In my memories, there was always a plate of Mandel Bread at the Seder.  Clearly not, as I could not find a recipe in the recipe box or online.  So I made it up, based on my grandmother’s recipe.  These are actually fantastic.  If you would like to make these Mandel Bread (biscotti) completely gluten free, substitute an extra 2 cups of almond flour and 1 cup of potato starch for the matza cake meal.

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 3 cups matza cake meal
  • 2 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup potato starch
  • pinch of kosher salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 350* and rub a little oil onto 2 baking sheets.  Have extra baking sheets ready – no oil necessary.
  2. With a whisk in a large bowl, or in the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla and cinnamon.  Mix well.
  3. Slowly mix in the rest of the ingredients.  The dough will be thick.  Put the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to help set a bit.
  4. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and put 2 portions onto each oiled baking sheet.  Using wet hands, shape each portion into a loaf, about 3 inches across.  They will spread a bit, don’t worry.
  5. Bake the loaves until lightly golden, about 40 minutes.  Remove from the oven, but leave the oven on.  Let the loaves rest on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully move one loaf to a cutting board using a metal spatula.  Cut the loaf on a bias, into 1/2 inch slices.  The bigger the angle, the larger the Mandel bread will be.
  6. As the loaves are cut, move the slices to the ungreased baking sheets, and lay the slices down flat.  You can use the original baking sheets, just wipe them down with a paper towel.  Bake the slices for 10 minutes, then flip each slice and bake for 10 more minutes.
  7. Let the slices cool on the baking sheets.  Eat them with some strong coffee, tea, or a shot of Slilovitz!