Almond & Cardamom Mandelbrot (Biscotti)

I’ll be honest. I never really thought Mandelbrot, the Jewish version of Italian biscotti, would be just as delicious as my beloved biscotti. Why, you ask? Because Mandelbrot are typically made with oil and not butter. Well, I was wrong – they are plenty delicious, as you may also discover if you make these No-Chill Almond & Cardamom Mandelbrot.

My Jewish Connection

Making Mandelbrot is most likely a treat I would have grown up eating, along with other Jewish dishes, but it didn’t quite go that way. That’s because when my Ashkenazi (eastern European) Jewish dad married my non-Jewish (Italian/Catholic) mother, his Orthodox Jewish parents disowned him for life. That’s right. They booted him and any future kids he’d have (that’s me and my three brothers) out of their lives for good.

Of course I missed out on so much more than traditional Jewish dishes, but that’s a big topic, so I’ll just stick with the idea that I’ve recently discovered the joy of making and sharing Mandelbrot.

My First Shabatt

Last Friday evening, a wonderful couple from my church invited me to their house, along with a few others, to enjoy Shabatt. I honestly didn’t know what it was, but from my understanding of just days ago, it’s simply Friday night dinner. It’s a tradition in Israel to simply kick off the Sabbath with a nice dinner, which then leads into a period of rest – the Sabbath.

Although this couple shares my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as Israeli citizens (and just in the U.S. temporarily) they continue to celebrate some of the Jewish traditions that they love and keep them connected to the home and family they miss.

I loved every minute of experiencing a tint piece of a tradition, that under different circumstances, I may have known for my whole life. Hearing them speak and pray in Hebrew, wasa foreign language to me, even though my father was fluent. I can understand why he didn’t want to share pieces of that culture with us, but in some ways I still miss it. Strange.

Biscotti vs Mandelbrot

Although I’ve been making biscotti for years, and Mandelbrot since last Christmas, I’m far from an expert. But I can say that Ive learned a thing or two and can share a few of my simple learnings:

• Refrigerating the Dough or Not – Many Mandelbrot recipes I’ve come across call for refrigerating the dough overnight. I have tried refrigerating for both one hour and overnight) with both biscotti and Mandelbrot and don’t typically notice a big difference. With Mandelbrot, because it’s made with oil, refrigerating does seem to help the dough shape up better when it comes to molding the logs. It also seems to help prevent breakage when slicing the diagonals after the first bake. But mostly, I don’t see a significant difference.
• Butter vs Oil – As mentioned above, Mandelbrot is made with oil, while biscotti is made with butter. Most folks who’ve tried both say they are both equally flavorful. It’s just a matter of which ingredient you prefer both baking with and enjoying. The reason I mention that, is because you can swap out the oil and use butter if you like. Just make sure you let folks know that in case they’re trying to avoid dairy.
• Harder vs Softer Texture – If you like a softer texture, make sure the dough is on the sticky side. Also, refrigerating overnight may also help if you prefer a more crunchy consistency. I always find that baking at a lower temperature, like 325 F for 25 minutes, and then at least 16 minutes (8 minutes on each side) during the second bake, also creates a crispier result. Of course, other factors like humidity, storing, etc. plays a role. Like all baking, sometimes it’s a mystery.
• Mandelbrot Additions – The best part of making Mandelbrot, or biscotti, is being able to experiment with your favorite flavors and toppings. For me, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, orange zest, chocolate, almonds, pecans, pistachios are some of my favorites. Just be careful with using whole almonds since they could be hard to slice through without breaking the slices.

If you’re loving these kinds of cookies, you may want to check out some of my other biscotti recipes like my absolute favorite Biscotti Regina made with loads of sesame seeds, or this Simple Almond & Chocolate Biscotti – very similar to this Mandelbrot recipe, but it’s made with butter.