I've been very excited about candycap mushrooms lately so I dragged out one of my great aunt's old-world mandelbrot recipes and then modified the living daylights out of it. My version is gluten-free, and can very easily be modified to be egg, grain, and sugar free (if you use a sugar substitute and optional sugar-free chocolate chips). I haven't tried to make this recipe nut-free, since I'm fine with nuts and love the flavor of almond (it is almond bread, after all!), though you certainly could try the recipe using tree nut-free flours such as sorghum, coconut, or cassava flour So without further ado....

Candycap Chocolate Chip Mandelbrot

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs or the equivalent in egg substitute (I use Just Egg as a substitute since I'm allergic to eggs, I'm not sure how well other substitutes would work, flax eggs might work ok)
• 3/4-1 cup sugar or your favorite sugar alternative (I've done the recipe subbing 1:1 with erythritol and it came out yummy)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup oil (see below for a note about the oil)
• 1/2 tsp candycap mushroom powder (it's super expensive, a tiny bit goes a long way, it stores well in the freezer, and it's entirely optional for this recipe: you can leave this out and your mandelbrot will still taste delicious)
• 3-3.5 cups flour (my aunt's recipe used white flour; I use 1.5 cup sorghum or gf oat flour, 1.5 cup almond meal, 1/2 cup tapioca starch, and 2 tbsp ground flax. If you were avoiding grains, you could use coconut or cassava flour instead of the sorghum and it should come out just fine)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• Optional: 1 cup chocolate chips (I prefer mini chips) or sliced toasted almonds

Oil: This is an old Ashkenazi Jewish recipe and it's intended to be a parve dessert (meaning it has no dairy nor meat in it, so can be eaten with either), so traditionally the way my family made it, it wouldn't have been made with butter. You certainly could use butter, which would taste nice and work well texture-wise. My very favorite oil for this is a mix of food-grade raw cocoa butter (make sure it's intended for food and not just cosmetics, though!) and hazelnut or walnut oil. I chop the chunks of cocoa butter into small bits, measuring out about 1/2-3/4 cup, fill the rest of the measuring cup in with the liquid hazelnut or walnut oil, then put them in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it til it's melted. You can also melt the cocoa butter over a double burner (fill a small saucepan with a bit of water, put your glass/metal/ceramic bowl into the pot, and heat on a low flame til the cocoa butter is melted).

Candycap: I stir the candycap powder to the oil and heat gently for at least 5 minutes. It's ok to leave the mushroom powder in the oil, you don't have to strain it out. 1/4-1/2 tsp powder is more than enough to flavor that amount of oil. 

To Prepare:

Preheat oven to 350° F

If using cocoa butter and candycap, roughly chop the cocoa butter into bits and melt in microwave or over stovetop. Add in candycap powder and stir well (if using any other oil, heat the oil gently in a double boiler and add candycap mushroom powder). Let the candycap and warm oil sit for at least 5 minutes before incorporating into recipe. 

Add all ingredients except the chocolate chips/almond slices into a bowl one at a time, mixing after each new ingredient is added, and mix well with a spoon. Mix until it becomes a thick batter/sticky dough - the dough should be about thick enough to be able to shape it into a log and have it hold its shape, but will definitely be sticky. Fold optional chocolate chips/almonds into the dough/batter.

Separate the dough into 2 equal parts. Shape into 2 logs on a baking sheet covered in a silicone baking mat (these are the best, but you can use parchment paper if you don't have a silicone mat). It's best to wet your hands with cold water to shape the dough, so the dough doesn't stick to your hands. 

Bake 35-40 minutes, until slightly brown

Remove from oven and slice the logs into 1/4-1/2" slices. Lay the slices down on their sides. Return cookie sheet to oven and bake another 5-10 minutes. 

Remove from oven, flip the slices over, and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy! These keep really well for at least a week unrefrigerated if they're kept in a sealed container. I love mandelbrot best dipped in sweet milky coffee or tea.