Mandelbrodt
Mandelbrodt, meaning almond (mandel) bread (brodt), is a twice-baked hard bread almost identical to Italian biscotti. The only differences are in the use of oil over butter, and the shape. Every holiday season, my mother's friend, Carol Beitcher, brings by a bag of her amazing home-made treats: her Californian fruit cake, pear-honey, and mandelbrodt. All are mind blowing and gone in a day. The recipe is from the Franklin Elementary Cookbook, though I adjusted the recipe to taste and the cooking time.
Ingredients:
3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup vegetable or canola oil (any flavorless oil, really)
3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chopped almonds
2/3 cup cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup slivered or finely sliced almonds
Directions:
Pre heat the oven to 350 F. Beat the eggs until light and frothy. Add the sugar, and continue beating until thick and very light in color. Add the flavoring and oil and beat to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together, and add slowly with the mixer on low, about a 1/2 cup at a time. Add the chopped almonds and mix until combined. Pour the batter into two greased 10 inch bread pans. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F, or until golden brown and a tooth pick comes out clean after inserted. Slice the loaf into 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar. Bake for ten minutes, then remove, flip, and cover with remaining cinnamon-sugar and sliced almonds. Bake for 10 more minutes. Let the mandelbrodt cool to room temperature and enjoy!
Dark Chocolate, Apricot, Hazelnut Biscotti
Inspired by Carol's beautiful fruit cake, I wanted to incorporate dried fruit into a biscotti. I love chocolate and apricots, so it seemed like a perfect mix. To transform the apricots from dry to juicy, I steep mine in a mix of fruit juice and dessert wine. It expands the flavor of the apricots and perfumes the biscotti beautifully. But the fun of this cookie is that you can choose any combination you prefer: cranberry walnut, cherry pecan, whatever you like!
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups of flour, sifted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cup dessert wine and fruit juice (I chose peach nectar, but whatever you prefer)
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Directions:
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Roughly chop the dried apricots (I used mediterranean rather than Californian dried apricots, as they are sweeter) and place in a bowl. Cover with equal parts dessert wine (ice wine or muscat is fine too) and your preferred fruit juice (I chose peach nectar). Place the bowl over a container of hot water, and let steep for at least 30 minutes. Once the apricots have softened and grown a little juicy, drain the bowl and set the fruit aside.
Preheat the oven at 375 F. Mix together the butter and sugar until they form moist crumbs, clumping together. Add the eggs and mix together until light in color and the mixture forms ribbons when you lift the whisk out of the batter. Add the vanilla and mix well. Then, add the dry ingredients in batches of about a 1/2 cup at a time. Mix on low until just blended. Add the apricots and hazelnuts and mix until just blended.
On a cookie sheet with a silicon pad or parchment paper, place the mixture (which is now a very thick dough). Heavily flour your hands and form the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches high, and 3 inches wide. It may take up the entire length of the cookie sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut the loaf into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices on the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, flipping once. If the biscotti appear too moist in the center, put them back in the oven for an extra 5 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
Traditional Almond Anise Biscotti
I'm not a huge fan of licorice, but my boyfriend loves these cookies, being practically raised on them. I added a little vanilla to mellow out the anise flavor and the combination is delicious in these crunchy little cookies. Nutty, sweet, and aromatic, I'm now an anise convert. Just don't expect me to guzzle down absinthe or gnaw on licorice sticks. Enjoy these biscotti with any dunking agent, as their delicate enough to go with everything.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
3 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Anise extract
3 cups of flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped almonds, lightly toasted
3 cups of flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
Preheat the oven at 375 F. Mix together the butter and sugar until they form moist crumbs, clumping together. Add the 3 eggs and mix together until light in color and the mixture forms ribbons when you lift the whisk out of the batter. Add the vanilla and anise extract and mix well. Then, add the dry ingredients in batches of about a 1/2 cup at a time. Mix on low until just blended. Add the chopped almonds and anise seeds and mix until just blended.
On a cookie sheet with a silicon pad or parchment paper, place the mixture (which is now a very thick dough). Heavily flour your hands and form the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches high, and 3 inches wide. It may take up the entire length of the cookie sheet. Brush the beaten egg over the log, then cover with the sliced almonds. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons sugar.
Directions:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
Preheat the oven at 375 F. Mix together the butter and sugar until they form moist crumbs, clumping together. Add the 3 eggs and mix together until light in color and the mixture forms ribbons when you lift the whisk out of the batter. Add the vanilla and anise extract and mix well. Then, add the dry ingredients in batches of about a 1/2 cup at a time. Mix on low until just blended. Add the chopped almonds and anise seeds and mix until just blended.
On a cookie sheet with a silicon pad or parchment paper, place the mixture (which is now a very thick dough). Heavily flour your hands and form the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches high, and 3 inches wide. It may take up the entire length of the cookie sheet. Brush the beaten egg over the log, then cover with the sliced almonds. Sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut the loaf into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices on the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, flipping once. If the biscotti appear too moist in the center, put them back in the oven for an extra 5 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
:.