Chocolate-cranberry mandelbrot

Makes about 36

Ingredients:

420g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

225g unsalted butter or nonhydrogenated margarine, at room temperature 250g sugar

4 eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange juice or water 100g roasted unsalted almonds, finely chopped 180g semisweet chocolate chips 105g dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.

In a stand mixer or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and 200g of the sugar on medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until pale and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla and orange juice. Add the flour mixture in two additions, beating on low speed until just combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in the almonds, chocolate chips, and cranberries. The dough should be soft and spreadable.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Starting with two pieces of the dough and one of the prepared baking sheets, use a butter knife or offset spatula to spread each piece into a long, flat rectangle that’s about 23 by 10 cm and 12 mm thick. Place the rectangles about 5cm apart on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough and the remaining baking sheet. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through baking, until puffed and lightly browned, about 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Slice the rectangles across, while still on the baking sheet, into 2 cm pieces, then turn the pieces onto their sides and sprinkle lightly with half of the remaining sugar. Bake for 10 minutes more, then turn them over and sprinkle the other side with the remaining sugar. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes more.

Set the baking sheets on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the biscuits to the racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Adapted from Little Book of Jewish Sweets, Chronicle Books, 2019