Wishing for a Dry Spell: Toffee Mandelscotti

I have always loved biscotti, even the mass-produced kind that is individually wrapped and offered by the cash register at Starbucks. I think it's because I love crunchy things and I love nuts -- and biscotti generally deliver on both fronts.

Gail E. Aranoff took second place in the Chicago Tribune 2001 holiday cookie contest with a recipe for "Toffee Mandelscotti," which she describes as a hybrid of Jewish mandelbrot and Italian biscotti. It's an easy recipe: beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla until light; add sifted flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in chocolate chips and almond toffee bits; and chill for three hours. You form the chilled dough into two logs, bake them at 350 degrees, slice the logs into individual cookies, and bake the cookies a second time at 300 degrees until golden.

I like my biscotti very crunchy, so I often extend the time of the second bake to make sure that the cookies are thoroughly dried out; I did the same here. Still, the texture of the finished cookies was not crunchy. They were firm, but gave easily upon taking a bite. Because of the texture, I wasn't a huge fan -- but the flavors were terrific and my tasters raved about them.

I'm not an expert on mandelbrot, but in my experience they are generally more tender than biscotti. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this mandelbrot-biscotti hybrid was softer than biscotti. If you like a softer texture, these might be the twice-baked cookie for you! But my own personal preference is for the hard, dry variety.

Recipe: "Toffee Mandelscotti" by Gail E. Aranoff, from Holiday Cookies: Prize-Winning Family Recipes from the Chicago Tribune for Cookies, Bars, Brownies and More, recipe available here at the Chicago Tribune.