Biscotti or mandelbrot – crunchy Jewish or Italian almond biscuits

Biscotti, or mandelbrot, are crunchy Italian/Jewish almond cookies. They make a perfect after-dinner treat when dipped into wine, liqueur or coffee.

We recently had a lovely holiday in Italy. The sun shone, the scenery was magnificent, and the food was delicious!

One thing I brought back with us as a little souvenir was a bag of biscotti/cantuccini. These small, hard, twice-baked cookies are studded with almonds and hazelnuts. They’re just perfect dipped into another of our holiday purchases – a bottle of finnocchietto, a wild fennel liqueur.

As I munched on one of these delicious biscotti, I was struck – not for the first time – on the similarity between it and what are known as mandelbrot or mandelbread. These Jewish almond cookies look and taste almost identical to biscotti, and it made me wonder – who made them first?!

A brief history of biscotti

Biscotti is an Italian word meaning ‘twice cooked’, which refers to the way these confections are made. First, a sweet dough is shaped into a loaf and baked. The cooked loaf is then sliced and the individual slices are baked a second time to dry them out.

The resulting hard, crisp cookies have a long shelf-life, but do benefit from a softening dip into liquid before eating – liqueur, sweet wine or coffee are all traditional options.

Biscotti, also sometimes called cantucci or cantuccini, originated in Italy, in the city of Prato, Tuscany. The original recipe dates back to the Middle Ages and uses no yeast (or other leavening agents) and no oil or fat. This creates a dense, hard cookie that can be stored for long periods and is easy to transport on long journeys.

Biscotti -> Mandelbrot

According to Gil Marks in The Encyclopaedia of Jewish Food, the original biscotti spread across central Europe, where they were ultimately renamed. Mandel means almond in Yiddish (and German) and brot is bread, so mandelbrot simply means ‘almond bread’ – a reference to the almond-studded loaf created during the first part of the preparation of these biscuits.

By the early 1800s biscotti/mandelbrot were widely enjoyed by Ashkenazi Jews. They have the advantage of being easy to make and store, ready to enjoy on Shabbat (or at any other time).

What about kamishbrot?

The name kamishbrot seems to be a Ukrainian variation. Some people claim these cookies are slightly different from mandelbrot – fewer nuts, or maybe made with the addition of lemon or orange juice. However having compared dozens of recipes, I honestly can’t see any difference!

The name kamishbrot means either ‘funny bread’ or ‘almost bread’ – a reference to how despite the name, these tasty biscuits are not really bread at all!

Just add oil

While classic Italian biscotti are made without oil, Jewish mandelbrot usually contain some fat. This is usually a vegetable oil, which keeps the cookies dairy free (parve) although occasionally butter is used for a richer flavour.

Jewish cooks at the turn of the 20th century also added baking powder, so mandelbrot became lighter and less dense than their Italian cousins.

That said, many modern Italian recipes for biscotti now also call for oil/butter and a leavening agent. So the differences between the two cookies seem to be mostly historical. Modern versions, as I suspected, are almost identical.

Where are the almonds?

Both biscotti and mandelbrot are traditionally studded with almonds – hence the name mandelbrot! However over the years, other ingredients have crept in, sometimes displacing the almonds altogether.

Mandelbrot are often made with chocolate chips instead of almonds. They can also be made with pistachios, hazelnuts, pine nuts, candied peel, dried cranberries, or any number of different additions. You can use the basic recipe as a blank canvas to create all manner of delicious cookies, simply by choosing different ‘add-ins’.

Some recipes also call for a few drops of almond essence to be added to the dough. Personally I dislike the artificial almond flavour this brings, and prefer lemon zest instead. I love the combination of lemon and almond – tastes like summer to me!

Mandelbrot in Britain

While mandelbrot are now available in Jewish bakeries here in the UK, they aren’t a cookie I grew up eating. My Mum never made them. It was only when I was older and had American Jewish friends that I first experienced them. (And thought, “Wait, aren’t these biscotti?!”)

It’s entirely possible that this omission was simply because there is no recipe for either biscotti or mandelbrot by Evelyn Rose!

I did, however, find a mandelbrot recipe in my trusty Florence Greenberg’s Jewish Cookery Book. It’s this recipe that I have adapted into the one below. It has less sugar than some other recipes which suits my taste perfectly. If you want a sweeter cookie, you can also sprinkle the slices with a little extra sugar before the second bake.

Ingredients in biscotti/mandelbrot

At this point, I think that mandelbrot and biscotti are basically interchangeable – you can call them whichever name you like! To make a batch of this biscotti recipe yourself, you’ll need the following:

• Plain flour – also called all-purpose flour
• Oil – use a neutral flavoured vegetable oil such as sunflower oil
• Sugar – for a nice, sweet cookie
• Eggs
• Baking powder – to create a light dough
• Whole almonds – or substitute some or all of them for chocolate chips, hazelnuts, pistachios, candied peel etc.
• Lemon zest – optional, but adds a lovely flavour that goes well with the almonds

Making mandelbrot – a recipe in two stages

As the name ‘biscotti’ suggests, the cookies are baked twice.

In the first part of the recipe, you make the dough. First mix the egg, sugar and oil, then sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the lemon zest and almonds and mix everything together to give a stiff dough.

This dough is then shaped into a loaf and baked for the first time until lightly brown. You then slice this loaf of ‘almond bread’, and arrange the slices back on the baking sheet. They are then baked a second time until crisp, crunchy and golden.

The dough can be quite sticky. I find the best way to shape it is to scoop it onto the baking sheet, then, with wet hands, coax and pat it into a loaf.

The loaf will rise/expand a little on baking but not very much. If you double or triple the recipe, you can certainly fit more than one loaf on a single baking sheet – just leave a small gap between them.

FAQ + SOME TOP TIPS

1. How much does the recipe make?
   One batch of this recipe makes around 15 biscotti. My family is small, and DH doesn’t eat a lot of sweets, so this is plenty for us! However, it’s easy to scale up the recipe by two or three times if you need more cookies. Simply use the buttons on the recipe card below, just to the right of the ingredients, and all the maths will be done for you automatically.
2. Can you freeze biscotti?
   Honestly, I haven’t tried. The cookies will keep for several weeks in an airtight box or jar, which is usually more than long enough!
3. Are biscotti gluten-free?
   This recipe uses regular plain (all purpose) flour, so it does contain gluten. However, you can substitute a good gluten-free flour blend, and the rest of the ingredients are suitable for a gluten-free diet.
4. Are mandelbrot/biscotti vegan?
   Sadly, no. The recipe does require an egg, so although they are vegetarian, these cookies are not suitable for a vegan diet.
5. When should you eat biscotti?
   Anytime! They’re great dunked into coffee or tea for a daytime pick-me-up, or wonderful as an after-dinner treat dipped into a glass of wine or liqueur.

A taste of the holidays

These yummy almond studded cookies are a real treat to serve on Jewish holidays, but now, they’ll always remind me of our Italian holiday too! If only they also came with sunshine…!

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