Here is really different food blog, Shiksa In The Kitchen. There is an ethnology that goes with the blog and the blog writer. She divulges personal connections with food in an interesting style. Be sure to read it. And from that blog we get this Mandlebrot Cookie Recipe. So, you ask, what are Mandlebrot Cookies?
From the blog, “Mandelbrot cookies are an Ashkenazi Jewish dessert dating back to the early nineteenth century. Mandelbrot are closely related to the Italian cookies known as biscotti, which were first made in the Middle Ages. The word mandelbrot means almond (mandel) and bread (brot) in both German and Yiddish. In America, these tasty little cookies are known as mandel bread. Typically mandel bread are twice-baked, which makes them crispy and crunchy. They’re perfect for dipping in your tea or coffee. Because most of the moisture is baked out of them, they also have a fairly long shelf life.

The origin of Jewish mandelbrot is a bit of a mystery, though there are many theories on how and when the cookie was adopted by Ashkenazi Jewish cooks. In the wonderful book Jewish Cooking in America, Joan Nathan writes about the history of mandelbrot cookies and their similarity to other cookies made in Europe and Eastern Europe: “With a large Jewish population in Piedmont, Italy may have been the place where Jews first tasted biscotti and later brought them to Europe where they called them mandelbrot, which literally means almond bread. In the Ukraine, a similar cookie not necessarily with almonds but made at home, thuskamish, was served. In Italy they are often eaten as a dessert dipped into wine or grappa. In Eastern Europe Jews dipped them into a glass of tea, and because they include no butter and are easily kept they became a good Sabbath dessert.” (The Shiksa In The Kitchen blog)

If all of this sounds intriguing, then follow the link above to the recipe and some more information on the treats. Give it a try. It sounds good!