People often call mandel bread “Jewish biscotti”, but there is no comparison. Unlike biscotti– the tall, thin, dry cookies, often dunked in chocolate and displayed on the check-out counter at Starbucks, mandel bread are golden brown on the outside, moist in the center, dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, dense but not heavy or rich in the least, and packed full with chopped walnuts and raisins (or chocolate chips). It’s the perfect cookie– hot out of the oven or straight from the freezer. My mom may just have to open our own mandel bread shop!

Mom’s Mandel Bread Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Crisco vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
33/4 cup flour
2 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tsp. salt
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins, or chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat over 350 degrees. Blend oil, sugar, vanilla, and beaten eggs in large bowl with wooden spoon.
2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Continue to mix with wooden spoon.
3. Add nuts and raisins (can substitute chocolate chips for the raisins).
4. Stir with wooden spoon until well mixed.
5. Form 3 loaves on large cookie sheet (use parchment paper to prevent burning).
6. Bake 30 minutes, take out and cool for a couple of minutes.
7. Slice loaves into one inch wide pieces.
8. Turn slices on side and sprinkle with cinnamon.
9. Bake another 10 minutes.

ENJOY!

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