Matzo Crack

Matzo Crack

Adapted from Marcy Goldman and David Lebovitz by Blue Heron Kitchen

If there’s one confection you add to this year’s seder table, make it this one, Crack. You can prepare it now and keep it in the fridge or freezer (but you may finish it before your seder). 

It’s simple to prepare and lifts matzo out of the dessert onto the dance floor. Crack is why you should get the 5 lb. (Israeli) for free or $2.99 (Streits or Manischewitz) with the coupon at Stop and Shop, (even if you live alone or you're Catholic or Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Jain or Gujarati or a devout Atheist). Passover is a culinarily peculiar holiday, when practicing Jews cease eating anything that’s leavened for an entire week. It's all about matzo and potatoes. 

This confection is addictive. If you don’t like matzo, you’ll like it now.

If vanilla extract isn’t in your Passover kitchen, don’t worry – omit it.

Play around with semi-sweet or dark chocolate. Omit the chocolate and make Caramel Crack (try light brown sugar and don’t forget the vanilla extract – or scrape ½ a vanilla bean into the caramel before pouring it over the matzo).

I’m going to make another batch later with dark chocolate and I'll sprinkle crispy bacon chopped candied ginger on top! 

The story of Passover is all about the Jews being enslaved and then not. Israel needs to sing “Let My People Go” and replace “My” with “Their” .. It's time to let the Palestinians that are grossly encamped "Go". What a perfect Passover is would be - no more hypocrisy! 

To those who celebrate, Happy Passover! If not, grab a box of matzo and make this - a couple of times. Got matzo? .. make Crack .. or matzo brei.

peace and love,

jane

Ingredients:

4 (6-1/2-by-6-inch) sheets unsalted matzo

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into large pieces

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

¾ tsp. kosher salt

¾  tsp. fleur de sel* (see below)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups excellent quality semi or dark chocolate chips

1 cup toasted sliced almonds or other toasted coarsely chopped nuts

* Don’t waste your precious fleur de sel in the caramel – use kosher salt. But do sprinkle fleur de sel on top for a perfect sweet and salty finish.

Procedure:

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with 2 overlapping pieces of aluminum foil that wrap over the edges of the baking sheet or parchment that extends over each side of the baking sheet.

Arrange the matzo in a single layer on the baking sheet, breaking pieces as needed to fill any empty spaces.

Place the butter, brown sugar, and 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture comes to a boil, about 5 minutes. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes more.

Remove from the heat, add the vanilla (or not)  - add it slowly, because the caramel may bubble up and seize. (That’s okay.)

Pour the caramel over the matzo and spread it evenly using an offset or silicone spatula.

Place the (careful, it’s hot!) baking sheet in the oven and bake until small bubbles cover the surface and the caramel is fragrant (do not let the caramel burn), about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the chocolate chips. In about a minute or two, the chips will have softened.

Using an offset spatula, spread the chocolate evenly over the caramel. Immediately, sprinkle with the toasted nuts and remaining 3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel.

Refrigerate the brittle until cool, about 15 minutes. 

Break into pieces and serve.

The matzo crack can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 1 week. This freezes well (and like Mallomars or Thin Mints ... you know where I'm going.)

Glazed Ginger Shortbread

Glazed Ginger Shortbread
Adapted from David Lebovitz by Blue Heron Kitchen

David Lebovitz writes that these cookies were inspired by the Ginger Crunch recipe from a cookbook called “The Edmonds Cookery Book”, first published in 1908. Edmonds is a company in New Zealand that produces baking powder. Please check out David's blog (you can link to it under "The Mother Blogs"). You'll want to subscribe.

If you love ginger and butter (or with options to further enhance flaor with cardamom or rose), you’ll adore these. And Ginger Rogers?  Yuz honors, I rest my case:

The glaze calls for Lyle’s (or other brand) golden syrup. Most U.S. markets are growing up and are selling this wonderful syrup from the U.K. If you can’t find it, try some dark corn syrup. If you’re opposed or don’t have any, you can fool around with honey or rice syrup. Agave’s okay, but it’s kind of runny and thin. If you’re committed to Agave, use the darker one.

Use a 13- by 4-inch (34cm x 10cm) rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. If you don’t have this size, use one that renders similar area. You can use an 8-inch (20cm) square cake pan or a 20 x 30 centimeter rectangular pan, but if you do, line the bottom with a wide piece of foil leaving an overhang over the sides of the pan, then smoothing the sides and buttering the inside. Once the bars are finished, you should be able to lift the foil (and the bars) from the pan easily.

If the dough is giving you a hard time and won't come together, dampen your hands and knead the dough until it does. (It doesn’t need to be perfect.) Transfer the dough to the pan and use the heel of your hand to press it evenly into the bottom. Remember, you're the boss.

Ingredients:

Cookie base
4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons, 125g) unsalted butter, room temperature [it should be very soft - truc: to hasten this process, cut butter into slices.]
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g) [I used sugar infused and perfumed with cardamom ... see below*]
1 1/2 cup (210g) unbleached all-purpose flour [I use King Arthur brand]
1 teaspoon baking powder [Rumford brand - aluminum free. Be sure it's fresh.]
1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried ginger [Be sure it's fresh. In the U.S., Penzey's is a good resource.]

Icing
2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons, 75g) butter, salted or unsalted [if you use unsalted, add a pinch of salt; it’s better with some salt.]
2 tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup [available at better markets, markets with “International” aisles (it’s European!) or online at Amazon.com]
3/4 cup (90g) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon ground dried ginger

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC.) Butter a 13-inch rectangular tart pan or another pan (see above).

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand in a large bowl, make the cookie base by creaming the butter with the sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger.

3. Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture until well-combined. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead it until the dough is relatively smooth. (If the dough is dry, dampen your hands to add a bit of moisture.)

4. Press the dough into the prepared pan and flatten the surface.

5. Bake the dough for 15-20 minutes, until it’s light golden brown.

6. Five to ten minutes before the dough is done, making the icing by heating the 2 1/2 ounces of butter and golden syrup in a small pan, then mix in the sifted (ALWAYS sifted!) powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon ginger, stirring until smooth.

7. When you take the shortbread out of the oven, pour the warm icing over the cookie base. Let sit for about 20 to 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and slice while still slightly warm.

I sliced them in accordance with the pan’s fluting, so with this tart pan, the recipe yielded about two dozen fairly thin cookies. You can slice them thicker if you want to, say, sell them in an independent coffee shop.

 * To make cardamom sugar: use a glass jar and pour about 1/3 of the way up with granulated sugar, add whole green cardamom (about one heaping tablespoon), pour another 1/3 of the way up and add another heaping tablespoon. Close the jar and in a few days, your sugar will be infused! The sugar will ‘keep’ for six months to a year. It’s great in recipes like this one, or sprinkled on top of scones or biscuits. 
For rose sugar: follow directions above, replacing cardamom with edible, dried rose buds. Rose sugar is gorgeous. You'll use it in butter cookies, buttercream, meringue and la vie en..xo