keep the cut Mandelbrot on the sheet pan. Gather together; flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, and almonds. Afterward, chop the almonds. Finally, sift the flour and baking powder together. I like to sandwich my baking powder between the flour. In this case, I load my sifter with 1 cup of flour, then baking powder, and finally the last cup of flour, then sift into the bowl. I find that this helps evenly distribute the baking powder through the cookie.

Important tip:

I'm not too fond of chopping nuts with a knife. I rather pound the nuts with a mallet to create the chopped nuts. When I make this cookie, I buy the 1/2 cup slivered almond packs in the grocery store's baking aisle and then use a mallet to pound them. They become a great rough chop, and once the nuts are added to the mixture. You can throw-out the packaging. When pounding the nuts, you only need to hit them 4 or 5 times. You want to crush a few whole ones. Do not crush the almonds too much, or they will turn in a meal or flour.

Then cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle until they become smooth. I like to do this at high speed. This should take a minute or more. Then slow the mixer down and add the eggs one at a time.

Important tip: I slow the mixer down to add an egg and then speed it up for it to incorporate. Then add the next egg and then speed it up. Repeat this till all the eggs are incorporated. Then I slow it down to add the extracts.

After adding the extract, I speed up the mixer until everything is mixed. Then slow the mixer down and gradually add the flour. Once the flour is mixed in, add the nuts (and mini chocolate chip.) The dough will be stiff but not too sticky.

Then on the rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, make three mounded logs. You can use a spoon to shape the logs. I prefer using my hands to try to make a smooth log. After that, place it on the cookie sheet with room to spread and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes of baking, take them out of the oven and cut the cookies widthwise while they are hot.  This part can be tricky, and I tend to cut thick cookies. Sometimes the edges do cut clean and will be jagged, but they will taste great. Once they are cut, move them around, so the cookies lay flat, and then return them to the oven to bake for 10-20 minutes. I like to bake them for 15 minutes, see how cooked through they are, and determine how much more time they need. The thinner they are cut, the shorter the bake time will be on the second bake. Once out of the oven, leave them on the cookie sheet for five minutes to start cooling, Then transfer to cooling rake to cool completely.  

If dipping in chocolate:

A day or two after I bake the cookies is when I like to dip them in chocolate. I start by putting a cooling rack over a cookie sheet so the chocolate can drip off.  In a double boiler, bring the water up to a simmer. Then in the bowl of the double boiler, add chips to melt. While the chips are melting, I add the juice of an orange to the chocolate as it continues to melt.

Important tip: Sometimes, chocolate seizes, so add a tablespoon or two of water, and it will loosen.

Then dip the top of the cookie, put it on the rack, and leave it on the rack until the chocolate sets.

Final Thought on Mandelbrot:

This is one of my favorite cookies because it is associated with so many good memories. I hope you can make memories with this cookie in your mess. 

Mandelbrot:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick )

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. Almond extract

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup almonds chopped 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugar for about a minute. Gradually add the eggs one at a time. Then add the flavorings. Afterward, mix in the flour mixture and then the nuts. The mixture will be stiff.  On a parchment-lined rimmed cookies sheet, form the dough into three thin loaves with a spoon or your hands. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Slice while hot, loosen, and turn. Return them to the oven. Bake for 10-20 minutes. They should be golden brown and cooked in the center.

Chocolate Chip Mandel Brot:

It is the same recipe but uses only1 /4 cup of chopped almonds and ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips.

Chocolate-Dipped Mandelbrot:

½ bag of dark chocolate chips

Juice of an orange

A couple of tablespoons of water

Melt chocolate chips. Once they are melted, add the juice of an orange. If the chocolate is too stiff, add water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Then dip the cookie and let cool until the chocolate is set.