No Bake Matzo Brittle (aka Chocolate Caramel Matzo)

This recipe really speaks for itself.  It's matzo covered in a layer of delicious caramel that snaps satisfyingly, just like a brittle should, and that caramel is covered in a thin layer of chocolate.  There can even be sea salt or chopped almonds sprinkled on top.

This is a fantastic snack, an easy dessert to make without turning the oven on, and it's great for entertaining.  Given that Passover begins this Monday the 25th, I thought it was an appropriate time to share this recipe.  I'm not Jewish, but I grew up with a good number of Jewish friends, so matzo  (note: singular is matzah) is a familiar thing to me.  I've had matzo brownies, matzo chocolate chip cookies, and matzo ball soup (which I love), but this is by far my favorite way of using matzo.  Of course, if you don't have any matzo on hand, you can also make this recipe with saltine crackers.

I feel like I must say, before sharing this recipe, that the photos really don't do this justice.  Melted chocolate and caramel are hard to capture with a digital camera in a way that captures all the beauty of the two.

No Bake Matzo Brittle (aka Chocolate Caramel Matzo)

2/3 cups of granulated sugar
2 sticks of salted butter, melted
1/3 cup of brown sugar
4 oz of good quality chocolate (I used Ghiradelli's 60% bittersweet)
6-8 sheets of matzo
**sea salt and/or sliced almonds are optional**

In a small light-colored saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the granulated sugar.  This may take 3-4 minutes.  Cook the liquefied sugar, stirring occasionally with a clean heat-proof spatula, until it turns a nice golden amber tone.   Once the caramel is the color that you want it to be (I like mine to be dark), take the saucepan off the heat.  This should all take less than 10 minutes.
Carefully add the melted butter and brown sugar off the heat.  The mixture may sputter/splatter/bubble a lot when you do this, so make sure you have no children around.
Return the saucepan to the stove and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, set up your matzo on two baking trays lined with parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil.
Chop your chocolate into smaller pieces.

As you cook the caramel mixture, it will be bubbly/frothy and will slowly thicken.  After 5-10 minutes of cooking, take a very small spoonful of the caramel drop it into a bowl of cold water.  Give it a few seconds to cool.  Remove the caramel ball.  If it is fairly hardened but a little bit pliable (think of the texture of Play Dough), the caramel is ready.  If not, keeping cooking it and check every 1-2 minutes to see if it is ready.

Once the caramel is ready, turn the heat down to the lowest setting.  Pour or spoon a small amount of caramel onto a sheet of matzah.  Spread it with your spatula and then sprinkle chocolate on top.  Do this for each sheet of matzah, keeping the saucepan on the heat when you aren't pouring the caramel (to keep the mixture from hardening).

When all of the sheets of matzo have been covered in caramel and chocolate, spread the melted chocolate (the heat of the caramel will melt the chocolate) using your spatula.  If desired, sprinkle with sea salt and/or sliced almonds.

Allow to cool and harden completely.

Enjoy!

This will keep for a week in an airtight container at room temperature (though I doubt it will last that long).