I immediately wanted to play along, so I made a double batch of Molly Yeh’s mandel bread with marzipan and sea salt from her new book, Molly on the Range, one topped with sprinkles, one with pearl sugar. I gathered all of my kindness-sharing supplies — kraft boxes, tissue paper, baker’s twine — and set up an assembly line to package the many delicious slices, but it soon became clear that the little ones in the house would not allow me to spread SO much kindness. The sprinkly treats disappeared before I could even think abut a post office run. Mandel bread, also known as mandelbrodt, which literally means “almond bread”, is a traditional Jewish twice-baked cookie originating from Eastern Europe and, from what I gather, is typically softer than biscotti due to a higher amount of oil or butter. In Molly’s version, the loaves of dough are coated with sprinkles or pearl sugar AND sea salt just before baking, which makes them particularly addictive, and the inclusion of marzipan creates pockets of intense almond flavor and a lovely softness throughout, which speaks to my soft-batch-biscotti-loving heart. Confession: I can’t blame my children for preventing me from sharing the cookie kindness: Having a jar of mandel bread on the counter has been such a treat every morning, the biggest incentive to prep the coffee every evening before going to bed, just the motivation I need to rise in the dark, tiptoe into the kitchen, and cozy up to the breakfast table before the chaos of the day begins. Molly’s book, by the way, is so much fun — beautiful, joyful, playful, and creative, just like her blog. There are two amazing giveaways still happening over there if you preorder her book before October 4th: one for adorable tattoos, and one for sprinkles. Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Sprinkles + Sea Salt = Genius: The recipe suggests a half cup of cacao nibs or dark chocolate, but I found a bar of this Sharffen Berger bar made with chocolate AND cacao nibs, which seemed like the best of both worlds, so I used it. And I also used almond paste in place of marzipan, which worked beautifully. Batter with chocolate: Very focused mandel bread eaters: Another peak into Molly on the Range: Egg in a Hole Perfection. 4.8 from 6 reviews Toast the bread on both sides, add the egg, cover the pan, cook until done:
