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Chocolate Chip-Walnut Mandelbrot

Do these cookies look like biscotti? Exactly right; Mandelbrot are the Eastern European version of that Italian favorite. Classic mandelbrot features almonds (mandel = almonds; brot = bread). But this Americanized version includes one of our favorite ingredients, chocolate chips., We complement the chips with walnuts; feel free to substitute pecans or almonds (of course) for the walnuts. Read our blog about these cookies, with additional photos, at flourish.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup (7 ounces) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups walnut pieces
- coarse white sparkling sugar, optional
Instructions
- Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and salt at medium-high speed until thickened and light-colored, about 5 minutes.
- Beat in the flour and baking powder.
- Mix in the chips and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
- Divide the dough into four even pieces, about 13 ounces each if you have a scale.
- Working with one piece at a time, place the dough on the prepared baking sheet, shaping it into an 8" x 2" log. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, leaving at least 2" between them; you'll put 2 logs on each baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the logs heavily with coarse white sugar, if desired.
- Bake the logs for about 28 to 30 minutes, until they're set and beginning to brown and the edges and sides, but not brown all over. Remove them from the oven, and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
- Spritz the logs lightly with water; this will make them easier to cut. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes.
- Cut each log into 1/2" to 3/4" slices. Cutting them on the diagonal will make the mandelbrot longer; cutting them crosswise will yield shorter cookies.
- Place the pieces on edge, quite close together, on the baking sheets, and return them to the oven.
- Bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes, until a cookie feels baked through when you pinch it between your fingers. You'll also notice some browning around the edges, though the cookie shouldn't be browning all over. The point is simply to bake them all the way through.
- Remove from the oven, and cool the mandelbrot right on the baking sheets.
Tips from our bakers
- When slicing the baked dough, be sure to slice with your knife perpendicular to the cutting surface, so that you cut even slices. Uneven slices won't balance well on the baking sheets.
- While not traditional, the coarse white sugar lends a pretty sparkle and delightful crunch to these cookies.
- The most challenging part about these cookies is figuring out when they're done. If their second bake isn't long enough, they won't be crunchy. But if it's too long, they can be pretty hard. Best not to let them get brown all over; they should just brown nicely around the edges. And they'll become crunchier as they cool, too, so don't judge their crunchiness when they're fresh out of the oven.
- Feel free to add your own favorite "add-ins." Pistachios and dried cranberries are nice at Christmas; butterscotch chips and pecans are wonderful all year round!
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Reviews
o my gosh! i have tried many recipes for mandelbrodt but this one is hands down the best. thank you!!
Very reliable and authentic mandelbrot recipe. I chilled only for 2 hours and the dough was plenty stiff to shape into loaves. I've been flexible with the add-ins. This last bake, I added dried tart cherries and lessened the amount of chocolate, and they were delicious. This was also easy to double - assuming your mixer can handle the volume!
the best recipe i have found for mandelbrot and i have made afew!!! great instructions
I loved this recipe and it tastes wonderful. I think it does not have to sit very long because as it sits it hardens and it difficult to work with. I think maybe an hour or so is enough not 3 hours or overnight.
Easy to make Make wonderful holiday gifts I add cranberries Reminds me of my nana's
These are easy and delicious. I didn't find the dough overly sticky. Wrapped it in wax paper and plastic bag to chill. I subbed 1/2 apple sauce, 1/2 butter for the oil. They are crisp but tender. Not as hard as biscotti. I agree that they could use a pinch more salt and maybe double the vanilla but certainly very good as is.
Great, crunchy results! I did use 5oz. Irish butter, only 2 oz. oil, increased vanilla to 2 t. and added 2 cups Chocolate chips and 1 1/2 C. sliced almonds...felt that Salt could have been increased. I would definitely mske again...loved the crunch and texture.
I make biscotti all the time, and had to try this recipe when I ran across it. So easy to make, and especially easy to be able to make the dough one day and bake the next (not as big of a time commitment on a single day). Quick to make, easy to shape (parchment makes cleanup a snap), and they are delicious. They have a wonderful texture - lightly crunchy. Have made 2 batches in the last 4 days - a batch makes 5 dozen cookies, and my 20 year-old son polished off 4 dozen of the first batch in less than 24 hours. Everyone that has tried these has raved about them. This recipe is a keeper!
I am in the beginning of my Christmas baking. I already made 450 pcs of rugalahs frozen and ready to bake. So, that done I am making your Mandelbrot (I have 3 recipes that I used so I can compare), well KA recipe is by far the better of the 3. Another addition to my Jewish recipe list. It was easy to make, tasty, not greasy at all , beautiful to cut and best of all I can't stop eating the raw dough. Yummy ( I know I should not eat it this way). Some of the finished cookies are in the freezer for research. After defrosting, I will check the texture and taste. I also want to know if I need to crisp them up again. Thank you for another great recipe.
This is an ok recipe. Nice dough, easy to mix, shaped well after chilling, baked nice and was crunchy when done. However, I thought they were a little heavy and could have been a little more sweet. Also, they seemed to have an oily feel and taste. Is it possible to reduce the amount of oil called for and add a little more sugar without changing the crispness? Maybe this could help make them a little lighter in texture? Also wanted to mention that I did weigh my ingredients instead of the scoop and level method. Maybe I will make the recipe for American Style Vanilla Biscotti with chocolate chips and walnuts. I loved that recipe because they were light and crisp!
Unfortunately you will not be able to alter either ingredient without a texture change. You may decrease the oil a bit, but increasing the sugar will make the final product more crispy. I hope this helps. ~Amy