Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzoh Crunch

Seriously my friends, is there anything better than chocolate and toffee together?

Especially when the toffee has a brown sugar-flavored buttery snap and luscious chocolate is smeared over the top so it hardens and melds with the crackly caramelized matzoh underneath. When a marriage is this good, a picture can only do partial justice to the love that exists between the happy couple.

Shalom and gut yontiff to the happy duo!

The original recipe I presented a while back is great, but I thought I'd bring it up-to-date here, and present it once again since things get buried in archives and for reasons only the internet gods know, I can't retrieve them and give them a good shake. So I gave it a makeover (or 'relooking', as they say around here), tweaked it a bit, and enjoyed every bite along the way.

Since I'm turning back the time machine a bit, I hope for you, this recipe is unlike that Armani suit that 'someone' paid $2000 for and looked like a million bucks way back when but never wore. It would please me to no end if you find yourself taking this recipe out for a spin and using it all the time as I do.

Thankfully, this recipe doesn't have padded shoulders and an over-tapered waist, hence it should have a bit more staying power. (I still don't know what to do with that suit; it's still taking up some valuable real estate in my recently cleaned-out closet. Maybe I can be Vanilla Ice next year for Halloween?)

The original recipe I adapted here didn't include salt in the toffee mixture. But I added a good pinch of it, as well as a soupçon of vanilla too. And there's no law (yet...) that says instead of pressing some crushed toasted nuts on the warm chocolate, go minimalist and simple sprinkle a few grains of fleur de sel and roasted cocoa nibs over the top.

Lastly, don't be tempted to get all fancy and eschew chocolate chips and chop up some top-notch chocolate for the coating. Since chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape and harden firmly after they're melted, here you have my permission to break open a bag of semisweet morsels and dump those little devils over the whole she-bang instead.

Some eagle-eyed folks will notice I used chocolate but that's because my chocolate chip stash got alarmingly depleted around the holidays. But here I'm advising you to do as I say, not as I do. And while I'm on my bully-box, I know I can't force you to make make this. Although don't say I didn't warn you if you do: it's almost impossible to stop snacking on. As Carol mentioned, it makes a pretty fine breakfast treat if you're lucky enough—or smart enough—to stash away a few pieces all for yourself.

Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzoh Crunch
Makes approximately 30 pieces of candy

This recipe is adapted from Marcy Goldman of Betterbaking.com, whose latest book is A Passion For Baking. It's super-simple and requires no fancy thermometer, equipment, or ingredients. If you can't get matzoh, use plain crackers such as saltines instead and omit the additional salt in the recipe. For passover or vegans, Marcy advises that it works well with margarine. And for our gluten-free friends, this would be superb made with any gluten-free cracker. I'd love to hear about any variations you might try with it.

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

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.