Matzah Toffee Place Cards

Pssst…this post is part of my #NextYearInPerson campaign! you can read more about that here and grab some free virtual seder invites here.

Two good things you should know about:

1. Matzah toffee. (Aka “matzah crack,” as it’s more commonly known. But I dared to utter the words “matzah crack” on Instagram last year, and people were NOT cool with it. So. We’re going with “toffee” in 2021. 😬)
   
   As I was saying. MATZAH TOFFEE. Ever had it? it’s basically the buttery, chocolatey, toffee-y (toffee-y!), crunchy, chewy, nutty, sugary, salty, questionably-named concoction of your dreams, is what it is.
   
   It’s so good, in fact, that I’m actually devoting two entire blog posts to it in the next week. This is one of them; you’ll have to wait and see what the next one’s all about.
   
   In the MEANTIME, though, I believe I am in the middle of a numbered list of good things. So:
   
2. Matzah place cards! I first noticed this idea back in the day in an issue of Martha Stewart Living (fun fact: working for Martha was my first job out of college!) and I never really got the idea out of my head. I mean. Piped chocolate on matzah to spell out the names of all of your guests. It’s just genius.

This year, as I prepped for my little #NextYearInPerson Passover shoot, I couldn’t get either of those two things out of my head: the matzah cra—I MEAN TOFFEE—or the matzah place cards. And I was further incentivized after conducting a little survey on Insta a few weeks back: Approximately 98.031094% of you wrote in to claim matzah crack-I-mean-toffee as your ultimate favorite Passover food. It actually got more votes than charoset and matzah ball soup combined, if you can believe that.

Anyway, one thing led to another, and I came up with the idea to combine the two delicacies—the place cards and the crack-toffee—into one thing. One extra wonderful thing.

Drumroll, please.

…Crack Cards!!

First order of business was coming up with a better name.

I mean, even I’m offended by that.

Second order of business was sharing the tutorial here with you guys!

At long last, here it is. This decoration-dessert-seat-locator-all-in-one is so easy to make with things you probably already have in your pantry—and if you don’t have this or that ingredient, you can always swap it out for whatever you do have. I actually didn’t have any pecans on hand when i made these because #EarlyPandemicLife, so I opted for walnuts instead. Hazelnuts, pistachios, or anything else with a subtle crunch would do just fine. Maybe not Macadamia nuts. I don’t know. Maybe they’d be fine. Does anyone else find those very difficult to eat, though?

(Relatedly, and also entirely not relatedly, did you know that Macadamia nut shells require more than 300 pounds per square inch to crack? I just read about it in this very interesting article while researching nut types, like any normal girl is wont to do on a Saturday evening. Anyway, if that doesn’t scream “thing that may not ever have been actually intended for human consumption,” I don’t know what does.)

As I was SAYING.

You can also sub out the chocolate chips for melted chocolate bars, and (if you must!) easily sub out the dark brown sugar for light brown sugar—I’ve done it. The sea salt on top is optional, too. No butter on hand? Forego the toffee part entirely and just pipe pretty names. No matzah? Um. I guess you could forego that as well.

…So basically I’ve just informed you that every single ingredient in here can be swapped out for another ingredient or forgotten entirely. In other words, this isn’t so much a recipe as a “suggestion” of something to maybe do or not do.

But no matter how you make it, I hope this simple idea brings a little bit of sweetness to your Seder tables this year, no matter the number of people gathered around them. Just don’t be surprised if the way-too-delicious end result mysteriously vanishes a few hours before your Seder. (Elijah?!!)

Edible Matzah Toffee place cards

Makes about 6 place cards.

what you’ll need:

• 3-4 sheets matzah, broken into pieces that are approximately 3″ by 5″ (or 6 mini matzahs, but these can be hard to find)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided (or whatever melt-able chocolate you can find, really!)
• 1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, pistachios, or whatever other nuts you’re able to find
• 1 teaspoon flaky salt or sea salt or kosher salt

What You’ll Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and place the matzah pieces onto it, leaving about 1″ to 2″ between each piece.
2. Make the toffee: Add the butter and sugar to your saucepan together, then cook over medium heat (no higher!), whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a low boil. Continue stirring over medium heat for another 2-3 minutes until the mixture is thick and foaming.
3. Working slowly and with great care, gently tilt the pan to pour the sugar-butter mixture down the middle line of the baking sheet, covering one half of each of the matzah pieces. Remember, the goal is leave one half “blank” so that you have space to pipe the names of your guests. (Be careful; the mixture is suuuuper hot at this point!) Use an offset spatula or dinner knife to spread the toffee evenly over that half portion.
4. Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully place on a cooling rack, then immediately scatter 1 cup of the chocolate chips on top of the toffee sections. If any stray pieces land in the “blank” section of your place cards, just pick them up quickly before they have a chance to melt and move them over to the correct section. (Don’t worry if this happens—once you pipe the names on top, any mistakes or smudges underneath will be less noticeable). Wait 1-2 minutes for the chocolate to soften, then use an offset spatula or dinner knife to spread it into an even layer on top of the toffee, trying to keep the chocolate relegated to that one section.
5. Sprinkle the chocolate layer with your nuts of choice and a fine dusting of sea salt, if desired (less is more!). Refrigerate until the toffee is firm, about 1 hour.
6. Prepare the chocolate for piping: Place the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips into a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second increments for about 1 minute, removing the bowl and stirring after each trip to the microwave. If you need to continue microwaving, switch to 10-second increments. (Yes, chocolate can “burn,” and when it does, it gets sort of chalky and is rendered unusable. So keep an eye on your microwave!). Spoon the melted chocolate into a piping bag or plastic bag. if using a plastic bag, use scissors to snip a very small hole off of one of the corners. You can always make this hole bigger if you need to.
7. Pipe the names carefully into each allotted space. Some tips here:
   – It can be a good idea to practice writing a few names on some leftover parchment paper. This way, you can a feel for how fast/slow the chocolate is moving and how much pressure is required on the piping bag.
   – Cursive is encouraged—no matter how dismal your penmanship may be!—because it’s actually the easiest, best way to keep from interrupting the “flow” of chocolate between letters.
   – Pipe diagonally, rather than straight across the “place card” section, to give yourself more room for longer names.
8. Refrigerate once again until the piped chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
9. Carefully peel each “place card” off of the foil or parchment, then use a sharp knife to remove any excess toffee from the edges (go ahead and eat those scraps!). Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use, then set your table with them! Best served cold so it doesn’t melt all over the place. The place cards can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to three months in an airtight container.