A Passover Treat For All -- "Matzoh Crack"

Here it is, just about the simplest "candy" you will ever make (no candy thermometer needed), and it's really, really, really good. Really. If you want to add a little ecumenical confectionery to your holiday feast, try this: Matzoh Toffee Crunch.

What you need:


* About 1/2 of a box of regular, unsalted Passover Matzoh (not Egg Matzoh. Won't work.)
* 1 cup butter -- 2 sticks (Hey, it's candy. Not health food.)
(Using margarine makes this more universal if you keep kosher, but not as delicious.)
* 1 cup packed brown sugar -- light but dark works in a pinch
* 1 to 2 cups real chocolate chips or chunks (depending on how thick you want the chocolate)

* (Optional: sprinkle the top with chopped nuts. Or you can use more creative toppings, like chopped candied ginger, drizzles of melted white chocolate, melted butterscotch or peanut butter chips, ice cream "sprinkles," crushed toffee chips, whatever you like. Not anchovy-stuffed olives.)

What you do:
1) Line a big cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) with aluminum foil, and spray the foil with cooking spray.
2) Lay out the matzoh on top of the foil, single layer. Break as needed to fit, like a jigsaw puzzle.

3) Bring brown sugar and butter to a boil in a heavy saucepan.
Let it boil till it doesn't look "oily" on top, about 3 minutes.

4) Pour the butter/sugar mixture over the pan of matzoh, spread it out.
Pop the pan into a preheated 350-degree oven, for about 10 - 12 minutes, or until it bubbles on top. This may take as long as 15 minutes -- the caramel will bubble and get slightly darker, but watch so it doesn't burn, which can happen quickly.

5) Remove pan from oven and spread the chocolate chips on the hot matzoh.

Allow the chips to get glossy (melted), and then spread them over the matzoh with a knife or spatula.

6) Optional ... sprinkle finely chopped nuts or other topping, into still-soft chocolate. I melted some butterscotch chips -- I didn't have anything more exotic in the pantry -- and drizzled it with a fork over the chocolate. Not very pretty, but it will look better broken up.


And ... now let the candy cool down; you can pop it into the fridge if you are impatient. When it's COOL, you break it into smaller pieces. Taste. Enjoy. It is good, no?

Now you know why the Israelites made sure they grabbed that
matzoh they were baking before they high-tailed it out of Egypt.

This candy will keep for at least a week in an airtight container, but good luck with that.
 You can easily double this recipe, and just make two pans at once.

And a final note -- most recipes you find for this specify unsalted butter. I've used both, and I actually like the touch of salt from salted butter, as it's a welcome foil to the intense sweetness of the caramel and chocolate.  You may even want to lightly sprinkle coarse salt on top.


And a really final, final note: some folks call this "matzoh crack," if by "some folks," we mean my sister-in-law, Phyllis.  But she is right: it IS that addictive.

When it's not Passover, you can make this with unsalted Saltine crackers (haha...how funny is that? "Unsalted Saltines."). Saltine Crack is OK ... but made with matzoh the candy has a flakier, lighter base, and is just better. Plus, it has wackier shapes when broken up -- no scoring on matzoh.

A blessed Easter weekend, and a Zisen Pesach, to all.

-- Cass