Claire Saffitz Makes Aunt Rose's Mondel Bread | Dessert Person

Let me know below… is it Aunt Rose’s or Aunt Tilly’s recipe?

I feel really privileged that Claire felt she could share a family recipe with us. It feels really personal and welcoming. Thank you Claire I’ll try to make these someday

I just wanna thank the editors for creating that family tree cause I would have never understood the genealogy involved in the recipe.

petition for an episode with Claire's mom joining in the kitchen

This video was an absolute treasure!! Loved the side eye from Claire when questioning some of the steps, “that’s just what we do”. 😂. Most of all, loved the voice cameo from Sauci, she’s the best! Hope there are no fisticuffs between Rose and Tilley. I think I smiled through the entire thing , thinking of family dynamics, not to mention a snoopy giraffe. This will be a delicious item for coffee this winter, thanks to all the Saffitz family!! 😘

This is what I love about Jewish baking. Traditions, the “secret “ ingredients and the passing of the spatula to the younger generations! I have a couple recipes that were passed down on my father’s side of the family that when made still bring me back.

This is the first recipe I made last Christmas (2020) when I was gifted the book! I have to say, I hadn’t baked almost anything back then, like literally one or two things, and these were really easy to make, they came out super pretty and my husband who doesn’t eat sweets absolutely adored them!! The house smells wonderful, they’re amazing in coffee, and I will love them forever. I love the book and I love Claire 😭💕

“we make it this way because this is how we make it” basically describes all family recipes. ever.

The wildlife outside the cabin is getting more exotic.

I’d love to see a video where Claire makes attempts at altering this recipe as her professional experience might otherwise suggest, comparing it to Aunt Rose’s results. Will the dough fall apart if you don’t chill, uncovered for four hours? What happens if you don’t flour the almonds? Perhaps have her mother blind taste the variations!

Loved hearing you talk about how Yiddish was your great grandparents first language! It was mine as well. My grandmother, who was born here, didn’t speak a word of English until she went to kindergarten. Thankfully, Yiddish is undergoing quite a revitalization and it’s possible to learn it fluently in many places. I always love your family recipes, and how you share our Ashkenazi Jewish food culture!

I love the connection you have to your roots. Having a Great-grandfather who was a baker makes complete sense. It is as if he is cooking through you. . .

Omg I know what the tablespoon of flour does! It stops any heavy ingredients, like the almonds in this case, from sinking to the bottom of the loaf while baking. Saw it on Bake off once. It's very useful when making a big cake or loaf with chocolate chips too. Coat them with a bit of flour first and they won't sink to the bottom of the pan.

I loved the thing about the great Yiddish words for complaining. When my best friend had her first baby. it used to cry all the time and refused to eat--like really wailingly unhappy--and one time I said "she's such a farbrent" and my friend said "PLEASE don't call my daughter a farbrent," which was perfect because it let her kvetch about me talking about her daughter's kvetchiness.

On Thursdays, we watch Claire 💁‍♀️✨❤️

The "steaks and the "giraffe" cracked me up!! Love that subtle sense of humor! Oh and the cookies look delish too!

So excited to make these! My mom's worked with Jewish people for the past 30 years, but it was until last year that I finally learned to make Mandel Bread with one of the women she works for (she's 80 and we've grown to love her as our Jewish grandma :). While we were baking, she told me how it was her grandma's original recipe and how she had so many great memories of her mom making them. I was honored to learn from her and grew an appreciation for her family recipe. There is so much history and love that can go into them, so thank you for sharing your's Claire! 💙

I need a mug that says, “The coffee’s kicking in”

Question for Claire: If you were to open up a bakery, what kinds of baked goods would you offer to your patrons? 🥰

Claire looks so happy making these cookies. I think the of tradition, ‘this is how we do it’ combined with family memories gives her a sense of security and comfort. Everything Claire makes is delicious and beautiful, but often there’s a little stress as she prepares. These cookies just had her confident and smiling. Thank you, Claire for sharing these family cookies.