WineLovers Discussion Group

This is a recipe that I believe was developed by Marcy Goldman. My wife's made it for Easter the last couple of years and it is friggin' amazing. You basically take a sheet pan, line it with whole matzhohs, pour caramel over them, bake, then pour melted chocolate chips over that. Chill and break into pieces. I'll warn you that if you sit down with a bunch of this stuff, you will encounter the Thin Mint Phenomenon, in which you swear you've only had two or three but somehow the whole batch has disappeared.

Goldman's version is a good one and may be found here on Epicurious. After making a bunch of this, my wife's incorporated a couple of modifications. Her recipe is now more like David Lebovitz's, which is what I've posted. Also, both recipes specify unsalted matzohs. We've found that it works best with salted, gluten free matzohs which have a bit more flavor than the traditional unsalted. If using unsalted matzohs, increase the salt in the recipe below from a pinch to a quarter teaspoon or so.

Caramel Matzoh Crunch, with credit to Marcy Goldman and David Lebovitz:

4 to 6 sheets unsalted matzohs
1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup (215g) firmly-packed light brown sugar
big pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (160g) semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate)
1 cup (80g) toasted sliced almonds (optional)

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet (approximately 11 x 17″, 28 x 42cm) completely with foil, making sure the foil goes up and over the edges. Cover the foil with a sheet of parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).

2. Line the bottom of the sheet with matzoh, breaking extra pieces as necessary to fill in any spaces.

3. In a 3-4 quart (3-4l) heavy duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted and the mixture is beginning to boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add the salt and vanilla, and pour over matzoh, spreading with a heatproof spatula.

4. Put the pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F (175C) degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. As it bakes, it will bubble up but make sure it’s not burning every once in a while. If it is in spots, remove from oven and reduce the heat to 325F (160C), then replace the pan.

5. Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes, then spread with an offset spatula.

6. If you wish, sprinkle with toasted almonds (or another favorite nut, toasted and coarsely-chopped), a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, or roasted cocoa nibs.

Let cool completely, the break into pieces and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. It should keep well for about one week.

Note: If making for passover, omit the vanilla extract or find a kosher brand.

Louise has made this, or something very much like it, several times. Always just irresistible.

How does the texture of the matzoh turn out?

This reminded me of a program on NPR on Matzo granola.

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/25/175234466 ... re-shelves

Jenise - The matzoh stays firm. It might have a little less snap than normal but that's hard to tell with the layers of caramel and chocolate on top of it.

Mike Filigenzi wrote:This is a recipe that I believe was developed by Marcy Goldman. My wife's made it for Easter the last couple of years and it is friggin' amazing. You basically take a sheet pan, line it with whole matzhohs, pour caramel over them, bake, then pour melted chocolate chips over that. Chill and break into pieces. I'll warn you that if you sit down with a bunch of this stuff, you will encounter the Thin Mint Phenomenon, in which you swear you've only had two or three but somehow the whole batch has disappeared.

I make the very same recipe only using saltines. You are right, it is crazy good. We took it to a family reunion this summer and it was the first sweet to disappear

I showed it to Louise -- she uses peanut butter chips instead of almonds but says "the almonds are probably better!!"