A Yom Kippur Recipe for Everyone (And Not Just for Yom Kippur)

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*Author’s note: This post has very little to do with the actual holiday of Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur, the “Day of Atonement,” is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. It’s a special day set aside to reflect and atone for the sins of the past year.

The second most notable thing about Yom Kippur is fasting. While one is reflecting on past transgressions and pledging to do better in the coming year, there’s no eating for a little over 24 hours.

So then, why am I sharing a recipe for a day of non-eating? “What’s the main ingredient? Air?” you might be asking.

And that’s an excellent question. The recipe is for chocolate chip Mandel bread. And I’m sharing this because:

  1. It’s my mom’s recipe, and there’s nothing like having 24 hours of quiet reflection to highlight just how much I miss her.**
  2. It’s really good.
  3. Not enough people are familiar with Mandel bread, and that’s a transgression I need to rectify.

**To clarify: my mom is not on a business trip in Cleveland. Wherever she is now, I like to think it’s a place where she’s able to keep an eye on us but still get to see the world, a place where the Yankees have always just won the World Series, audiobooks by all her favorite authors play on an endless loop, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale goes on forever. There is a never-ending supply of Splenda, orange Tic-Tacs, and Viactiv chocolate calcium chews.

Back to the recipe…

If you’re not familiar with it, Mandel bread, or mandelbrot, in Yiddish (which I am determined for my husband and me to learn so that we can not only honor our ancestors but can also use to talk to one another in front of the children, who have already discovered what I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M spells) is kind of like Jewish biscotti. And like biscotti, you can make it with almonds or other nuts, fruit, etc. But my mom always made it with chocolate (chocolate chips, not Viactiv chocolate calcium chews, in case you were concerned).

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy it just as much as we did…and just as much as my mom loved making it for us.

For those of you observing Yom Kippur, have an easy fast. A happy, healthy year ahead is filled with love for everyone, everywhere. And chocolate.

LYNNE’S CHOCOLATE CHIP MANDEL BREAD

  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 c. oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 c. flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 8-10 oz. chocolate chips (the mini ones work well for this recipe)
  • 8 oz. finely chopped walnuts (optional)
  • Cookie sheet
  • Parchment paper (not vital, but helpful)
  1. Preheat oven to 325℉. Spread parchment paper on a large cookie sheet.
  2. Mix sugar, oil, and eggs.
  3. Add flour, baking powder, vanilla, and mix.
  4. Add chocolate chips (and walnuts, if applicable). The mixture will be thick and sticky.
  5. Shape into two loaves on a cookie sheet. For softer Mandel bread, the middle of the loaves should be wider than the ends.
  6. Bake at 325℉ for 30 to 35 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and cut into slices, approximately 1” thick.
  8. Optional: If you like your Mandel bread crispier, you can pop it back in the oven for five more minutes. Your mileage may vary.

It makes about 25-35 slices (the thickness of slices is up to you).

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Daryl
Daryl lives with her husband and two small children right on the border between Westchester and Fairfield counties, but she can usually be found in the customer service line at Target in Mt. Kisco, returning socks her son hated "because they have that thing." She used to enjoy reading books, traveling with her husband, staying up to date on current affairs, going out to restaurants, concerts, and Yankees games, and sleeping past 6AM on weekends. Now, she enjoys hiding in the laundry room, hiding in the garage, peeing with the door slightly ajar, looking under the couch for Air Rescue Chase, obsessively refreshing Twitter so she can find out what's going on in the world outside Adventure Bay, and writing Paw Patrol/Bubble Guppies crossover fan fiction. You can follow her on Twitter @darylstrawberry.