Jane’s Kitchen: Ukrainian Kamish Brot -Joan Nathan Jewish Biscotti

A great lower fat crispy treat instead of high fat cookies. 

 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

1/4 cup orange juice 

1 cup sugar 

3 large eggs 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (you can sub chopped nuts, dried fruits, etc.)

Ground cinnamon and granulated sugar for dusting 

Optional – Replace orange juice with 1 very ripe mashed banana 

 

Mix together oil and sugar until combined, then add eggs one at a time. After the eggs are combined, add vanilla. Sift together all the dry ingredients and add them slowly to the sugar/egg mixture. 

Once the dough is smooth and sticky, pour the chocolate chips or nuts in and mix. 

Grease 2 9-inch loaf pans and pour batter into pans, or pour batter in 2 layers, sprinkling bottom layer with cinnamon before adding top layer. 

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool until cool enough to handle. Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Slice the kamish brot into 1/2-inch slices. 

Arrange slices on baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. 

Bake for another 15 minutes, turning over about halfway through, until they’ve achieved the texture you desire. The longer they stay in the oven, the crisper they will be. If the slices are big or wide, you might need longer than 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it and don’t over-bake, as this cookie tends to dry out quickly. Store in an airtight container. These keep very well in a tin for many weeks 

Soft Mandel Bread Variation: I’ve had a few blog readers ask for a “Soft Mandel Bread” recipe. This is a bit of a contradiction in terms, since mandel bread are traditionally twice-baked to achieve a crispy texture. However, you can use this recipe to make a softer cookie by only baking it for 25 minutes and skipping the second 15 minute baking cycle (which in essence “toasts” the cookies). Just make sure your cookies have baked all the way through after the first baking cycle – if the center of the cookies appear moist, bake for another few minutes until fully cooked. Keep a close eye on the cookies to make sure they don’t over-bake. This will give you a “soft” mandel bread cookie. 

Yield: 36 slices 

Cuisine: Jewish