Mandelbrot vs Kamish Bread

One of the things that I find so fascinating about Judaism as opposed to many other religions is that regardless of where in the world families originate, the traditions, customs, and foods are the same. In other Western religions, this just isn’t the case – Polish Catholics have entirely different traditional foods from Italian Catholics. But Judaism is so much more than just a religion; it is truly a culture in and of itself.

One thing we cannot agree upon, however, is how to spell things once translated into English, or sometimes even what to call things. One example of this is the mandlebrot/kamish bread debate that comes up every year for Pesach. My Mother-in-Law and I both make essentially the same thing (the recipe I used called for Kosher for Passover margarine; hers uses oil, but the taste is the same)…. but we cannot, for the life of us, agree on what to call it.

She says kamish bread, I say mandelbrot. What do you say?

(Obviously, it’s mandelbrot).

Either way, it’s a Passover tradition. Much like my beloved once-a-year Hamentashen, Husband loves mandelbrot (for those who have never tried one, it’s kind of like a softer biscotti). Many families make it year round with flour, but both my MIL and I only make it once a year, at Passover, with matzoh cake meal in lieu of traditional flour. And so, Wednesday night, I whipped up a triple batch to last Husband through the next week.

Passover Mandelbrot

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup matzoh cake meal
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 6 ounces chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease cookie sheet.
2. Beat eggs. Add sugar.
3. Gradually incorporate oil, vanilla, cake meal, and potato starch.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Let stand for 15 minutes.
6. With well-oiled hands (dough will be heavy and sticky), divide dough into 3 long oval loafs on cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, slice into cookies (must slice while hot or cookies will break), and return to oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Cool on wire rack and store in air-tight container for up to 1 week.