Chocolate Almond Matzo Brittle

I know there are many recipes out there for turning matzo into candy and over the years I've tried a bunch of them, but this is absolutely hands-down, the best!! Totally addictive!! Truly, if you are making this ahead to serve for your seder or to bring to someone's house, you will have to hide the tin! Ours disappeared overnight, literally! And like all truly great recipes, it's easy to make! 

You start by fitting a layer of matzo onto a lined cookie sheet (you could also use saltines in place of the matzo). 

Then you boil together brown sugar and butter to make a wonderfully sticky toffee which you pour over the matzo.

Next you stick it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes till it's bubbly all over and golden brown.

When you remove it from the oven you quickly scatter the chocolate across the top, let it melt a bit and spread it out. 

Then if you like, you sprinkle chopped nuts and some sea salt across the entire thing.

Now comes the hard part:  Waiting for it to cool and set up! You can speed the process by chilling it in the fridge if patience is not a strong suit. After that, all you do is break it up and nibble away and away until you force yourself you to put a lid on the container! Crunchy, sweet, salty, chocolatey--the combination is irresistible. You have got to try this!!


Chocolate Almond Matzo Brittle

Makes not nearly enough to satisfy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Bake Time: 15 minutes; Cooling Time: At least 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 4-6 sheets of matzo or about 40 saltines

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into a few pieces

  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed

  • A big pinch of sea salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or cut up bars

  • 1 cup toasted chopped nuts ( I used almonds)

The Recipe

1.  Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and then line just the bottom with parchment paper. 

2.  Place sheets of matzo on the lined sheet, breaking up the matzo to fill all the the little crevices between the larger sheets.

3.  In a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar together and stir until the mixture begins to boil. Then cook it for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. You'll see that it will thicken a bit as you cook it-that's good. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla and salt and then quickly pour over the matzo in the pan and spread it out evenly as it starts to harden almost immediately. An offset spatula is handy to use here but you could also use a knife or flat spatula as well.

4.  Bake the sheet for about 10-15 minutes, till the mixture is bubbling all over and looks golden brown. You have to keep an eye on this. If it looks like the edges are getting too dark, knock the temperature down by 25º.

5.  As soon as you take the pan from the oven, scatter the chocolate all over the top and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Then spread the chocolate evenly across the top. Next sprinkle the nuts across the top and if you like, add a little more sea salt, although if you're using saltines you probably don't need to.

6.  Let the mixture cool completely, then peel away the parchment and foil, place the "cake" on a cutting board and chop into pieces. It's said that this will last for a week, but I can't imagine that happening!

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen who got it from David Lebovitz who adapted it from Marcy Goldman

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