Ready, Set, Passover with Simply Beautiful Eating
I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not a big fan of Passover foods and that’s mainly because matzah really does a number on me. It takes a few twists and turns to get me to fall in love with a recipe that incorporates this unleavened product. BUT……
This folks is one of them.
Well? Why not? A piece of cardboard covered in toffee, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts is going to sell me on eating matzah, that’s for darn sure. I know many of you who love matzah. I’m not sure why. I prefer the texture of the box as opposed to the matzah. Each year, I try to devise ways to hide it. I will crumble, crush, soak, fry, bake and man handle that freekin' matzah until those 8 days have PASSED over.
BUT LOOK…..just take a second glance and behold the beauty of this crunch below↓
It makes me almost want to say ……
I LOVE YOU MR. MATZAH MAN.
Almost.
This is one recipe that is tried and true. Back a few weeks ago, I made a very similar treat (with the same base of ingredients) for Easter. The only difference was there was no matzah in sight. The first layer was made with graham crackers and it was absolutely addictive.
This crunch, or crack as some call it, is the same. TOTALLY and UTTERLY insanely addictive. Once you break off one piece, the rest seems to make its way into your mouth until it’s ALL GONE.
But how do you spell Matzah? Well, I just spelled it M.A. T.Z. A. H.
But on occasion I spell it M.A.T.Z.O.
Or even M.A.T.Z.O.H.
Or when there are lots of them around you use the plural matzot or matzos.
Anyway you spell it, it’s still the same cracker just like there are sixteen ways to spell H.A.N.U.K.K.A.H:
Hanukkah
Chanukah
Hanukah
Hannukah
Chanuka
Chanukkah
Hanukah
Channukah
Chanukka
Hanukka
Hannuka
Hannukkah
Channuka
Xanuka
Hannukka
Channukkah
Channukka
Chanuga
So here’s the thing. If you are making this crunch/crack/whatever and bringing it to a home that is strictly kosher you will need to make it dairy free or what we refer to as PAREVE. What that means is this. NO BUTTER ALLOWED. I think you know what I’m going to say next.
Margarine is your only option for the non-dairy thing. I can’t even believe I’m saying the word M.A.R.G.A.R.I.N.E. because technically that tub of yellow plastic goop really isn’t a real food substance. It’s a chemical mixture of this and that. Now, having said that, I’m sure if you are not opposed to using it to bake with, go right ahead. What I haven’t investigated yet is trying this recipe with a vegan butter substitute. Oh. And coconut oil isn’t going to work. It will give this crunch a completely different flavour and texture. Don’t even go there or you will end up with a greasy, soggy matzah mess.
If anyone has time to experiment with other fat based options, please let me know if you have any success. In the meantime, I’m sticking with good ol’ butter.
You can get really creative with this matzah crunch. What I did last night was raid my pantry and came up with a bunch of nuts and dried fruit to sprinkle over this crunch. And you can make this with any type of chocolate (I prefer dark or semi-sweet).
Add other toppings, such as sprinkles and candies, to light up the kids lives (or yours if you like loads of sugar). Just keep in mind that if you are making this Kosher for Passover it needs to be rubber stamped with approval and you will be paying triple the price for ALL THE INGREDIENTS. Such is life.
Oops ! I almost forgot to tell you this. On Wednesday April 20 I will be taking over The Feed Feed's Snapchat to bring all of you a live step by step tutorial on this sweet deliciousness. Don’t forget to follow along at THEFEEDFEED. See ya there!
FRUIT & NUT MATZAH CRUNCH 3 - 4 pieces of plain matzah 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks cut in chunks) 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of sea salt 1 cup chocolate chips, I used mini semi sweet and threw in about ¼ cup extra Assorted dried fruit and nuts, I used sliced almonds, crushed pistachios, dried cranberries, dried apricots. Optional - White chocolate drizzle - ¼ cup melting chocolates (microwave in small bowl for 30 second increments until melted, stir at 30 seconds and then stir at a minute.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Line a 11 x 17 baking sheet with foil and top with a piece of parchment paper. 2. Place matzah pieces on the sheet, using smaller pieces to fill in gaps. 3. Preheat oven to 350F. 4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat until boiling. Stir constantly until the mixture is bubbly and thickens. About 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't scorch.
5. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. 6. Immediately, pour hot toffee mixture over the matzah. Place in oven for 15 minutes watching that it doesn't burn. I checked it at 10 minutes and needed to turn the temperature down to 325F.
7. Once the matzah is nice and bubbly remove from oven and pour the chocolate chips over. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then spread the melted chocolate with an offset spatula to cover right to the edges. 8. Sprinkle with desired toppings and let cool completely. Once cool, you can drizzle melted white or any flavour chocolate for a nice touch. Let it set in fridge for 30 minutes. 9. Once it's hardened, break into pieces and serve or store in an airtight container for up to a week (that will never happen though)
Happy Passover & see ya next week!
