Matzo Crack Recipe

This chocolate toffee matzo bark (a.k.a. matzo crack) recipe is a classic for a reason. Quick, easy, crowd-pleasing dessert recipe.

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Why we love this recipe

In the mid-1980s, food writer Marcy Goldman adapted the old-school saltine toffee cookie for Passover. In the decades since, the resulting matzo crack has become at least as popular as the original. I like both equally, and you can make this recipe with either matzo or saltines, without any further changes.

These treats are:

• Quick and easy to make in a nice big batch
• Crisp and buttery
• Sweet, with a subtle backbone of savoriness that makes the flavors shine
• Perfect as-is, but also easy to customize and add to if you’d like

Adapted from A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking. In this version I’ve tweaked (and further explained) the process for best results, and heightened the flavor profile just a bit.

What you’ll need

Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.

• Matzo (also spelled matzoh or matzah) is made from wheat flour and water. I like to use an unsalted version for this dish, though it doesn’t matter tremendously. Alternatively, you can use saltine crackers without making any further changes to the recipe.
• Good old light brown sugar contains a little bit of molasses, which gives you a head start on the gently complex caramel flavor we’re after.
• Use a really good-quality butter if you can. Here and virtually everywhere, I start with a cultured, salted butter from grass-fed cows. This sounds fancy but doesn’t have to be. Kerrygold, for example, is sold in most supermarkets at a reasonable price. You can use unsalted butter if you prefer, but the little bit of salt brings out the flavors without making the dish taste salty, and really elevates the result.
• You can use any style of good-quality chocolate that you like in this recipe. The original features semisweet, and here I’ve pictured bittersweet — but milk and even white chocolate work nicely, as long as you like them. You can use chips or chopped bars.
• I like to sprinkle toasted, chopped nuts on top for extra crunch and flavor. Here I’ve pictured pistachios, but walnuts, peanuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts would all make great choices. If they’re already roasted and salted, you’re good to go — otherwise you’ll give them a quick spin in a dry pan while the chocolate melts.

How to make it

Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a dreamy batch of this matzo crack recipe. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.

1. First you’ll arrange the matzo in a single layer.
2. Make the caramel, pour over the matzo, and bake.
3. Sprinkle on chocolate and let it melt.
4. Spread chocolate, sprinkle on nuts, and let it set, then break into shards. That’s it!

Expert tips and FAQs

More favorite chocolate treats

• Chocolate meringue cookies
• Peppermint Oreo truffles
• Christmas bark

5 from 3 votes

Matzo Crack Recipe

By Carolyn Gratzer Cope

This chocolate toffee matzo bark (a.k.a. matzo crack) recipe is a classic for a reason. Quick, easy, crowd-pleasing dessert recipe. Adapted from Marcy Goldman's classic cookbook A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking.

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 4 to 6 unsalted matzos
• ▢ 16 tablespoons (224 grams) salted butter
• ▢ 1 cup packed, (213 grams) light brown sugar
• ▢ ¾ cup (120 grams) chopped semi-sweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
• ▢ ½ cup (60 grams) chopped nuts, optional

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Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center.
• Line a rimmed half-sheet pan tightly with foil. Then lay a piece of parchment overtop to cover the surface of the pan.
• Arrange the matzos in a single layer to completely cover the pan, breaking them up as necessary to fill in any gaps.
• Place the butter and brown sugar into a three-quart pot. It helps if the pot is nice and heavy (to distribute heat evenly) and light-colored on the inside (so you can see what's happening with the color of the caramel). It will seem big at first, but caramel can bubble up a lot.
• Place pot over medium heat and cook, stirring, until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
• Stop stirring and continue cooking until mixture comes to a boil.
• Boil for two minutes.
• Remove from heat and carefully pour caramel over matzo, covering completely.
• Bake for 15 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.
• Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate. Let rest for five minutes.
• If you're using nuts and they're not already toasted, toast them in a dry pan over medium heat while the chocolate melts.
• Spread melted chocolate evenly over surface. Sprinkle with nuts if using.
• Let the chocolate set completely. You can pop it into the fridge or freezer (right on the pan) to speed the process if you like. This may cause the chocolate to dull a bit more than it would otherwise, but in my opinion that's no big deal when making a homey recipe like this one.
• Break cooled bark into shards or squares.

Notes

1. Matzo (also spelled matzoh or matzah) is made from wheat flour and water. I like to use an unsalted version for this dish, though it doesn't matter tremendously. Alternatively, you can use saltine crackers without making any further changes to the recipe.
2. Good old light brown sugar contains a little bit of molasses, which gives you a head start on the gently complex caramel flavor we're after.
3. Use a really good-quality butter if you can. Here and virtually everywhere, I start with a cultured, salted butter from grass-fed cows. This sounds fancy but doesn't have to be. Kerrygold, for example, is sold in most supermarkets at a reasonable price. You can use unsalted butter if you prefer, but the little bit of salt brings out the flavors without making the dish taste salty, and really elevates the result.
4. You can use any style of good-quality chocolate that you like in this recipe. Marcy Goldman's original features semisweet, and here I've pictured bittersweet — but milk and even white chocolate work nicely, as long as you like them. You can use chips or chopped bars.
5. I like to sprinkle toasted, chopped nuts on top for extra crunch and flavor. Here I've pictured pistachios, but walnuts, peanuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts would all make great choices. If they're already roasted and salted, you're good to go — otherwise you'll give them a quick spin in a dry pan while the chocolate melts.
6. Matzo crack will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for a week, or in the freezer for about three months. You can eat it straight from the freezer or defrost if you like.

Additional Info

Course: Cookies + Bars

Cuisine: American

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