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Man, thats the kind of picture you want to see first thing in the morning. Yum! Id love to sink my teeth into that with a large cup of coffee.

Wow, that's a pretty yummy looking breakfast idea! This recipe is looks pretty idiot proof and no thermometers in your saucepan. What valid excuse is there not to try this?

brian: I don't know...I couldn't think of any excuse either!

That looks fantastic! We're huge fans of chocolate-covered matzoh around here; we get several boxes of it in the mail from my grandmother around Passover every year (she gave up on sending the gefilte fish and macaroons, she just sends the matzoh now!). This looks much, much better than the boxed stuff! Maybe I'll send my grandmother a batch of it this year instead. ;)

I have the recipe for your original version and have made it. It was a good way to use up matzoh after passover, even though I can buy it year round. I think that when I made your original recipe I sprinkled some of it with dried cranberries, as appropriate at step #6.

When I saw the beginning of this post in my news reader I thought you were repeating posts and was going to make reference to the Hollywood writer's strike. Then I read the entire thing here at the website.

Thanks for resurrecting that recipe, which looks delicious. Can I find matzoh here, like at Carrefour or Intermarche I haven't looked so far, but I don't seem to remember seeing it.

Hey, do you have any suggestions for the person who, like me, finds herself with a bowlful of leftover Pierre Herme Lemon Cream in the fridge? Besides a tart, I mean. In its original incarnation it made a little tiramisu-dealie with biscuits rose de Reims, but there's a lot left. Being that it's incredibly delicious, I'd like to make really good use of it, and you're the likeliest source of inspiration I know.

Oooh...sounds like cracker toffee! Though we used to use graham crackers in place of the crackers.

I grabbed this recipe the first time you posted it, and make it all the time, to wild acclaim. Now I've got something to do with the cocoa nibs that have been floating around in the back of my cupboard for a bit, waiting for a recipe.

Any way to disguise matzo with chocolate and caramel is always a hit at our seders. Who know you could use the words "matzo" and "yummy" together?

p.s. I think to make it completely kosher for Passover you have to leave out the vanilla because it comes from a grain. (I'm not that strict so I don't know for sure.)

Uh oh. I know where this is going now. I think I just found a new use for the home made crackers. And here I was congratulating myself for using my machine to create savory treats. It never lasts.

If you are unable to find matza, you can also use saltines (unsalted or regular, just reduce the salt in the recipe). I make it that way all the time, but i will definitely try it with matza during passover. I just absolutely refuse to eat matza any other time of year.

Am I the only one around who loves matzoh?
Hello?

Peanut butter & jelly on matzoh? Butter and coarse salt on matzoh? Chopped liver? Oy! What's wrong with you people : )

Abra: You can find matzoh or pain azyme in most markets, in the cracker or cacher aisle. (And hope you try the cake idea I emailed you.)

Andrea: LOL. I should re-write the post...or go on strike too.

Hilary: Vanilla is a pod from an orchid so I think the beans may be kosher, but once steeped in alcohol, any grain in the liquor might be the culprit. But I'm not sure either. There is kosher vanilla out there, but it can easily be omitted too.

Or you could add some Manischewitz ...
...just kidding!...

Risa: Use those nibs~Brownies, cookies, waffles, granola—I like them in everything.

Note: Sometimes they look whitish if they haven't been used in a while. That's often the fat rising to the surface and isn't a problem. So don't chuck 'em, like some people do, unless they're really old.

i made this a few years ago, using real butter, for a non kosher passover seder, and it was so easy and delicious i couldn't believe it.

We make this every christmas, only we use saltines and add chopped pecans as a topping. Wonderful!

WOW! Thanks David! I'm making this for Wed. evening!

:D

I've had many a regular toffee making failure, but this recipe looks pretty darn easy & potentially successful even for me!

Vanilla extract is typically alcohol based, which might be grain alcohol but it could also be rum, which would be sugar based and therefore OK? I'm just a gentile...

Yum, David, I'm so totally going to make this -- thanks for the new revision! And yes, so my little dairy/egg/nut-allergic boy can have some, I'll be using vegan margarine ("buttery sticks") and will use toasted cocoa nibss. Man, it's going to be great! And I'm with you, I like Matzo too. Toast it (watch carefully, it burns quickly), spread with high quality butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Yum.

Jessica: Toasting matzoh??

Now that's just crazy-talk...

; )

David - no, you are not the only person around here who loves matzoh. Regardless of whether it's covered in chocolate and toffee. I love matzoh too!

But then, is that surprising, coming from the person who cheers at every mention of prunes?

oh, this looks fantastic. how well does this keep? i am thinking about using them as a party favour this coming weekend.

ça me rappelle les mendiants/florentins, couverts de chocolat :)

I was some right now!!!

I used to love matzoh with mayonnaise when I was in college...sometimes all I could afford. For Risa, ever try putting a measure of those cocoa nibs in the filter basket of your coffee pot, with the coffee? YUM!

I thought I hit the wrong button, wondering why I had ended up at an old post that has kept me reading your blog since. The first recipe was a revelation, truly addictive, I can't imagine what will happen with the new and improved version.

Mary-
Holy crap. I think that might be the best idea I've heard in ages. Roasting some up now to throw in tomorrow morning's coffee.

great photo, great recipe...and no, there is nothing better than chocolate and toffee.

I absolutely love this recipe, thanks for bringing it to my attention. I will be making it for some toffee loving friends very soon...and I won't forget to set aside a small stash for myself!

All Nielsen-Massey vanilla products are kosher. (I just visited their manufacturing facility in Waukegan, Illinois near Chicago - and happen to be writing about them.)

And David, if you made these wearing that 2K suit, I'm sure no one would notice the padded shoulders, tapered waist, or baggy trousers - they came with baggy trousers didn't they? ;)

Pose in the suit for posterity, then list it on CraigsList as Vintage, collectible, museum-quality, limited edition (for that kind of money, you saved the label with the serial number, didn't you?)....going for about 15K--in Euros, with a very very slight dollar discount. You watch--with the writer's strike on, and the Oscars hung up, someone from Houston will figure they've got a chance and email to ask if it goes with boots.

If you're serving the matzah crunch at a seder, bring it only at the end, or no one will eat anything else and your aunt will be insulted. Warn people not to make a Hillel sandwich with it so you won't be insulted. The apple haroset might go ok, but the horseradish? Feh!

I've been trying to get this recipe right for years, but for some reason, my caramel layer always feels a bit gritty in the mouth and usually has a burnt molasses flavor, too. I've given up on the oven method and substitute a traditional english toffee instead (it uses corn syrup and water and has a smoother snap), but I would prefer to be able to make it this way -- I find that sticking the whole shebang in the oven allows the matzoh to absorb the butter, which tastes more decadent. Any extra tips or details on how to successfully make the crunchy caramel part would be so appreciated! Like, for example, after 3 minutes of boiling, should the butter-sugar mixture still look sugary/grainy when I pour it out?

One year on Passover, my best friend's mom made matzoh toffee and I think we ate the entire batch in one sitting... I was so sick! I don't think I've ever been able to look at it the same way. Yours, however, looks divine. :)

Hi David!I have just discovered your blog and it is wonderful. ;)

mimi

Louisa, there is a difference between kosher and "kosher for Passover."

Hilary: Here's hoping Louisa will chime back in, but here's a pretty interesting description about the difference between kosher versus kosher for Passover.

Charlene: The brown sugar should dissolve after all that heavy-duty boiling. Try using a 'real' brown cane sugar like C&H (I think Domino on the east coast is the equivalent.) You can also find muscovado sugar are specialty-food stores too.

To test your brown sugar, rub it between your fingers: if the brown coating rolls off, it's likely beet sugar sprayed with a syrupy coating and that may be your problem.

I think these would disappeared in no time at my home. Looks yummy!

There are many reasons I adore you, but turning Matzohs into something other than a bland cracker has got to be in my top ten. Shalom right back at ya (and kiss, kiss too).

No matter what else I serve, this is everyone's favorite at the Seder. It's impossible to make too much.

DebbieN, please, what is a Hillel sandwich?

Shalom to you too David, indeed Shalom to all of of you. As for the gut yontiff (or git yontaf, dixit my grandma), I'll wish it back to you in about three months, before the seder.

I'll even try this recipe, despite my skepticism about anything done with matzos, except matzobrei.
No more war, more Shalom.

This looks amazing--if I can find matzoh in Iowa, I'll make some to bring up to my dad this weekend when he has surgery--what's better for recovery than candy? Besides, I made your Chocolate Almond Buttercrunch Toffee on Saturday to take to him, but we already ate it all...
Actually I have a question about that. It was my first time making toffee, so not sure if I did something wrong. Before the mixture got to 300 degrees like the recipe calls for--actually I think it was at about 240, it started to smell burnt, and was smoking a bit. I pulled it off the heat and decided it was done. It turned out perfectly, so I'm wondering if my candy thermometer is off? It's a new one. Is there any way to calibrate it??

Wow, I am astonished. I can't believe people eat matzo by choice. Unless it's Passover, you won't find that stuff in my house.

This is why I love food blogs! :)

Simona, I think it's your thermometer. I've made the CABT a few times without the smoking part ;)

Sorry, the post above was for Diana, not Simona...

(David, my apologies)...Simona, a "Hillel sandwich" is just what we call it in English--it's the part of the seder where after you say the bracha over the maror (bitter herbs) there's a description, at least in Ashkenazi haggadot, of a sandwich Rabbi Hillel supposedly made with matzah and maror--somehow that's evolved to make a matzah sandwich with apple haroset and horseradish to mix the bitter with the sweet.
It's kind of a later historical tradition added in to keep things interesting while you're waiting for the next cup of wine. Haroset and horseradish is a combination not found in nature, I fervently hope, and I'm not sure the matzah improves it, but I like it anyway--once a year, as Hilary says.

It's definitely an acquired taste. And it's fun to see the expressions on the faces of any non-Jewish friends at the table (how do you test your sister's new boyfriend for staying power? If he doesn't run screaming from the room it's a good sign. If you're hearing the story again ten years later it's also a good sign. He was paying attention...)

Chocolate AND toffee! What a perfect recipe for someone named StickyGooeyCreamyChewy! I could eat this stuff all day!

Dana: You can check the accuracy of your thermometer by putting it in a pot of water and bringing it to a boil: at sea level, it should read 212F.

Make sure the bulb of the thermometer isn't touching the bottom of the pan, which is usually hotter than the water.

Thanks for the quick response! I'm off to check my thermometer now...

oh my, what a lovely variation on serving matzoh!! looks so luscious and decadent!!

This looks amazing! Amazing!!
Not sure if we get matzoh here in NZ, but then I've never looked for it and besides I'm sure to find a ok substitute - and this looks far too good to pass up!! YUM!

Man, those look sooooo good! My mom and my aunts are planning their Europe trip, they'll be stopping over to Paris any suggestions what are the things they shouldn't miss?

David, I didn't think the original recipe could get any better but this one is over the top Super Fabulous. Thank you.

Excellent point on kosher versus kosher for Passover. I seem to recall that Passover potato vodka is allowed during the holiday; if so, it would be great to have a recipe for homemade pesahdikh vanilla extract. Another option might be to make vanilla brown sugar by putting the brown sugar in an airtight container for a couple days first along with the seeds of a vanilla bean.

My usual preferred festive Passover dessert is mocha-cinnamon merengues crumbled over homemade cinnamon ice cream or Dr. Brown's pesahdikh root beer with homemade vanilla ice cream in it for the float! However, I will add the matzoh crunch to the list . . . it would make a perfect hostess gift when we go to seder out of the house.

As someone who craves tasty food during Passover, a post on pesahdikh sweets would be very welcome in mid-March or so . . .

For this, I would have wandered 40 years in the desert too! It looks divine and I can't wait to try it. Might make it for Valentines Day treats this year...

Ms. B, or you could just use imitation vanilla (I know, I know, but it's for Passover).

Simple Pleasure:

You should check out the post I recently did; 10 Insanely Delicious Things You Shouldn't Miss in Paris.

Also over in the Categories, in the upper left box, there's tons of other Paris tips as well.

For Bron: I've found Matzoh on sale in my local supermarket (a New World in Wellington, NZ) usually at the time leading up to and the time of Passover.

For David: thank you for a wonderful recipe, and for your amazing site which I've only just discovered, and have "devoured" it all

I made this last night with my daughter....so good!
Here's the picture of our batch.

Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you Hillary. I am always very interested in the various traditions. I'll look in our Haggada this year, I wasn't even aware that there are serious differences between the Ashkenazy and Sephardic ones ( I know there are differences in the songs/music). But we do eat matzo with Haroset, which my mother ( 88 YO and and very active) has to prepare in industrial batches as it's so good and popular ( we only LOOK at the maror). As we really eat Matzo only at the SEDER ( we are not religious) , I'll give a try to the cruchy ones, maybe my grandchildren will become more positive about Matzos ( they do expect however the Aficoman - ALL of them).

No more war, more crunchy chocolate matzos!

dana - you shouldn't have any problem finding matza in iowa if you are in the Des Moines area. The majority of kosher chickens in the US are processed in Des Moines and the surrounding area by the big players in this market like Empire. Many of the people who work there are very observant Jews, and there is a sizable orthodox community there. I would think you would be able to find it in any major supermarket year round, not just before passover.

Shira-
Thanks for the info--I had no idea about the kosher chickens, etc. I'm near CR, not DM, but I'm pretty sure I've seen Matzoh in our store. If the weather clears up I'll check it out tomorrow!

My cousin just sent me a text message: "MFK Fisher writes about melting dark choc w crushed saltines - fabulous!" (She is reading one of her books right now...ironically, I got that message while I was blogging about MFK's ginger cookie recipe). Obviously, we love the salty cracker and chocolate combination. I'll have to try your recipe the next time she visits.

You had me salivating at "brown sugar-flavored buttery snap and luscious chocolate." Luscious indeed.

Okay, David. That's IT. From now on when I eagerly read your blog I'm going to cover my eyes and just peep between my fingers. How CAN you post such enticing photos that make me want to go consume every bit of chocolate in the house?

Seriously, though, reading your blog is the only thing that inspires me to want to cook. If I could make chocolate-covered matzoh like that, I'll get back in la cuisine, and invite friends for tea.

I love warm matzoh with honey comb .......but I am making yours!

OMG. I am so making this and some vanilla bean ice cream for dessert on Saturday night!

My guests are all on their New Year's Resolution diets, but I say FAH! More for me if they pass :)

I just made a batch for myself and its MIGHTY TASTY.

thanks

shawn

I made this for my family for new years for the first time and they LOVED it! I have to admit that when I first tried it at a friend's house, I couldn't stop eating. I used saltines instead of matzoh and add white chocolate chips to get that fancy swirly effect. Soo good!

I can't take credit for the name, but amongst my friends it is referred to as Matzo Crack...The stuff is addictive!

I've been making this for years, every Passover. I use walnuts, though, instead of almonds. I love it with walnuts! I also make a batch without nuts for the friends who don't like nuts. (I personally think that THEY are NUTS! How can ya not like nuts??)

Thanks for the fabulous recipe! I've made it twice now - the first time I used the metric weights given and (while delicious and still crunchy) the result was very greasy and the chocolate didn't really set. The second time I used about 125g of butter instead, with spectacular results.

Could there be a problem with the metric conversion? I used the tray size given but I could only fit about 3 matzohs in it in a single layer, so maybe that affected how much butter it could absorb?

BTW, I can't believe anyone could eat this for breakfast!!

Hi Lara: Depending on where you live, butter is quite variable. For example, the butter in France is higher in fat than American butter, so I did make an adjustment based on that.

125g is about 4 oz, one stick, or 1/2 cup of butter.

Glad you made the adjustment for what's available where you live...and yes, I can eat this for breakfast!

Thanks for your response, David.

I'm in Australia, but I always use European-style butter for baking so that explains it! I often find I need to adjust the quantity of butter (i.e., halve it) when I use American recipes. I once made some brownies that ended up with a congealed layer of fat on the bottom - they were delicious, but all my friends thought I was trying to kill them!

This recipe was fantastic! I whipped it up in a half hour, and my husband and I consumed them almost as quickly. I used saltines, chopped up chocolate (I'm having a hard time finding chocolate chips here in Brussels--ironic, this being the chocolate capital of the world). Oh, and a sprinkling of fleur de sel? Divine.

Who would have thought Matzoh could be so tasty...

Just discovered your blog last week and made this today. Not only is it easy to make, it is so much fun too (never made toffee before for some reason - great to watch and handle that gooey, sticky, bubbly mess).

David, thanks for the great recipe! I made it with milk chocolate, my sweetheart's fave. He loved it, so I'm going to make him his own batch, with almonds in the toffee and shredded coconut, for Valentine's Day. I'm posting a link on my blog to your recipe. Merci bien!

Evil! Evil! We're on our 4th pan this week. I actually jones for the matzoh crack. We do 70% choc, toasted pecans and fleur de sel. The perfume of the toffee wafts through the house for hours....matzoh crack. Aaaaaahhhhhhhhggggg....
Thanks!

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