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For this recipe, you will also need an electric hand or stand mixer, mixing bowls, a sifter, plastic wrap, 1 or 2 baking sheets, a cooling rack, and parchment or wax paper.
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Using your electric mixer, mix together eggs, sugar, canola oil, vanilla and salt on medium high speed until well combined.
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In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.
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Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing on medium low after each addition, until a smooth, sticky dough forms.
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Add the almonds and chocolate chips and use the mixer to incorporate them into the dough.
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Place the dough in a bowl that will easily fit in your refrigerator.
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Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
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Let the dough chill for at least 2 hours.
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You can chill it up to 48 hours before baking.
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When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Slice the dough into four equal sections inside the bowl.
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Lightly grease your hands with canola oil.
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Take the 4 sections of chilled dough and form 4 long, thick rows or rectangles on the baking sheet.
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Each row should be about 3 1/2 inches wide.
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Make sure you leave at least 1 inch between rows, as they will expand during baking.
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I usually put the fourth row on a second baking sheet so there is plenty of extra room for spreading.
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You can squeeze them all on one sheet if you prefer, but you might want to make the rows a bit narrower.
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Bake mandelbrot for 25 minutes at 350F.
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Take mandelbrot out of the oven and turn the oven down to 275 degrees F.
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While oven is cooling, slice the 4 rows into 1/2 inch wide biscotti-sized slices.
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Put the slices cut-side down back onto the cookie, then bake at 275 degrees F for another 20 minutes, or until crisp.
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The longer they stay in the oven, the crisper theyll be.
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Keep an eye on the texture and dont over-bake, or the mandelbrot will dry out.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a rack.
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Slowly melt the dark or semisweet chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave till smooth (if you use the microwave, heat for 30 second increments, stirring in between each additional 30 second heating).
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Dip the mandelbrot into the chocolate.
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There are two ways to do this.
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The first way works best with a cooling rack.
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Line the surface below the rack with paper to protect your countertop.
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Take a mandelbrot and dip the upper mounded half of the mandelbrot lengthwise into the chocolate.
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Turn the wet chocolate-coated side up and place it on the rack to dry.
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For the second dipping method, youll need a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
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Melt the chocolate in a narrow container, so the chocolate pool is deep.
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Dip the mandebrot endwise to coat the lower half of each piece with chocolate.
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Let the excess chocolate drip off the bottom of the mandelbrot.
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Place the chocolate dipped pieces onto the paper-lined sheet and allow to dry.
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Youll need to leave the pieces for at least one hour to dry (they may take longer depending on the weather).
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You can put the pieces in the refrigerator if you want them to firm up more quickly.
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Store in an airtight container up to five days.
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For a longer shelf life, wrap each individual cookie in foil, place in a sealed plastic bag, and freeze for up to three weeks.
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NOTE: You can use this recipe to make a softer cookie by only baking it for 25 minutes and skipping the second 20 minute baking cycle (which in essence toasts the cookies).
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Just make sure your cookies have baked all the way through after the first baking cycle if the center of the cookies appear moist, bake for another few minutes until fully cooked.
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Keep a close eye on the cookies to make sure they dont over-bake.
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This will give you a soft mandelbrot cookie.
