Today's a very special day! A group of bloggers, led by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook have joined together to celebrate a very special lady. Tara just had baby number two! And we are celebrating with twice baked cookies. Have you been to her blog - Tara's Multicultural Table? Beautiful pics. Amazing food. It's a great resource if you're planning an international menu or just want to learn about dishes from across the world..
For this event, I made some guava mandelbrot. Mandelbrot ("almond bread") is an Eastern European version of the Italian biscotti. Like the name suggests, they are typically made with almonds. Now, the history of the mandelbrot is a bit murky to me. The difference between the biscotti and the mandelbrot is even murkier. It seems that Italian Jews introduced their cookies to Eastern European Jews. In Eastern Europe, they were called mandelbrot. If you poll ten different persons, you will probably hear ten completely different explanations about the difference. Mandelbrot is softer. No, it's harder. Mandelbrot has more fat. No it doesn't. Mandelbrot uses oil to account for dietary restrictions. I found a recipe that used butter. The ratio of flour to eggs is different. One is sweeter. Etc.
I really have no idea. I think both recipes evolved so much over time that's it's hard to tell a difference. What I do know is that this is one delicious twice baked cookie. I opted for a mandelbrot with a filling - specifically, guava jam. I'm currently riding a guava jam craving and depending on my mood, there could be another guava jam recipe coming next week. Anyway, I came across this recipe on Sarabeth Levine's blog and she got the recipe from her mother-in-law.
The cookies are DELICIOUS. They were definitely a wee bit softer than traditional biscotti. But if left in the oven longer, they would harden more. However, I love them as is. I am not a cookie-baker and I could do this. I encourage you to try this recipe with your favourite jam (GUAVA, use GUAVA). The only thing that I'd do differently next time is to roll the cookies a bit of cinnamon sugar before their second bake. I meant to do it this time, but I put them in the oven and forgot the cinnamon sugar sitting on the counter. It's probably for the best though. They were sweet enough as is. Plus, I am still pretending to give up refined sugar for Lent. When you're finished making these, leave your oven on so you can make the other delicious biscottis that you'll find listed below.
Congrats, Tara! And thanks for hosting, Lauren!
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Guava Mandelbrot
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Recipe by: Kelly
Adapted from: slightly from Sarabeth's
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Yield: ~14 cookies
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Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg, beaten 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 8 teaspoons orange juice 1/4 cup guava jam (or thinly sliced guava jam) |
Directions
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stop and scrape the bowl when necessary. Gradually add the egg and vanilla then beat in the baking powder and salt. Slowly add in the flour in three additions alternating with the orange juice. Mix until it just comes together. Remove the dough from the bowl and pat into a thick rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. On a lightly floured parchment, knead the dough a few times until smooth. Sprinkle the top lightly with flour then roll out to a 1/4" thick rectangle measuring about 16" x 8". Spread the jam over the dough leaving a 1/2" border around the edges.If using guava paste, lay the slices evenly across the dough. Fold the shorter sides over one inch. With a longer edge facing you, fold the top third down and the bottom third up (a letter fold). Lift the parchment with the dough and place the dough seam side down on the prepared half sheet pan. Remove the paper that's now on top. Bake 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes. Slice at an angle into 3/4"-1" pieces. Put the cookies (non-jam side down) back on the sheet pan. Return to oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted |
Notes
You could also bake them cut-side down as is down with biscotti. You'll a little jam stuck to your parchment - not a big deal. Try rolling in some cinnamon sugar before the second bake. |
Biscotti Bites from Nicole at I am a Honey Bee
Blueberry Pecan Biscotti from Renee at Magnolia Days
Cinnamon Biscotti from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti from Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures
Green Tea Biscotti Cookies from Rebekah at Making Miracles
Jam-Filled Mandelbrot from Kelly at Passion Kneaded
Maple Walnut Biscotti from Sally at Bewitching Kitchen
Nut-Free Anise Biscotti with Chocolate Chips from Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian
Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti from Lynsey at Lynsey Lou's
Parmesan-Peppercorn Biscotti from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Tangelo, Date, and Almond Biscotti from Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
Spa Water from of Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
These cookies are incredible. With jam they're the perfect excuse to eat cookies for breakfast. Thank you also for the history behind them, I know Tara will love it!
ReplyDeleteI definitely had a few for breakfast. I hope Tara does love them!
DeleteI really couldn't wait to see your recipe ever since you posted the title in the group. They look awesome and I'm adding mandelbrot to my to-bake list for sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Renee!
DeleteI was intrigued by the title when I saw the preview. Now, seeing the recipe, I can't wait to bake it! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Camilla! You'll love them.
DeleteI was intrigued by the title when I saw the preview. Now, seeing the recipe, I can't wait to bake it! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I love when a food blog post teaches me something, and I definitely learned something knew here!
ReplyDeleteinteresting cookie the Mandelbrot! Guava paste is very common in Brazil, so I'm sure this would be a huge hit with my family back home.. ;-)
I was so happy that I learned about the cookies right in time to make them for the party.
DeleteI just wrote "guava jam" on my shopping list! Wonderful to be at the "party" with you!
ReplyDeleteNow if only we could actually taste the other dishes at the party.
DeleteNow I want to try guava jam! And these cookies look so good. I've never heard of Mandelbrot, and love reading about the history of dishes and how they evolved. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteGlad that I could share something that I learned!
DeleteThank you so much! I have actually never tried guava jam. These look absolutely delicious!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Tara! Hope you loved your virtual shower.
DeleteI love that this version is filled; it's so pretty and looks so good! Can't wait to try this.
ReplyDeleteThe filling is what drew me to these too. Made them stand out from traditional biscotti and other mandelbrot recipes that I saw.
DeleteYummy!! These look wonderful and I love the food history lesson!! That filling looks too good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rebekah!
DeleteThis looks delicious! Love that they're jam-filled....imagine the possibilities!
ReplyDeleteI know! They are simple enough that you can make several flavours at once. I think Nutella needs to happen
DeleteI LOVE the story you included with this recipe. I'm always interested in the history of recipes. Your biscotti sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen!
DeleteI LOVE the story you included with this recipe. I'm always interested in the history of recipes. Your biscotti sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteMandelbrot! never heard of those. So cool. They look super yummy
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole!
DeleteWhat a fun cookie for a baby shower! These are just perfect for tea or coffee dunking.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne. I must admit that I skipped the coffee and the tea. These went straight to my mouth.
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