Chocolate Toffee Matzo Crack

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With layers of matzo, crunchy toffee, chocolate, and sea salt, matzo crack is an absolute must for Passover!

Matzo Crack on and around a black plate.

If you like Heath bars, you’ll love this homemade chocolate toffee candy. It’s made with matzo, a Jewish cracker-like flatbread, and called crack because it’s so hard to resist. (Get it? Crack-ers.) Originally created by cookbook author Marcy Goldman of Better Baking, matzo crack is the Jewish version on crack candy (or Christmas crack), which is made from saltines. Both recipes have a crispy, flaky cracker layer topped with buttery toffee, melted chocolate, nuts, and sea salt. And the best part is that it’s easy to make – no candy thermometers, special equipment, or tempering of chocolate required.

Matzo crack is a dessert staple during Passover at our house, along with chocolate chip meringues, coconut macaroons, and flourless chocolate cake.

What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Toffee Matzo Crack

ingredients for matzo crack

Step-By-Step Instructions

Begin by arranging the matzos in a single layer on a baking sheet.

matzo arranged on baking sheet

Make the toffee: Combine the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan.

butter and brown sugar in sauce pan

Bring to a boil.

Sauce pot of boiling toffee.

Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until foamy and thickened, about 3 minutes.

foamy boiling toffee

Pour the toffee over the matzos and spread into an even layer with an offset or rubber spatula. Be very careful – it’s very hot.

spreading toffee over matzo

Bake in the oven until bubbling all over, 8 to 10 minutes.

boiling toffee on matzo

While it’s still hot, scatter the chocolate chips over top and let sit for a few minutes to soften. Then, use a spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer.

spreading chocolate chips over toffee

Sprinkle with chopped pecans and sea salt.

sprinkling with nuts and salt

Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares.

cutting matzo crack into squares

Eat and enjoy or give as gifts.

Matzo Crack on and around a black plate.

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Chocolate Toffee Matzo Crack

With layers of matzo, crunchy toffee, chocolate, and sea salt, matzo crack is an absolute must for Passover!

Servings: 35 2-inch squares
Total Time: 30 Minutes, plus 45 minutes to chill

Ingredients

  • 4-5 lightly salted matzos (preferably the Streit's brand - see note below)
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 (12-ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
  • 1 heaping cup chopped pecans (toasted if desired, for maximum flavor - see note below)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes or kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil, making sure the foil goes up and over the edges, and top with a sheet of parchment paper.
  2. Cover the baking sheet with the matzos, cutting and piecing them together as necessary to fill the entire pan.
  3. Make the toffee: Combine butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture comes to a boil. (If it looks like it’s separating, just keep stirring; it will come together.) Once the mixture comes to a boil, continue cooking and stirring for another 3 minutes until foamy and thickened. (Be extra careful -- the toffee will be very hot!) Immediately pour the toffee over the matzos and, using a spatula, spread into an even layer.
  4. Put the pan into the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the toffee topping is crackled and bubbling all over. Remove the pan from the oven and place on wire cooling rack on the counter. Immediately scatter the chocolate chips evenly over top. Wait 3 to 5 minutes for the chips to soften, then use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer. Sprinkle with the pecans and sea salt. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 45 minutes. Don't leave it in the fridge too much longer, otherwise it will be hard to cut.
  5. Lift the foil overhang to transfer the matzo crack onto a large cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, cut into 2-inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and serve cold.
  6. Note: I love Streit’s lightly salted matzos for this recipe but any brand will work. If you can only find regular salted matzos, cut back or omit the sea salt at the end. If you can't find matzos, substitute Saltine crackers and omit the salt. You'll need enough to cover the entire sheet pan.
  7. Note: It's a good idea to toast the nuts for maximum flavor but, truth be told, I never bother.
  8. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The toffee can be frozen for up to 3 months: Place the toffee in an airtight container. It can be eaten directly from the freezer or, if you’d like, remove the toffee from the container and let it come to room temperature.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (17 servings)
  • Serving size: 2 squares
  • Calories: 166
  • Fat: 9 g
  • Saturated fat: 4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 22 g
  • Sugar: 14 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 2 g
  • Sodium: 36 mg
  • Cholesterol: 14 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

  • toffee made with parve margarine didnt thicken

  • can parve margarine be used to make toffee

    • must use butter. this is a dairy recipe

  • It was delicious. I cooked the toffee part a few minutes longer and mixed a combo of semi sweet and dark chocolate. Next time I would use all dark chocolate because it is VERY sweet!

  • THese are amazing all year round!! My Family LOVEs these! I don’t use the salt, however.

  • The best thing that ever happened to Matzo! I make it every year for our seder, but have to hide it from my husband until that night or it would mysteriously disappear!

    • — Cherie Fasbinder
    • Reply
    • Does this freeze well?

      • Yes, it freezes nicely!

  • Excellent and easy! I make another snack similar to this that uses saltines -it’s really good so I had to try this recipe too. I love Matzo and figured if you put chocolate on it what could be better? They are wonderful! So easy to make, great to take to luncheons at work, give as gifts, or eat all by yourself. This has become one of our favorites for sure!

  • Hi Jenn,

    Can I use margarine instead of butter? Would it still taste the same? Could I also use dairy free soy free chocolate chips instead? My youngest has a dairy and soy allergy but loves chocolate and matzah so would love to be able to make these and have her be able to enjoy them as well.

    • Hi Shira, I wouldn’t recommend margarine here – I’m sorry! And I haven’t tried this with dairy-free chocolate chips, so I can’t say for sure. If they melt okay, they should work. Hope that helps!

    • I’ve made it pareve. Must use Fleischmans unsalted margarine (Earth Balance was a disaster ) and even with that the toffee is thinner than if made with butter. And I use Scharffman’s semi-sweet chunks and chop them up a bit. Much superior to pareve choc. chips. All in all, still very good and it gets gobbled up. And I like the small amount of sea salt – and it must be sea salt – on the top.

  • I made this tonight as a practice run for a weekend potluck and it was excellent! I took it to my husband’s work and all the employees liked it too. I’ve already put half in the freezer and am hoping it holds up well until Saturday.

    The only modifications I made were: i. not using foil (because I didn’t have any) and ii. using half a bag of chocolate chips. It was plenty sweet with the half bag; I think I’ll stick with using half in the future as well. I had the matzos in my pantry for 2 weeks but everywhere I went pecans were so expensive. Even at Walmart they only had the giant $10 bags of pecans. Surprisingly, at Whole Foods, I found the best deal, which was in the trail mix bulk bin section! I got a scoop of pecans for $2 which is all that I needed for this recipe.

    [Cost:
    Streit’s Matzo $3 for 11 pieces, Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips $3 for 1 bag, Butter $3 for 4 sticks, Brown Sugar $1, Pecans $2 for 1/4 lb. These quantities were enough for 2 batches, so it is approximately $6/batch. ]

    I would definitely make this again; thanks for your detailed recipe.

  • Hi! I made this today for a friends birthday this weekend. He mentioned a few days ago that he could eat his weight in this dessert! I’m going to surprise him with it. It’s in the fridge now. I cant wait to try it!! It really was super easy. I couldn’t find the Streits salted or lightly salted….just unsalted….so I used salted butter and just a little kosher sea salt on top!

  • I made it! Very good.

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