The Food Maven Diary
[Archives]

[Previous Entry] [Diary Home] [Next Entry]

04/05/2000 Archived Entry: "Mysterious Matzoh Buttercrunch"

Several weeks ago, a listener wrote and asked me for a Passover candy recipe that she said I gave out on the radio last year. It was from a good friend of yours, she said. I can remember the ingredients, she said – matzoh, butter, sugar, chocolate. But I can’t remember the directions, she said.

I don’t have a clue, I said. And I felt terrible. How could I forget this so entirely?

I must have mentioned this episode on the air, because a couple of weeks later I got a note from Mary Kuzda of Inwood, N.Y., and a copy of the recipe she had clipped from a newspaper. It was titled “My Trademark, Most Requested, Absolutely Magnificent Carmel Matzoh Crunch.” However, it didn't identify whose "trademark" recipe it was, although, Mary wrote, "You did say it was from a dear friend of yours." Perhaps, she suggested, it was Rozanne Gold. No such luck. I knew by the cadence of the title that it wasn’t Rozanne's recipe and, sure enough, I checked with Rozanne and she had no idea about it either.

Studying the recipe, however, I thought I recognized the format and typeface as Newsday’s, although I wasn’t sure. Later that day, mentioning this whole episode in the office, Heather Cohen, Joan Hamburg’s producer said, “I remember that. But it wasn’t you who gave out the recipe, it was Joan. She clipped it from Newsday.”

With that, I called my cousin Erica Marcus, a food writer at Newsday. She checked the newspaper’s data base for me and found that the recipe is from Marcy Goldman. Whew! I hate to give out recipes without proper credit, especially such personal sounding ones, and I would have been very upset to find out after publishing it on this web-site that it was Marcy’s.

Marcy is the author of A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking, a superb book that every Jewish cook should own and where you can find this recipe, along with many, many other Passover delights. The recipe is also on Marcy’s web-site: www.betterbaking.com. I’ve had it as a link from this site since day one. I suggest you go there regularly because Marcy updates her site almost daily.

Marcy is not actually a close friend, but that’s only because she lives in Montreal. Still, we do have a very active phone and e-mail friendship, and I can attest that besides being an inventive baker and cook and precise recipe writer, she is an absolutely wonderful, delightful person to have in one’s life. She’s an expert tango dancer, too, so I can’t wait for her next visit to New York (or mine to Montreal), so we can break bread together and cut up a dance floor.

I made the following recipe, by the way. It is fabulous. All I have to add to Marcy’s already meticulous directions is that I don’t think it is absolutely necessary to cover every corner of the baking pan with matzoh.

The introduction that follows are Marcy’s words, not mine.

Marcy Goldman’s
Trademark Matzoh Buttercrunch

“Some years ago I was in a Passover rut. I made scores of cakes and labored over all sorts of interesting Passover tortes and pastries. All tasty, but I noticed, as the Seder concluded, everyone was too full to do these desserts justice. Small nibbles had a real appeal. I wanted to make something modest but sweet and nut and egg free for a change.

For years, I had made a confection that called for nothing but soda crackers, butter and brown sugar. The matzoh absorbed the sugar and butter as the soda crackers did and when I discovered unsalted Passover margarine and kosher-for-Passover brown sugar, I knew I was in business.

My Caramel Matzoh Crunch (a.k.a. Matzoh Buttercrunch) was an instant hit. I printed out copies and copies of it, each year, for friends in my community. I did, by the way, credit the original soda cracker recipe. Once a neighbor gave me a copy of the recipe. Amidst the blurred print, I could make out my own stationery which had been photocopied umpteen times!

This recipe is sublime made with unsalted butter (and that is what I use when it is not being served at the Seder meals) but still wonderful made with unsalted Passover margarine. If you choose, it can also be made with white chocolate and added chopped toasted nuts, such as almonds. You do not need any special techniques or even a candy thermometer to make it. In fact, if you are terrified of Passover baking, just make this. It's a winner."

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.


Variations:
You can also use white chocolate, coarsely chopped (or both white and dark) and chopped, toasted almonds (sprinkle on top as chocolate sets).

To use white sugar: If you prefer white sugar, or if you can't find kosher brown sugar (i.e. for Passover) follow these directions: Place 2 cups of white sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water. Heat on low to medium until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until mixture turns medium amber. Pour over matzoh which is laid out on baking sheets. Spread and sprinkle on chocolate chips. NO BAKING for this version.