Category Archives: Passover

Raspberry Coconut Macaroons

As I was scrolling through Instagram on Sunday I was mesmerized by an @thefeedfeed video for blackberry coconut macaroons. They did a collaboration with Driscoll’s Berries. I thought I was already done with my Passover baking, but apparently not! I had to make these macaroons. I deciced to make mine with raspberries instead of blackberries. The macaroon batter is simple to make and you don’t even need to bust out the stand mixer. I used my hand held mixer, but a whisk and some muscle will also work.

I have started writing my recipes using weights rather than measurements. I think that will give you more accurate results. If you don’t already have a kitchen scale (and if you have ever been to Weight Watchers, you must still have one lurking in a dark cupboard somewhere!), do yourself a favour and get one.

The addition of tart raspberries is a welcome addition to macaroons, as traditionally they can be cloyingly sweet. Plus, that pink colour is pretty fabulous. A dip and drizzle of some bittersweet chocolate makes for a very pretty cookie.

Wishing all a happy and healthy Passover. Let me know if you make these!!

Deluxe Matzoh Crunch

Montreal baker and cookbook author Marcy Goldman is the originator of Matzoh Crunch. The recipe is published in her first cookbook, “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking”. Matzoh crunch is essentially a layer of matzoh covered in brown sugar-butter caramel and topped with a blanket of melted dark chocolate.

This is my adaptation of her recipe. I have elevated matzoh crunch to the next level, by piping a decorative topping of white, milk and blonde chocolate. It looks fancy but it’s quite simple to do. 

As with anything you bake, if you start with top quality ingredients, you will yield a better outcome. Most recipes I have seen for matzoh crunch call for melted chocolate chips as the top layer. The problem is that chocolate chips are not formulated to melt smoothly. They contain less cocoa butter so that they hold their shape. This is great for chocolate chip cookies, but not so great when you want a velvety smooth coating. So start with a good quality chocolate that is meant for melting. I love Valrhona. I order it online from Vanilla Food Company.

Blonde chocolate, is a more recent addition to the chocolate family. It is essentially caramelized white chocolate. You could make your own, or buy Valrhona’s which is marketed under “Dulcey“. This is not a Valrhona sponsored post, I just really love their chocolate!

Marbled Matzoh Crunch

Marbled Matzoh Crunch is my spin on Marcy Goldman’s “Caramel Matzoh Buttercrunch”, from her classic book, A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking.

Making Matzoh Crunch, on the surface, looks like a fairly simple process.

But, there are a few details you need to pay careful attention to, so that it comes out perfectly.

  1. Make sure you line the baking sheet with foil and then lay a sheet of parchment on top of that. If you use only parchment paper, you will be scrubbing baked on caramel off the pan. If you use only foil, you will have a very hard time peeling the hardened matzoh crunch off of the foil.
  2. Do not use chocolate chips. Buy good quality bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate and chop it up, or buy couverture chocolate callets. Chocolate chips have less cocoa butter in them so they keep their shape during baking, making them more difficult to melt and they have less flavor than bars or callets.
  3. Use real white chocolate. Many products out there that look like white chocolate, especially chips, contain very little, if any, cocoa butter.They will not melt into a smooth liquid, like real white chocolate.
  4. When cutting your matzoh to fit into the baking sheet, cut along the dotted lines the matzoh has, not across them. It will cut into straight pieces.
  5. When cooking the butter and brown sugar, you will get to a point where the butter will separate from the brown sugar and look like an oily mess. Keep stirring and it will come together and thicken and bubble. That’s when it’s ready to pour onto the matzoh.
  6. Do not omit the step where you sprinkle the wet chocolate with the sea salt. Chocolate and caramel are sweet. You need the salt.
  7. Once the chocolate is set, remove it from the fridge and let it sit for about 30 minutes before cutting it into pieces. If you cut it cold, right from the fridge, the chocolate layer will separate from the caramel covered matzoh. If you wait until the chocolate softens a bit, it will stay sogether with the caramel. A very sharp knife is essential. For an alternate version, use milk chocolate and chopped toasted almonds. Also very delicious. 

Click here to print recipe for Marbled Matzoh Crunch.

Click here to print recipe for Milk Chocolate Almond Matzoh Crunch.

 

Tropical Macaroons

This year for Passover I wanted to try something a little different for our dessert table. I always make coconut macaroons diped in chocolate.   Not that there’s anything wrong with that. They’re practically perfect.

I decided to put a tropical twist on my macaroons. This year our Seder theme is to come dressed as a character from a Tom Hanks movie. (don’t ask!!). I figured that these cookies would be right at home on the set of Cast AwayI started with a recipe from David Lebowitz for coconut pineapple macaroons. Cook down some crushed canned pineapple and sugar until it reaches a jam-like consistency. I ramped up the tropical vibe with some macadamia nuts and white chocolate.
It is traditional to utter these words at the end of every Passover Seder, “Next year in Jerusalem.” It’s entirely possible these little macaroons will have us declaring “Next year in Hawaii.”

Click here to print recipe for Tropical Macaroons.

Almond Pistachio Lime Cookies

on wire rackAfter my last debacle with almond flour and citrus, you would think I’d be reluctant to go down that road again, but I guess I’m just a natural born gambler. Well, a gambler in the culinary sense, at least. I have never understood the appeal of real gambling. If I’m going to throw money away, I’d at least like to have a pair of shoes to show for it.on wire rack 625 sq3 stacks 625 sqWhen I saw this recipe for Flourless Almond Cookies with Cardamom, Orange Zest and Pistachios, I thought it would be a perfect addition to our Passover dessert table. I changed it up and used lime instead of orange and deleted the cardamom. It’s one of those flavours I want to like, but haven’t yet acquired a taste for.  I used to hate cilantro and now I love it, so there’s still  hope for cardamom.Raw ingredientsThese are a slice and bake cookie. They’re fast to make. You do need to allow time for chilling the logs before slicing, so plan ahead. The logs get rolled in finely chopped pistachios. When slicing, make sure you rotate the log 90° (a quarter turn) after each slice to keep from getting one flat side.chopping pistachiosslicing logsready to bakeI decided to glam up these cookies by adding a sweet-tart glaze. I finished them off with a sprinkling of lime zest and more chopped pistachios.glaze ingredientsglazing cookiesThese cookies are the perfect little bite to end the Passover seder with. Chewy in the center, crispy on the edges and an ideal sweet-tart balance. I also made a batch with lemon and they were fantastic.cookies with tea

Click here to print recipe for Almond Pistachio Lime Cookies.