Mandel bread, also known as mandelbrot, are classic Jewish cookies. Similar to Italian biscotti, these crunchy cookies are perfect for dipping in tea or coffee. This easy, classic recipe came to me courtesy of a reader, by way of her grandmother Bubbie Ruth. Usually they are twice-baked to make them crispy and crunchy. Additionally, they can be soft-baked for a more tender texture. No matter how they are made, Bubbie Ruth’s Mandel Bread deserves a spot in your recipe box!
A Brief History of Mandel Bread, aka Mandelbrot
Mandelbrot cookies are an Ashkenazi Jewish dessert dating back to the early nineteenth century. Mandelbrot are closely related to the Italian cookies known as biscotti, which were first made in the Middle Ages. The word mandelbrot means almond (mandel) and bread (brot) in both German and Yiddish. In America, these tasty little cookies are known as mandel bread. Typically mandel bread are twice-baked, which makes them crispy and crunchy. They’re perfect for dipping in your tea or coffee. Because most of the moisture is baked out of them, they also have a fairly long shelf life.
The origin of Jewish mandelbrot is a bit of a mystery. In the wonderful book Jewish Cooking in America, Joan Nathan writes about the history of mandelbrot cookies and their similarity to other cookies made in Europe and Eastern Europe:
“With a large Jewish population in Piedmont, Italy may have been the place where Jews first tasted biscotti and later brought them to Europe where they called them mandelbrot, which literally means almond bread. In the Ukraine, a similar cookie not necessarily with almonds but made at home, thuskamish, was served. In Italy they are often eaten as a dessert dipped into wine or grappa. In Eastern Europe Jews dipped them into a glass of tea, and because they include no butter and are easily kept they became a good Sabbath dessert.”
A Family Recipe for Mandel Bread
Today’s simple and tasty recipe for mandel bread comes to us courtesy of blog reader Beth Steiner. Beth writes a cooking blog called Someone’s in the Kitchen with Brina. Beth’s Hebrew name is Brina; her blog focuses on easy kosher recipes. Her family recipe, Bubbie Ruth’s Mandel Bread, is sweetened with chocolate chips.
Of this recipe, Beth said:
“My father’s mother, Bubbie Ruth, was an amazing cook and baker. One of my favorite memories is working in her kitchen, patting rolls of mandel bread dough into the baking pan. She would always bring a fresh batch with her when she and my Zadie came to visit from Florida. After Bubbie died in 2002, my mom took over the recipe and always stores it in her special mandel bread tin. She would send it to my sister at college and once sent me a huge batch when I was living abroad in Israel. Bubbie Ruth’s Mandel Bread is a staple at every family gathering. I have her KitchenAid mixer and every time I use it to make her mandel bread, I feel close to her all over again.”
I use my KitchenAid mixer to make these, in memory of Beth’s Bubbie Ruth. You can use an electric hand mixer if you prefer. Note that I’ve included a Soft Mandel Bread Variation at the end of the recipe for those who prefer a softer version of this cookie.
A special thanks to Beth for sharing this delicious recipe!
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Bubbie Ruth's Mandel Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can sub chopped nuts, candied fruits, etc.)
- Ground cinnamon and granulated sugar for dusting
NOTES
Instructions
- Mix together oil and sugar until combined, then add eggs one at a time. After the eggs are combined, add vanilla.
- Sift together all the dry ingredients and add them slowly to the sugar/egg mixture.Once the dough is smooth and sticky, pour the chocolate chips in and mix.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours (at least 2) or overnight.
- Lightly oil your hands and form 4 long rows with the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I line the cookie sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup). Each strip of dough should be 3-4 inches wide. They will spread out a lot during cooking, so make sure you leave enough space between the rows.
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. While mandel bread is baking, in a flat shallow dish, combine ¾ cup of sugar with enough cinnamon to turn the mixture light brown. It’s best to eyeball this – it shouldn’t be too brown or too white.
- Take the mandel bread out and turn the oven down to 250 degrees F. Slice the mandel bread into biscotti sized pieces.
- Roll each cookie into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Put the pieces back on the cookie sheet on their sides.
- Bake for another 15 minutes until they’ve achieved the texture you desire. The longer they stay in the oven, the crisper they will be. If the slices are big or wide, you might need longer than 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it and don’t over-bake, as this cookie tends to dry out quickly. Store in an airtight container.
David Palanker says
Hi Tori,
My mom used to make this all the time. She passed 25 years ago. I haven’t had it for 30 years and decided to google it not knowing if I even spelled it correct and there it was! Reading your article brought back a flood of memories and will have my wife make it for Hanukkah. No one in her family knew what it was lol. Also, do u gave a salt and pepper kugel? Wife only knows the sweet recipe. I’ll let u know how the Mandel Bread goes!
Tori Avey says
Hi David! Glad you stumbled upon the site. 🙂 I do not have a salt and pepper kugel posted, though I have made one before. Enjoy the mandel bread!
Anita says
I’ve been making mandel bread for years but have always had two issues that I didn’t know how to solve. I made them again last night but decided to look at your site to see if you had a recipe I could compare. Our recipes are 95% the same, except two changes which made them considerably better.
Issues solved! We ate some this morning with the requisite coffee dunking. Light and delicious.
Thank you for sharing your recipes and wisdom!
PS Since I was already in the throes of putting mine together to satisfy my craving, I didn’t refrigerate the dough before baking. They are still good. How will refrigerating the dough change the outcome?
Tori Avey says
So glad it was helpful! The refrigeration makes it easier to shape but doesn’t make a difference in the end result.
Barbara Lashinsky says
Beside refrigerating if you add a bit more flour than called for the dough will be easy to work with so no need to refrigerate. I have been making Mandel Bread for years and need to take it with me when I travel to California.
I have never used butter so that will be my next experiment. Thanks for that idea.
Susan Stafford says
I am a big fan of biscotti..have made it for years. This recipe is the best..I don’t think I’ll ever use any other! All of my friends agree.
Beth says
I’m so glad you like my Bubbe’s recipe!
Patricia Horwitz says
Just got out my grandma’s recipe box and found her recipe for Mandel Brot.
Shortening, cake flour, potato flour and 8 eggs! I only have 6 eggs and none of the other ingredients so I looked for a different recipe online. Yours is very different, but I will try it and let you know what happens. I made grandma’s recipe many years ago and it was wonderful. Just trying to re-introduce my grown children to some of their childhood food memories.
Tori Avey says
Hope you enjoyed it! I love that you’re working to introduce your kids to those memories.
Marjie says
I made this using this recipe but used walnuts and chocolate chips. I did not use the sugar and cinnamon at the end. Mine came out so good, it is hard to stop eating them. Thank you for the recipe. I will make them again.
Bernice Mellman says
Love the Mandelbrot but can I mix by hand. Also do I have to refrigerate dough before cooking. I am always in a rush.
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Bernice, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. When you refrigerate dough before baking it solidifies the fats which helps to keep them from spreading too much during baking.
Debbie solomon says
Made this recipe several times and I added poppy seeds. It’s so easy and always turned out great! Highly recommend
Linda says
Easy. Delish
MIckey says
Can I use butter in place of the oil?
Tori Avey says
You can, but it will result in a more crumbly texture. Oil will give you a better result.
Robin kinsella says
It looks delishous! Had a similar recipe! Yours is more detailed! Can’t wait to try
AKS says
Have a batch in the fridge now. Used 1/3 c dark brown sugar and 2/3 c white. Added milk chocolate covered toffee pieces instead of chocolate chips. The brown sugar will make it a little chewer but since we like them untasted it should be good. Will report back.
Nancy says
My go-to recipe! Very good. I make the gf version. I use brown rice flour and a sprinkling of soy flour in place of all- purpose flour.
Sharon Ruttan says
Absolutely delicious….best mandel bread ever.
I made two ‘logs’ with slivered almonds and two ‘logs’ with slivered almonds and chopped pecans. Both were awesome. In the past I’ve always mixed the dough by hand and found that using the stand mixer produced a smoother dough that was very easy to cut. I did bake them for 40 minutes in a 250F oven after they were cut as I wanted them to be crisp. Worked out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe. Also, I wet my hands (instead of oiling them) with warm water when scooping the dough and forming it into logs as the dough is very stickly. The little bit of water on my hands really helped mitigate the stickiness.
Vanessa Grimes says
Thank you Tori,
My family loved this mondel bread recipe. Definitely a keeper ♡
Vanessa Grimes says
Mandel, my mistake.
Patricia Shaughnessy says
My mother always called it Mundel Bread. I add a cup and a half of nuts. People love these!
Jeannette Lorenz says
Thank you for the recipe. I just baked it a couple of days ago, used walnuts instead of chocolate chips. So delicious. I read in a book about Mandelbrot, thought I google it and found yours. It will become a staple for me. Jeannette, BC, Canada
Naomi Grossbard says
Great recipe,made it many times.
Chocolate chip for grandchildren.
But, grownup love more nuts in it.
Making some right now!!
Rosalie says
Hi Naomi, Did your family originally
Come to USA from Poland?
Just asked because my Dad has same last name. Also have family in Israel with same last name.
Hope I’m not bothering you. Sincerely,
Rosalie G.
Michelle Flamer says
I’ve made this recipe several times-I add mini chocolate chips, golden raisins and sliced almonds. If I have extra time I will even add a bit of orange zest and I always use Penzey’s Double Strength Vanilla Extract. I am United Methodist and our church sends cookies twice a year to our college students-this cookie travels well to a dormitory. Thank you Tori!
Angela Brodsky says
Any suggestions on making this Passover friendly?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Angela, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Here is a recipe for Passover friendly mandel bread. 🙂
https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2012/03/mary-goldbergs-passover-mandel-bread/
Mary Lyn says
This is the perfect recipe. I would love the make a marble mandlebrot but not sure of the chocolate ratio. A recommendation would be very much appreciated.
Lisa Rothenberg says
Hi. I have made this recipe a few times and it is wonderful! I want to ask if the raw batter/dough can be frozen to be shaped and baked at a later date. I want to send some baked bread to my son, but don’t want to bake off all of the batter.
Thank you so much!
Lisa R.
Tori Avey says
Hi Lisa – while I have not frozen this particular dough, I think it would probably freeze just fine. You can also freeze the baked mandel bread cookies.