If you’ve ever looked at a sheet of matzo and thought, “You’re fine, but you could be a little more…
dramatic,” welcome. Matzo buttercrunch toffee (a.k.a. matzo crack, matzo toffee bark, matzo brittle,
and “why did I make a double batch?”) is what happens when a humble Passover staple gets a glow-up:
crispy matzo sheets layered with buttery brown-sugar toffee, showered with melted chocolate, then finished
with flaky salt and whatever toppings your inner snack goblin demands.
This recipe is built for real life: a rimmed sheet pan, a saucepan, and about 30 minutes of active time.
The result is shatteringly crisp, deeply caramelized, and the kind of treat that makes people “just take one
more piece” until suddenly the tray is… a memory.
What Is Matzo Buttercrunch Toffee?
Think of it as a cousin of saltine toffee (sometimes called “Christmas crack”), but with matzo standing in
for crackers. Matzo’s drier, sturdier snap pairs beautifully with hard-crack toffee and chocolate, giving you
a bark that breaks into jagged, giftable shards.
It’s especially popular around Passover because it feels festive and abundant without requiring flour-heavy
baking. And yes, it’s so beloved it has more nicknames than your group chat.
Ingredients and Tools
Ingredients
- 4–6 sheets matzo (enough to cover a standard rimmed half sheet pan; plain/unsalted is easiest)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (dark for deeper molasses flavor; light works too)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (optional but recommended if your matzo is unsalted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, but it makes the toffee taste “bakery”)
- 1 1/4 to 2 cups chocolate chips (semisweet, bittersweet, or dark)
- Flaky sea salt for finishing
- Optional toppings: toasted chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, pistachios), sesame seeds, shredded coconut, crushed freeze-dried fruit
Tools
- Rimmed baking sheet (half-sheet pan is ideal)
- Heavy saucepan (2–3 quart)
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- Offset spatula or the back of a spoon (for spreading chocolate)
- Foil + parchment paper (strongly recommended for easy lift-and-peel cleanup)
- Candy thermometer (optional, but helpful if you love certainty)
The Best Matzo Buttercrunch Toffee Recipe
Step 1: Prep the pan like you mean it
Heat oven to 375°F (or 350°F if your oven runs hot). Line a rimmed baking sheet with
foil, then top with parchment. (Foil protects the pan; parchment prevents the toffee from
welding itself to your life.)
Arrange matzo in a single layer, breaking pieces as needed to fit snugly. Small gaps are okay; big gaps will
turn into “free-floating caramel islands,” which are delicious but chaotic.
Step 2: Make the toffee base
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add brown sugar and kosher salt. Stir until the
mixture is smooth and looks like glossy wet sand turned lava.
Bring to a steady boil, then lower heat slightly to maintain a controlled, bubbling simmer. Cook for
3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the toffee thickens and turns a shade darker. If using vanilla,
stir it in at the end (carefullyhot sugar is dramatic and can sputter).
Step 3: Pour, spread, and bake
Immediately pour the hot toffee over the matzo. Use a spatula to spread it quickly across the surface.
It won’t look perfect at first; the oven will help it even out.
Bake for 8–12 minutes, watching closely after minute 7. You want the toffee bubbling across the surface.
If it starts to smell sharp or looks very dark at the edges, pull itburnt sugar goes from “deep caramel” to
“campfire regret” fast.
Step 4: Add chocolate the smart way
Remove the pan from the oven. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the hot toffee in an even layer.
Let sit 3–5 minutes until glossy and soft, then spread into a smooth blanket.
Finish with flaky sea salt and your toppings of choice (nuts + salt is the classic power couple).
Step 5: Chill, break, and “oops it’s gone”
Cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes, then refrigerate until fully set,
45–60 minutes. Lift the whole slab out using the parchment, then break into pieces with your hands.
If you prefer neat rectangles, score with a knife while it’s still slightly warm, then finish chilling.
Why This Works: The Crunch Science (Without the Lab Coat)
Buttercrunch is all about reaching the right sugar stage. Toffee gets its signature snap when the sugar
cooks hot enough that, once cooled, it hardens into a brittle “hard-crack” texture rather than staying chewy.
Brown sugar brings molasses notes and helps the flavor taste richer and more complex than plain white sugar.
The oven step isn’t just convenienceit helps the toffee spread and bubble evenly over the matzo, creating
that thin, glassy layer that shatters instead of bends.
Flavor Variations That Still Taste Like “Matzo Crack”
1) Salted dark chocolate almond crunch
Use bittersweet/dark chocolate and toasted sliced almonds. Finish with a generous pinch of flaky salt.
This version tastes like a fancy chocolate bar that happens to be broken into shards like delicious glass.
2) Pistachio + sea salt (a little fancy, very addictive)
Sprinkle chopped toasted pistachios over the melted chocolate. The color is gorgeous, and the flavor leans
“dessert board at a party where everyone owns nice candles.”
3) Extra-caramel vibe
Use dark brown sugar, bake just until the bubbling is even and deep amber, and don’t skimp on salt.
The result is more “toffee-forward,” less “chocolate bark,” in the best way.
4) Dairy-free / pareve-friendly approach
Use a dairy-free butter alternative and dairy-free chocolate chips that fit your dietary needs.
(Always check labels if you’re cooking for Passover or keeping kosheringredients can vary by brand and season.)
Troubleshooting: Fix the Usual Candy-Drama
My toffee turned grainy
Graininess usually comes from sugar crystallizing. Next time, make sure the butter and sugar dissolve smoothly
before the boil, keep the boil steady (not wild), and avoid over-stirring once it’s boiling hard.
Also: use a heavy pot and medium heathigh heat is where good toffee goes to become a cautionary tale.
The butter separated and looked oily
Separation can happen when the heat is too high or the mixture cooks too aggressively. Keep the simmer controlled,
use a heavy saucepan, and don’t rush it. If it starts to separate, whisk gently and lower the heat immediately.
My matzo got soggy
Soggy usually means the toffee didn’t cook long enough to set firmly. You want a fully bubbling surface in the oven.
If you use a thermometer, hard-crack territory is around 300°F. If you don’t, look for thick, active
bubbling and a slightly darker caramel color.
The chocolate won’t spread nicely
Give it a full 3–5 minutes to melt before you touch it. If your kitchen is cold, pop the tray back into the turned-off
(still warm) oven for 30–60 seconds, then spread.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot for up to 1–2 weeks. If your kitchen is warm,
refrigerate to keep the chocolate snappy. For longer storage, freeze in layers with parchment between pieces;
it thaws quickly and stays crunchy.
Serving Ideas (Because You’ll Want a “Plan”)
- Stack shards in a jar or tin as an easy holiday gift.
- Break into smaller pieces and sprinkle over ice cream.
- Serve on a dessert board with fruit, nuts, and tea or coffee.
- Crush lightly and use as a topping for yogurt (breakfast, but make it mischievous).
Real-World “Experience” Notes: What People Learn After the First Batch (Approx. )
Matzo buttercrunch has a funny way of teaching kitchen lessons fastusually right around the moment you realize
hot sugar is not a suggestion, it’s a mood. One of the most common first-batch experiences is
underestimating how quickly the toffee goes from “bubbling politely” to “deep amber.” The best move is to treat
the last few minutes like you’re watching a suspense thriller: you don’t leave the room, you don’t start a new
task, and you definitely don’t decide it’s the perfect time to answer a text.
Another very relatable discovery: lining the pan is not optional if you value your future self. Foil plus parchment
turns cleanup into a peel-and-lift situation. Skip it, and you might spend quality time scraping caramelized sugar
while asking yourself philosophical questions like, “Who hurt me?” and “Why didn’t I listen to the internet?”
Texture-wise, people often notice the difference between batches made with light vs. dark brown sugar. Light brown
sugar keeps the flavor classic and sweet; dark brown sugar adds a deeper, almost butterscotch-like richness.
If you’re making this for a crowd that loves intense caramel flavor, dark brown sugar usually gets the biggest
reactionespecially when paired with flaky sea salt to keep sweetness in check.
Chocolate is its own mini-adventure. Some folks sprinkle chips and immediately start spreadingonly to end up with
a streaky, half-melted situation. The “experience” fix is patience: let the chips sit on the hot toffee for a few
minutes until they turn shiny, then spread. That short wait is the difference between a smooth chocolate layer and
something that looks like modern art (still tasty, but confusing).
Toppings are where personalities come out. The practical takeaway is to add nuts while the chocolate is soft so
everything adheres, then finish with salt. If you add salt first and toppings later, you risk “topping drift” where
nuts bounce off and roll away like they have places to be. Also, lightly toasting nuts makes a noticeable difference
it takes the flavor from “fine” to “why does this taste expensive?”
Finally, the biggest universal experience: this stuff disappears. People swear they’ll “just have a little piece,”
then find themselves holding a second shard because the first was “more like a corner.” If you want leftovers, the
most reliable strategy is hilariously simple: break it up, put it in a container, and hide it behind something
responsible in the fridge. If anyone asks, you have no idea what they’re talking about.
