Gluten-free Mandel Bread

This is the best gluten-free mandel bread recipe adapted by my mom’s classic one she has made for decades. An easy one-bowl twice-baked Jewish cookie that is similar to biscotti.

My mom makes the world’s best mandel bread recipe. And for those who are wondering what mandel bread is, it is a twice-baked, crunchy Jewish cookie that is similar to biscotti. It is a family classic for Hanukkah and many other Jewish holidays for us. Plus we just always craved it so my mom would keep a bag in the freezer for my dad and I to snack on. Mandel bread is an easy and simple recipe, but it is more time consuming just because of the double bake time for the cookies. So my mom would double the batch a lot so we always had it on hand!

When I was writing my cookbook, I knew I had to add a mandel bread recipe in it inspired by my mom’s version. I made it gluten-free and with no refined sugar and it still hits the spot and tastes so good. In my opinion, mandel bread is less dry than biscotti because it has more fat with the oil. I love dipping it into milk but it is really delicious on its own. And from the freezer (sounds crazy, I know!).

Tip: double the batch so you can keep a bunch in the freezer too. These are the *best* cookies to eat frozen!

What ingredients you need to make gluten-free mandel bread:

• Coconut sugar – this is the main form of sugar here. I don’t recommend another unrefined sugar but if you prefer cane sugar that works too
• Eggs – I haven’t tested flax eggs for this recipe
• Avocado oil or liquid coconut oil – any liquid oil should work okay
• Vanilla extract – a splash for flavor in the cookies
• Gluten-free flour or oat flour – you can also use spelt flour if not gluten-free. I tried with gluten-free all purpose flour and it works but makes the cookies a little drier so you’d need to add more oil as mixing the cookie dough (you’ll notice it is dry) so oat flour is my top pick
• Dark chocolate chips – or use your prefer baking chocolate chips like semi-sweet or milk chocolate
• Ground cinnamon – this is for sprinkling on top of the cookies! Don’t mix into the batter itself

How to make mandel bread cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, mix together the coconut sugar, egg, oil and vanilla until creamy
3. Mix in flour, baking powder then fold in dark chocolate chips
4. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a loaf (10 to 12 inches long and 3 inches wide) on the baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon on top
5. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, until loaves are golden
6. Remove from oven and slice them into 1-inch wide cookies and turn them on their sides on baking sheet
7. Return baking sheet to oven and bake for 15 minutes then flip over to other side and cook for another 10 minutes so all sides are golden
8. Allow the cookies to cool for a few then enjoy!

Tips for success:

• I typically use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to make these, but you can also use a spatula as well and break out those muscles
• I love that this mandel bread recipe *doesn’t* need to go into the fridge to chill! It is really easy to prep and then it just requires more baking time than the usual cookies because it’s twice baked to get golden and crunchy on all sides
• Mandel bread is like the Jewish version of biscotti. And it isn’t as dry as biscotti in my opinion. The cookie still has a soft center with the crunchy outside
• If you want to spice things up a bit, you can add in other mix-in’s like raisins, coconut flakes or nuts
• I highly recommend keeping these in the freezer and eating frozen too. I like to double the batch and keep one frozen and one on counter. We fly through this so it’s great to have extras!

A few other delicious cookie recipes to try:

The Easiest Gluten-free Shortbread Cookies

Almond Flour Mandel Bread (Passover friendly!)

The BEST Vegan Funfetti Sugar Cookies (paleo)

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies

Paleo Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies

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