The Amazing Matzoh Buttercrunch

Matzoh Buttercrunch is simply the best, most addictive Passover dessert ever.  And unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, chances are you've made it or eaten it.  But just in case you somehow missed this hyper-delicious treat, I'm posting it here -- even though it's a modern recipe.  (You know if I break my vintage rule, it's gotta be great.)

It was invented by Marcy Goldman, a wonderful baker, recipe inventor and writer, worth checking out at Betterbaking.com.

Lay the matzoh boards out on a baking pan, lined with both aluminum foil
and a sheet of parchment paper.

Heat the sugar and butter in a saucepan and within moments,
it will transform into the mixture below.

After the mixture starts to boil, let it cook three minutes.

Carefully pour the sugar syrup over the matzoh boards.  I used an offset spatula
to spread it evenly over the boards.

The cooked caramel does not look this orange in real life.  Here, the chocolate chips are
melting from the heat of the caramel.

No need to gild the lily, but some toasted nuts make for a lovely presentation.

Waiting for the chocolate to cool, before breaking the candy into smaller pieces.

Breaking the candy into pieces is somehow very satisfying.

Marcy's recipe and the story behind it are on Arthur Schwartz's blog, Foodmaven.com.  I've just pasted the recipe below, but do check out the story on Arthur's site.


4 to 6 unsalted matzoh boards or sheets
1 cup unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet completely with foil. Cover bottom of pan with baking parchment - on top of foil. This is very important as mixture becomes sticky during baking. Line bottom of pan evenly with matzoh boards, cutting extra pieces of matzoh, as required, to fit any spaces on the cookie sheet as evenly as possible. 

Combine margarine or butter and brown sugar in a 3 quart, heavy-bottomed, saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over matzoh. 

Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure mixture is not burning. If it seems to be browning too quickly, remove from oven, lower heat to 325 degrees and replace. 

Remove from oven and sprinkle matzoh boards immediately with chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand 5 minutes then spread melted chocolate over matzoh. While still warm cut into squares or odd shapes. Chill in refrigerator until set. This makes a good gift. You can also serve it in confectioners' paper cups as a candy.