Mandelbread (Almond biscotti like cookies)

Also known as Mandelbroidt, these are wonderful crispy cookies that are baked twice, like biscotti, but aren’t teeth breaking.  After baking these in a loaf shape, you cut these into strips and lay them on their sides and rebake them (or toast them, if you will) for a lovely crunchy texture.

first baking and cut but not laid on side to toast yet

Although I am not one to dip my cookies in tea, my niece and her beau both did so in front of my eyes, munching happily.  I’ve been making these for many years and played around with quantities and ratios of oil to flour. I’ve also  tried this with margarine as well and I find it less tasty even a little greasy.  The oil seems to produce a crunchier texture, and that’s the whole idea! This is my favorite result.  And joyously, a one bowl recipe.

Mandelbread

3 large eggs

1 cup white sugar (don’t use brown, it totally changes the texture and you won’t get proper crunchiness)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon almond extract – do do do put it in. don’t be scared.  it’s a hint of flavor but divine!

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (if need be, you can use vanilla sugar – also a teaspoon.  the liquid needn’t change, not a dramatic enough diff in results)

3 cups flour (I use white whole wheat)

1 cup finely chopped almonds – this can be the unpeeled kind (almond meal) just not slivered

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

vanilla sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Take a nice sized jelly roll pan (like a cookie sheet with edges to keep the crumbs from rolling off) and line with parchment paper.  Remember, you will be cutting them up and the parchment paper makes cleanup a snap.

Beat eggs with sugar till combined and then (yay!) add everything else in but the last vanilla sugar.  Don’t walk away since you really just want this to combine and no more.  Now you get the adult Play Doh fun. Put your bowl of dough next to your prepared pan.  Oil your hands or spray oil them (my preference) and eyeing your mixture, make 3 loaf-like row shapes down the length of the pan.  This is quite gushy in texture so keep spraying your hands.  It will sort of glide through your hands and gently roll with it down the pan.  It’s quite flat in shape but in will rise in a low loaf (see picture).  This is normal, it should look like this.  Leave space between them but since they rise more than they spread, it’s not essential to leave a lot of space.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  They turn a medium beige color (though the bottoms brown more) which is correct.  Check with a toothpick that they are dry.  |Remove from oven.  They are soft-ish which is what it should be at this point.  Now, take a serrated knife and gently cut down into the loaves and cut into strips about and inch each (you can make them smaller or larger but I find this size pleasing to eye and palate).  Now gently lay them on their side.  Take the vanilla sugar and sprinkle over all.  Put back into the oven (I keep it at the same temp and it works a treat) and toast for about 10 minutes – watch them so they don’t get too dark.  They should be a light medium brown (see cover pic).  If you let them get browner they get too hard and while still edible are not the crunchy treat we desire.  This is lovely with mint tea, coffee, choko, iced coffee – you get the picture.  Anytime, anyplace!