Aunt Sid's Mandelbrodt

Mandelbrot means Almond Bread, but what's its really known as is Jewish Biscotti. The main difference is Mandelbrot uses oil and not butter. I make Biscotti at the bakery and I make Mandelbrot at home. I am actually not a fan of the traditional Biscotti or Mandelbrot, but I do enjoy making them and creating new flavors.

I am fortunate to work for at a bakery where we get to experiment with flavors and add-ins when it comes to Biscotti and Scones. Well, I experimented with flavors in Mandelbrot and decided to put an American spin on the traditional Jewish Mandelbrot.

I think the only time I have really eaten Mandelbrot is at the high holidays - Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. So, when I pulled the recipe card of my Aunt Sid's Mandelbrot, I knew I had to tackle this recipe. My Aunt Sid is my Grandmother's sister-in-law. She married her brother Harry. My Aunt Sid died in her late 90's. She had a fantastic memory and was as spunky and kind as my grandmother. Her real name was Sarah and when I asked her why they called her Sid, she said when she was in grammar school she thought Sarah was a masculine name and preferred Sid - it stuck.

When I researched Mandelbrot, I could not find out how old the recipe dates back to, but I found it in a 1937 Jewish Beautiful Home cookbook. The recipe is similar to my Aunt Sid's except the amount of oil.

I made the Mandelbrot with the two different amounts of oil and the recipe from 1937 is drier than my Aunt Sid's recipe. So, I will give you both recipes and you can decide which is more to your liking.

Aunt Sid's Mandelbrot

Ingredients:

3 eggs beaten
1 cup / 7 ounces / 200 grams - Sugar
1 cup of oil / 8 ounces / 223 grams - Vegetable or Canola Oil
1 teaspoon of Vanilla, Almond or Anise (any flavor you choose)
3 1/4 cups / 16 ounces (1 pound) / 466 Grams - AP Flour (sifted or non-sifted, the amount of flour varies minimally. I have baked both ways and prefer the crumb of the sifted flour.
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Add-Ins (depending on the type of Add-Ins). I used 1 cup, but it will vary depending on how you want to fill the Mandelbrot.

Directions:

Preheat Oven 350 degrees. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. (I have noticed that depending on the parchment paper, you made need two sheets.)
Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside (I made the Mandelbrot with both sifted and unsifted flour and you can do it both ways. If you use unsifted flour the weight will be different.
Beat eggs till light. Add sugar and continue beating till sugar is incorporated and the egg / sugar mixture is a orange-ish color.
Add the oil and continue beating till incorporated.
Add dry mixture till incorporated.
Add Add-Ins
Shape into logs. Freeze overnight. You can put in the refrigerator overnight, but I prefer the freezer. I find the oil keeps the dough soft, and when baked it keeps more of its shape from the freezer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let the Mandelbrodt cool
Slice the logs of Mandelbrodt (Tip: I found in my research that if you spritz the baked and cooled Mandelbrodt the cookie do not break easily.)
Bake sliced Mandelbrodt at 325 for 10 minutes. I found that when you baked at 350 it was a bit too dry, so I dropped the temperature a bit.
Let them cool and ready for dipping in your coffee, tea or whatever you desire! YUM!

I put a new spin on Mandelbrodt and made the flavor Chocolate Almond