Pumpkin Mandelbrodt AKA Jewish Biscotti

by Lizzy W   |   October 1, 2019   |   22 Comments

In  honor of October finally getting here, and hopefully a turn in the weather soon, I can finally start posting my favorite recipes of the year. Bring on the pumpkins and dust off that crockpot! To me, this season represents family, friends, love, and all the happiness and warmth that the holidays bring. This recipe emulates each one of these feelings to me because it was a staple in Mawmaw’s kitchen, and now my parents.

If this isn’t your favorite time of year, we need to talk. There is just something magical about fall and winter; the air gets quieter, the pajama pants get cozier, and the pumpkin and cinnamon coffee flavors start to re-appear.. One of my favorite things to have with coffee during this time has got to be a piece of biscotti, or in my case mandelbrodt (basically biscotti, but the Jewish version).  

Growing up, my mawmaw used to make it for her guests to munch on with their coffee, and now my step-mom has perfected it, passing down the recipe to me.  She has been making mandelbrodt for as long as I can remember, and it never ceases to amaze me that every time she serves it after dinner, people rave about it as if it were the first time they tried it; it’s that good!

My mawmaw was a kitchen Goddess. I don’t remember much about her, unfortunately I was too young to fully appreciate the woman she was when I was a child.  Looking back though, the most vivid memories I have of her are in the kitchen – she was ALWAYS in the kitchen.  From the moment we arrived in Monroe, Louisiana and stepped foot into her house, the smell of a roasting chicken illuminated the air. I just remember a constant feeling of not being able to get your mouth to stop watering.  She knew how important food was in bringing people together, and I’m so thankful she passed that down generation to generation.

Tola (Mawmaw) passed down this recipe for mandelbrodt to my step-mom and since it’s October, I decided to add in some pumpkin.  There are several versions of this that you can make, depending on what you like to add in – chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts, etc.

Then, try to ignore the look on your adorable dogs face when they realize you aren’t sharing any of the mix…

Form the loaves and cover with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  The loaves look so gorgeous I could have eaten them like this, but for photo sake I had to finish baking them.

I love this picture, I caught Bailey mid-licking her lips…

Then, once you have baked them, you remove, slice, and turn on their sides.  Then, return to the oven for the remainder of the baking time.

Voila!  You have the option here to drizzle with a basic icing or not.  I love it both ways, so I did half and half – totally up to you.

Also, you have the option to top them off with frosting (which I loved), and the recipe is really simple.  Simply mix together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste, and 1/2 tbsp. milk, whisk well, and drizzle on top!  Easy as that!  And… if you make too much, you can always freeze them for several months!  They will taste just as good!

Pumpkin Mandelbrodt

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Appetizer, Dessert, Snack

Ingredients

  

• cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. pure almond extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup cranberries (optional)
• 1 orange zested
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cinnamon (to dust on top)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine sugar, oil, and eggs in a standing mixer, and beat about 30 seconds. Add in 2 cups of the flour and mix. Add in the baking powder, salt, almond extract, vanilla bean paste, pumpkin pie spice, orange zest, and pumpkin puree. Continue to mix on medium speed. Then, add in the last 2 cups of the flour, and mix well. Finally, add in the nuts, chocolate chips, cranberries, and/or whatever other nut combination you please, and stir well with a spatula.
• Spoon out the dough into 3 loaves on a silpat, each about 2" wide. Then, dust the top with the cinnamon/sugar mixture (you won't use all of it, just enough to lightly cover the top). Then, bake on 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Turn the oven heat down to 335 degrees F. Slice the loaves into about 1" pieces, and lay them on their sides. Then, place the mandelbrodt back in the oven for about 15-20 minutes (I like to do 15 because it is a little more tender).
• Enjoy!