• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Yay Kosher
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Recipe Index
    • Passover Recipes
    • Shavuot Recipes
    • Healthy Eating
    • Breakfast
    • Side Dishes
    • Kosher Dinner Recipes
    • Barbeque
    • Kosher Soup Recipes
    • Spice Blend
    • Kosher Dessert Recipes
    • Treif Hack
    • Bread
  • Cooking Tips
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Passover Recipes
  • About Us
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Passover Recipes
  • About Us
×

Home » Kosher Dessert Recipes

Traditional Mandel Bread

October 25, 2021 by Ben

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
biscotti feature
This is the best Mandelbrot recipe

Growing up in a traditional Jewish household we always had Mandel Bread on our table for dessert at family gatherings. I think this is because it is so simple and easy to make and it compliments almost any meal. Mandel brot resembles an Italian biscotti recipe but is also distinctly a Jewish food. This Mandel Bread recipe is kosher, pareve, and non-dairy. Read on to learn how to make the best Mandel Bread recipe from scratch.

Jump to:
  • Why This Recipe Works
  • A step by step guide on how to make the best Mandel Bread recipe.
  • Recipe FAQ
  • Recipe Tips and Suggestions
  • More recipes like this one
  • Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
  • 📖 Recipe
  • Recipe Tips and Suggestions
  • 💬 Comments

Why This Recipe Works

Dessert recipes like our No Bake Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats or Crackle Top Chocolate Chip Cookies are wonderful for a spread on Shabbat or Yom Tov. At my house, this recipe was always expected to be served right alongside those others. There are so many reasons why:

  • Easy to make. While there is some prep work and baking to be done here, Mandel Bread is easy to get to the table.
  • Goes with anything. Morning coffee, Shabbat kiddush or dessert, late night snack. You name the occasion and this recipe for Mandelbrot works for it.
  • Traditional Jewish dessert with lots of options. This recipe is a stripped down Mandel Bread recipe but there are so many ways to enjoy it. We give some suggestions at the end of the post as to options for tweaks to the recipe.
  • Stores well. Keep what you want for now and store the rest for later. Seal in an air tight plastic bag or container and keep them in your kitchen for up to 14 days. Better yet, keep some for now and seal the rest in an air tight freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months.

A step by step guide on how to make the best Mandel Bread recipe.

Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar

Start by creaming the butter and sugar. This is a fancy way of saying that they butter and sugar need to be mixed together really well. Use an electric mixer for this as creaming butter and sugar by hand will take a really long time. Start by cutting the butter into cubes, this will make it easier to mix.

mandel bread butter and sugar
A great Mandelbrot cookie starts here
mandel bread butter and sugar cream
Creamed butter and sugar make the best Mandelbrot cookies


Step 2: Add eggs one at a time


Don't put away your electric mixer just yet, you will still need it up until the point that the flour is mixed in. Once the creamed butter and sugar looks good, add one egg and mix until it is fully incorporated. Add each egg the same way until you have added all of the eggs. Then add the vanilla, almonds, baking powder, and orange juice.This is also where you would add the anise or fennel seed if you are doing so.

mandel bread add egg
One egg at a time
mandel bread add vanilla and water
Mix in the liquids

Step 3: Mix in flour by hand.


Ok, bye bye electric mixer. Now it is time to do some good old fashioned mixing by hand. We are doing this because we want to make sure that the dough is no over mixed and hand mixing is a good way to control that. Mix in the flour which is the last of the dry ingredients. Keep mixing until the point where all of the flour has just been incorporated.

mandel bread mix in flour-1
Mix by hand

This is what the dough should look like when it is ready:

mandel bread dough is ready
Caution: this dough will be sticky

Step 4: Mold the dough into a solid shape


The dough will be sticky so just be ready for that. Put enough flour on your cutting board or counter to account for this. Flour helps to make the dough not stick to the surface. Once you have prepared the surface, mold the dough into the log shape. Do not knead the dough, just handle it enough to get it into this shape:

mandel bread dough formed
This recipe should make 4 loaves

Once it is there, cut it into ¼ths.

Step 5: Bake. This Jewish Cookie is Twice Baked

Take each dough section and form it into a shape that is approximately 2 inches wide and is the length of the baking sheet you are using. Line each baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Each baking sheet should hold two of these. Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes and cool completely.

mandel bread dough ready to bake
Line the baking sheet with foil or parchment paper

Cut into cookies that are ¾ inch wide.

mandel bread after first baking
For soft mandelbrot stop here

Bake for 25 minutes at 325ºF. For soft mandel bread, skip this step.

mandel bread ready for second baking
Get ready for crispy perfect mandel bread

Recipe FAQ

Where does mandel bread get its name?

This biscotti cookie does have an unusual name for those who didn't grow up with it. The name comes from the yiddish words for almond (mandel) and for bread (brot). It is aptly named this because almost every recipe for mandel bread uses almonds. Bread simply refers to the cookie like texture and the fact that it is cut from a loaf.

Can I eat mondel bread on Passover?

The short answer is yes. This recipe uses wheat flour so you will have to use our Passover Mandel Bread recipe instead. That recipe uses almond flour and is gluten free! Enjoy!

Can I use coffee instead of orange juice?

Yes. You can substitute almost any liquid in for the orange juice. The flavor will change subtly but using coffee, amaretto, brandy, or water is just fine for this recipe.

mandel bread pin
Pin this recipe to your Dessert or Cookie Boards on Pinterest

Recipe Tips and Suggestions

  • Everybody likes cinnamon. Sprinkle the some cinnamon sugar over the top of the mandel brot right after it bakes for the second time. Cinnamon Mandel Bread.
  • Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread. Add ¼ cup of chocolate chips to the batter with the almonds.
  • Pumpkin Pie Spiced Mandel Brot. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon allspice, and ½ teaspoon cloves to the batter along with the vanilla.
  • Serve as biscotti. Morning coffee will never be the same without mandel brot. Biscotti and mandel bread are very similar so why not dip it in your morning coffee.
  • Chocolate Dipped Mandel Bread. Just look at that...a thing of beauty:
mandel bread chocolate dipped
This is how chocolate dipped mandel bread is made

More recipes like this one

  • Challah Bread Pudding
  • Classic Hamentashen
  • Miracle Challah
  • Crackle Top Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Dip

Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

📖 Recipe

mandel bread feature

Best Mandel Bread

Traditional kosher Jewish cookies.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, kiddush, Snack
Cuisine: American, Jewish, Kosher
Keyword: biscotti, cookie
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Cooling time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 64 cookies
Calories: 4669kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks non-dairy butter you can also use real butter for a dairy recipe
  • 2 ½ cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 12 almonds
  • 5 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 oz orange juice
  • 5 cups flour
  • lemon zest from one lemon or orange zest from one orange
  • 2 teaspoon fennel seed or anise optional
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  • Cream butter and sugar together.
  • Add eggs one at a time mixing after each egg.
  • If you are adding anise, fennel seed, lemon zest, or orange zest, add it here.
  • Add water, almonds, lemon zest, and baking powder to the mixture. Mix until incorporated.
  • Add flour and stir in by hand. Do not over mix.
  • Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with flour. Lay the dough on the flour and sprinkle it with more flour. Do not knead.
  • Shape the dough into the shape of a log approximately 14 inches long. Divide into 4 equal parts and shape into a thin log just shorter than the length of the cookie sheet you will be using.
  • Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and two of the dough logs on each one. Flatten the edges so that they are approximately 2 inches wide.
  • Bake for 30 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and cool completely.
  • Cut into slices approximately ¾ inch wide.
  • Bake again for 25 minutes.
  • Cool and serve.

Notes

Recipe Tips and Suggestions

  • Everybody likes cinnamon. Sprinkle the some cinnamon and sugar over the top of the mandel brot right after it bakes for the second time.
  • Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread. Add ¼ cup of chocolate chips to the batter with the almonds.
  • Pumpkin Pie Spiced Mandel Brot. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon allspice, and ½ teaspoon cloves to the batter along with the vanilla.
  • Serve as biscotti. Morning coffee will never be the same without mandel brot. Biscotti and mandel bread are very similar so why not dip it in your morning coffee.
  • Chocolate Dipped Mandel Bread. Dip them in melted chocolate chips for a special treat.

Nutrition

Calories: 4669kcal | Carbohydrates: 995g | Protein: 96g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 818mg | Sodium: 2468mg | Potassium: 1258mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 507g | Vitamin A: 1307IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 1483mg | Iron: 37mg

More Kosher Dessert Recipes

  • hamentashen feature
    Easy Hamantaschen Recipe
  • challah french toast feature
    Challah French Toast - 5 Ingredients
  • best chocolate chip cookie sticks feature
    The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Sticks
  • rainbow sprinkle cake feature
    The Best Vegan Funfetti Cake

Subscribe

for your weekly recipe fix.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Andrea

    October 25, 2021 at 2:26 pm

    5 stars
    What can you substitute to make the mandelbread parev?

    • Ben

      October 25, 2021 at 2:31 pm

      5 stars
      You can simply use non-dairy butter substitute instead of butter. Use the same amount. Enjoy!

Primary Sidebar

Popular

  • easy pot roast seasoning feature
    Easy Pot Roast Seasoning Recipe
  • healthy mashed sweet potatoes
    Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
  • taco bell creamy jalapeno sauce feature
    Taco Bell Creamy Jalapeno Sauce (Copycat)
  • hamentashen feature
    The 27 Best Purim Recipes

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions

Subscribe

  • Sign Up for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2022 YayKosher

Terms and Conditions - Copyright - Disclosure Policy - Privacy Policy