The second recipe is my own grandmother’s recipe (or really her friend Marv's recipe, apparently his mother in law handed down the recipe!) While making this mandel bread, you whip the eggs first so that they are light and fluffy, helping to create a more biscotti like texture. This recipe specifically dictates that you sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top. I didn’t realize, until I started playing with other recipes, that there is a great debate within the mandel bread baking community of whether or not to add cinnamon sugar to the top!
Mandel Bread
3 Extra large eggs
3 Cups oil
1 Cup sugar
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
3 Cups flour
3 t]Teaspoons baking powder
Dash of salt
1 ½ Cups chopped combination of pecans and walnuts
Cinnamon sugar for top
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add the oil and mix well until combined. Beat in sugar and vanilla.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the egg mixture and stir until almost combined. Add in pecans and walnuts and finish mixing.
On 2 greased cookie sheets, make 6 rows of mixture (I tried to make two larger “loaves” and it didn’t go very well. Stick to the six smaller loaves.)
Sprinkle the tops with a small amount of cinnamon sugar. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 20 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Take the cookies out of the oven and slice on a diagonal. Sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on the flat side of the cookie. Turn the oven down to 200 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes - 1 hour.
Let cool and enjoy!
