Mandel Bread

This is my grandmother's recipe.  Her name was Thelma and making 'mandels' was her greatest pleasure.  I don't recall her making much else as she truly relished in her popularity for making what she became somewhat famous for.  She deserved the accolades and proved that its better to be the master of one great thing.  She left us with the legacy of her recipe.

Mandel Bread is an Eastern European form of 'biscotti', meaning 'twice baked' in Italian. They are not as crunchy or as firm as their Italian counterpart. In fact, they are quite crumbly and delicate. When I moved away from home, Thelma would ship them to me. Lets just say that mandel bread don't travel well. They were always broken into pieces when they arrived, but still tasted delicious. 

She always made them with walnuts although the word mandel, which is German, plainly translates to the word almond. Today, my mother and I make them with walnuts, almonds, dried fruits, and even chocolate chips. This recipe that I am presenting to you here was made for an event that had a no nuts policy. I replaced the nuts with bittersweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and mini semi sweet chocolate chips.