Almond Mandel Bread Cookies

Mandel bread or mandel cookies, as they're sometimes called, are considered a traditional Passover food, and indeed, that's when supermarkets typically carry them. Boxes of mandel bread cookies can be found in the seasonal, international, or holiday section next to the packages of matzos, matzo meal, and various flourless treats and flour substitute products. However, there is no reason for these pastries to be served only as a seasonal holiday treat, as they are delicious all year round, and this recipe with regular all-purpose flour shows you how.

The word mandel is Yiddish for almond and are sometimes referred to as mandel brot and mandlebread. These cookies are always shaped like Italian biscotti and although they share the same shape and flavor as biscotti, the latter is always twice baked. This mandel bread recipe is only baked once and results in a firm cookie that's softer than biscotti. But like biscotti, mandel bread cookies can be flavored with a variety of ingredients. Almonds are most typical, but chocolate chips are a close second in popularity. You can add any other nuts, different types of chocolate, dried fruit and/or citrus peel to create a completely original cookie.

This recipe includes an alternative version for Passover because flour and leavening agents are not allowed on that holiday. The Passover substitutions of potato starch and matzo flour can be difficult to find year-round, except in specialty groceries or kosher markets. But the flour version of these cookies can be made at any time and are a welcome accompaniment to a morning cup of coffee or an afternoon pot of tea.