The recipe for The World’s Best Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread has been requested by everyone who has ever tried it! Mandel bread is a traditional Jewish cookie, related historically to the Italian biscotti. Like biscotti, mandel bread (also known as mandelbrot or kamishbrot) is baked in a loaf shape, then sliced and often baked again for crunchiness. This recipe for The World’s Best Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread replaces the usual all-purpose flour with cake meal (flour made with very finely ground matzoh) and potato starch. They are baked only once to create a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip cookie that is more than slightly addicting!
Many years ago, there were newspapers. They were made of paper and ink. Newspapers could be delivered to your home or purchased from a drugstore or a metal newspaper box on street corners. When you held a newspaper, the ink would sometimes rub off on your fingers. When you went off to college, your mother or grandmother would clip articles of interest out of the newspaper and mail the article to you. In an envelope. From the post office. The newspaper was the main source of all kinds of information. Besides the obvious reporting of news, the classified section was the go-to source for job searches and real estate. The weekly food section, shared recipes that became family favorites. The recipes were cut-out and stored safely in a recipe box, where those yellowing bits of newsprint became treasured inheritances passed from generation to generation.
Of course, there are still some newspapers. We get three delivered to our house daily. My kids grew up watching their parents read newspapers, but today they both get their information from the computer. I used to clip articles for my son when he went off to college, but he told me to stop. He could find the same article on the internet. However, a newspaper often shares information you might not have considered googling.
In those days gone by, there were not only city newspapers, but weekly free local papers as well. In the food section of our local paper, the now defunct St. Louis West County Journal, I found this recipe for The World’s Best Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread. I never would have searched the internet for a mandel bread recipe (Passover or not) because my previous exposure to mandel bread was my grandmother’s nut filled cookies that I stayed as far away from as possible. The word mandel is the German and Yiddish word for almond. However, The World’s Best Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread has no nuts! Instead it’s pure melt-in-your-mouth cookie and lots of chocolate chips. While other Jewish kids were complaining about the lack of good cookies during Passover, my kids were happily munching on The World’s Best Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread, wishing that I would bake it more than once a year!
I haven’t tried to adapt this recipe using non-Passover ingredients. Though I have seen many recipes for non-Passover mandel bread that use all-purpose flour, the texture is going to be more like a crunchy biscotti. My one attempt to create a gluten free version of this mandel bread using almond flour, didn’t turn out as planned. The dough sort of melted in the oven, resulting in a tray filled with Chocolate Chip Almond Cookie Squares, a new Passover favorite!
The World’s Best Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread is guaranteed to be a hit at your seder table and throughout Passover. The relatively dry texture of mandel bread keeps the cookies tasting delicious for at least 7 days.
Wishing everyone who celebrates a Happy Passover! Chag Pesach sameach! ! חג פסח שמח
The World’s Best Passover Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 large eggs
- 2 ¾ cups matzo cake meal
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup potato starch
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cake meal, salt, and potato starch. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and butter.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Gradually add the cake meal mixture. Mix until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Wet hands minimally and form the dough into 4 loaves on the prepared baking sheet. Each loaf should be about 2” wide. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until just turning golden brown.
- Remove from oven and slice logs on baking sheet while still warm, into ½” – ¾” slices.
- Use a spatula to move mandel bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The mandel bread will stay fresh for at least 7 days. The flavor of these cookies deepens over time. They are even better a few days after baking.
Notes
- Mandel bread is also known as kamish bread and mandel brot.
- This delicious recipe can be used with gluten free cake meal.
- If matzo cake meal is not available, grind matzo or matzo meal into a fine powder using a food processor.
- To make a crunchy cookie, more like a traditional biscotti, return the cookies for a second bake after slicing. The timing depends on how hard you want the cookies to be.
Nutrition
Lynne
I made these yesterday and they look good, but lack some depth of flavor. I made them per this recipe, I did bake again after slicing. Was not sure how much time to give them on a second bake to get them crunchy. I baked for an additional 15 minutes at 350.
My recipe for Mandel Bread/Biscotti I make year round calls for lemon juice or vanilla extract or almond extract and I feel these are missing that. I made 1/4 of recipe with chopped pecans and that really added some flavor. I may have to drizzle some chocolate over the others to improve their desirability! Thank you.
Happy Holiday!
Wendy Sondov
Lynn,the flavor instensifies after a day or two. Though the recipe is certainly adaptable for personal taste, I recommend that you experiment and hold off a few days before adding anything additional. Happy Passover.
Lynne
Wendy,
Thank you for your response. You are absolutely correct! The next day these tasted so so good. They do not need any more attention but to be eaten and enjoyed. I froze them so we would still have them to eat for Passover. Again, Happy Passover!
Vicki Caine
Hi Wendy, can I substitute Almond meal for the cake meal?
Vicki
Wendy Sondov
Hi Vicki. Unfortunately, no you can't substitute almond meal in this recipe. I've tried. The dough loaves melt in the oven. The result is tasty (actually it has become a favorite Passover bar cookie in my family. https://themondaybox.com/chocolate-chip-almond-cookie-squares/ ), but it is definitely not mandel bread. The recipe requires some kind of binder like that found in cake meal or even gluten free cake meal works well.
Ann
I might have missed it but can you sub nuts for chocolate chips?
Would you use the same amount?
Thank you!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Ann. Yes, you can certainly add nuts. I just don't use any due to allergies 🙂 You could use the same amount or use half nuts and half chocolate chips. Smaller pieces of nuts might make it easier to cut even slices of cookies off of the baked loaf.
Pamela Minuk
A huge, huge hit! Thank You, Thank you!
Wendy Sondov
I so glad that your Mandel Bread was a hit! I've made three batches this year (2 regular and 1 with gluten free cake meal). Happy Passover!
Ruthie Stoakes
Well these are delicious! Just came out of the oven...I read that someone else put them back in the oven for a few min after slicing. I'm definitely interested going to do this! It's perfect for anyone with nut allergies as well! Thank you thank you !
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Ruthie. I'm glad you are enjoying the mandel bread. They will taste even better tomorrow! We like ours softer like a cookie but you can definitely second bake (like you do with biscotti) for more crunch. Happy Passover!
Adrienne
I’ve been making this same recipe for years. However, lately I have reduced the sugar and cake flour just a bit. My family has always loved it these. Fun to see them online.
Wendy Sondov
Hi Adrienne. I found this recipe decades ago in a local community newspaper. It's been our favorite ever since. 🙂 I love hearing that others have the same recipe and learning where they got theirs! Happy Passover!
Sharon
This recipe was simple to make. Once I cut the pieces I than coated them again with cinnamon/sugar and baked them for another 10 - 15 minutes. We like it crunchy and it was great.
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Sharon. Happy Passover! I'm delighted that you enjoyed this recipe and were able to successfully adapt it to the crunchy texture you like best! The extra cinnamon sugar sounds wonderful!
Barb
What can I use instead of potato starch
Wendy Sondov
Can you use another kind of starch like corn starch or tapioca starch? I haven't tried it with those but the other starches should be interchangable.
ngood
Followed the recipe, but the loaves melted into a giant puddle during baking.
What could have been the problem? Oven is fine, and loaves formed okay at first.
Wendy Sondov
Hi. I'm sorry your mandel bread didn't work. I've never had this recipe fail. I've made several batches in the last few days and have been getting comments (see below) on the blog and in social media that the recipe is working for others as written (with butter) as well as with Passover margarine and coconut oil. I can only make guesses while troubleshooting for you. The first question I would ask is whether you made any substitutions? This recipe does not work without cake meal and potato starch. Did you use the amounts indicated in the recipe? Are you sure all of the ingredients made it into the dough? I hope this is helpful!
Bernice
Can I use oil to make it parve instead of butter?
Wendy Sondov
I haven't ever made these with oil, so I can't say for sure, but margarine works for making the cookie parve. Happy Passover.
Renee
Yummy! I made as directed but did add maraschino cherries to one loaf with the chocolate chips. Tomorrow I will dip some of the bottoms into dark melted chocolate. These are so good and very easy to make.
Wendy Sondov
The cherry chocolate combo sounds delicious, Renee! Keep in mind that the moisture in the cherries might effect how long the mandel bread stays fresh. My guess would be that the cookies will be fine for a few days and might soften after that. For longer storage I would freeze them.
Jodi
I also just made this recipe with no substitutions at all and they also came out in big giant puddles. They spread almost the entire width of the pain. I make regular biscotti all the time and never had this issue. I am not sure what happens. It is a pity as I was making desserts to bring to someones house tomorrow. Oh well….
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Jodi. I'm sorry to hear that your mandel bread didn't turn out. I have never had that happen! If you see my response, I would appreciate knowing what brand of cake meal you used. Today I was making this recipe with gluten free cake meal (for the first time) and noticed a huge difference between Yehuda and Manischewitz. The ingredients are different with the two brands and the Yehuda mandel bread came out much flatter and spread quite a bit. I always use Manischewitz regular cake meal for this recipe and now I'm wondering if the brand used makes a difference.
Michelle
I wish the tip not to use Yehuda cake meal was in the recipe. I just made this - only substitution was Yehuda gluten free cake meal instead of regular. I got a puddle of melted Mandel bread. So incredibly disappointing.
Wendy Sondov
That is so odd, Michelle. I'm sorry your gluten free mandel bread was a disappointment. We used the Yehuda gluten free cake meal last year and it worked perfectly. I have some of this years gf cake meal in the house and will give it a try this week. If it doesn't work any more (maybe a change in ingredients) I will definitely indicate that on the post and recipe card.
Amy S
This recipe is just what I was looking for. I halved the recipe, added 1/2 c chopped walnuts, and toasted the Mandel Bread slices for 10 minutes at 325, as I usually do for the non KP ones. I also made a vegan batch, using vegan shortening and 1/2 mashed banana per egg. They both came out great!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Amy. Thank you for commenting with your great results!! I am delighted that your mandel bread turned out exactly the way you wanted. I am sure your variations will be very helpful to others looking for substitutions! Happy Passover!!
Barbara T. Ulanet
Wendy, what ingredient can I use to replace 1/2 of the sugar or should I jus cut the sugar to 1 cup?
Is an egg substitute good to use for some of the eggs? If so, can you offer any fat free recommendations?
Thank you.
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Barbara. Because sugar effects texture as well as sweetness, I am not sure what would happen if you cut out 1/2 cup of sugar. Could you cut out 1/4 cup of the sugar and up to 1 cup of the chocolate chips? I have not made these fat free, but a reader who commented above yours (Amy S) wrote that she successfully used 1/2 mashed banana as a substitute for each egg. Would that work for you? It seems like this recipe works with many kinds of fats (coconut oil, margarine, butter) but I don't know that it could be made completely fat free. I hope this is helpful. Adjusting recipes for dietary requirements can be tricky! Good luck and happy Passover!
Marilyn @ marilyndishes
These are delish!!!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Marilyn. I'm delighted that you are enjoying the mandel bread! I just finished baking two batches myself. 🙂
MFA
Thank you for this tasty passover recipe! May i ask about freezing? I'd like to bake and freeze. Thanks
Wendy Sondov
Hi. You are welcome for the recipe! It wouldn't be Passover at my house without these cookies. 🙂 You can definitely freeze the mandel bread and they really do stay delicious at room temperature for at least 2 weeks. Happy Passover!
Suzanne
Do you think I could use coconut oil instead of butter?
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Suzanne. I have never used coconut oil in this recipe so I am not positive how it would effect the texture of the cookies. In theory coconut oil should work. Recently I've received several requests for non-dairy substitutions. As I start my Passover baking this week I am going to give it a try and add my findings to the notes in the recipe card. Happy Passover!
Suzanne
I made them with coconut oil. Fabulous! Great recipe and easy.
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Suzanne. Thank you for letting me know that the coconut oil works! That will be a great substitute for those who want dairy free and either can't find Passover margarine or prefer coconut oil. Enjoy the mandel bread and happy Passover!
Leah
Suzanne, I have coconut oil but I have never use. How much did you use? Thanks
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Leah. I tried out this recipe with coconut oil and the mandel bread came out delicious. Use the same measurement for the solid coconut oil as for the butter, 1 cup. Enjoy!
dy
hi! what can we use as a parve substitute? Thank you dear
Wendy Sondov
Passover margarine works in the recipe as a parve substitute. Happy Passover!
Mona Tidras
I haven’t made this yet. Am wondering why the recipe says to store for 7 days. Am I reading this incorrectly?
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Mona. Thank you for pointing that out. I corrected the way the recipe was written to make it more clear. This mandel bread stays fresh for at least 7 days. The flavors continue to improve over time and taste even better a few days after baking.
Ellen Warmstein
My supermarket does not have potato starch. Can I substitute with corn starch or potato flakes?
Thanks
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Ellen. Though I haven't tried it, I think corn starch would work. Both starches are very similar. I wouldn't use potato flakes because it is dried potato pulp not starch and I have no idea how that would effect the recipe. I hope this helps. I'd love to know how your mandel bread turns out. 🙂
Linda
Can I use 3/4 cup of canola oil instead of butter? Thank you.
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Linda. I haven't tried the mandel bread with vegetable oil, but I think it should work. 3/4 cup of oil would be the correct amount to use instead of the 1 cup of butter. I'd love to know how it works if you give it a try!
Susan
What about almonds in this recipe? How does one make this to include almonds ? I don’t understand how mandel bread recipes have no almonds (when mandel means almond).
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Susan. Happy Passover! You are quite right about mandel meaning almond. As I explain in the post, I am allergic to tree nuts (as are many other people) and therefore don't include them as add-ins to my recipes. No problem if you want to make these with almonds though. My recipe includes 2 cups of chocolate chips. Vary the add-ins you use however you like, just keep to the 2 cup amount. If you want chocolate chip- almond mandel bread, I would start with one cup of each. You can always adjust to taste. Enjoy!