Kosher for Passover Macaroon Fudge Bars

Here is a delicious, fun way to use up your leftover Passover macaroons. Every year I buy a container because it's tradition, but 8 days later, Passover is over and I usually have more than half the container left. No more waste! I love repurposing ingredients. Marcy Goldman came up with this genius recipe where you basically make a Kosher for Passover brownie and then fold in chopped macaroons. It tastes even more delicious if you use her glossy fudge frosting on top. These are dense, not light, so I'd recommend cutting the brownies into bite-size pieces. And if you really want to keep things interesting, try using other macaroon flavors than chocolate. Doesn't Manischewitz make a toffee flavored one? And a banana split flavored one! Mmmmm.


Extraordinary Macaroon Fudge Bars
Recipe by Marcy Goldman in A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking
Makes about 30 squares

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine
1 1/4 cups granulated or brown sugar
1 tablespoon Passover vanilla sugar (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
3 eggs
3/4 cup matzoh cake meal
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups lightly packed quartered or coarsely chopped Passover macaroons (any brand or flavor)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8x10-inch or 7x11-inch brownie pan or (in a pinch) a 9x9-inch baking pan will do.

In a saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter or margarine over low heat. Cool to room temperature. Stir in the brown and vanilla sugars, eggs, cake meal, potato starch, and salt. Stir in the macaroon pieces.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top seems set and is beginning to take on a crackled appearance. Do not overbake. The brownies should be set and seem dry to the touch, but there should no be a dry crust around the sides.

Cool the brownies in the pan until serving time or, let them cool to room temperature if frosting. Cut into squares.


Glossy Fudge Frosting
2/3 cup water or brewed coffee
7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or Passover margarine, softened

Heat the water or coffee in a small saucepan. As it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Remove the pan from the stove and stir until the chocolate is thoroughly melted. Cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Whisk in the softened butter or margarine and spread the frosting on top of the cooled brownies. Decorate the top by running the tines of a fork through the frosting.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Melt the chocolate and butter together, then cool to room temperature...

Stir in the sugar and vanilla...

Add the eggs...
Then add the matzoh cake meal, potato starch, and salt...

Add the coarsely-chopped macaroon pieces into the chocolate batter...

Spread into a prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees F...

Cool completely...

Prepare the Glossy Fudge Frosting and spread over the cooled brownie surface...

Let the frosting set, then slice and serve!

No way! Yes way! Rocky Road Brownies for Passover

My cousin Rachael is famous for her Fudgy Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies. They're requested at all sorts of events - birthdays, get-togethers, catered events, and various milestones. They're essentially Rocky Road Bars on account of the chocolate and marshmallow combination. They are extremely rich and sweet with all the right textures and flavors going on. They look beautiful on a cookie tray and, well, you just can't say enough good things about them. But oh yeah, one more thing, they are NOT kosher for Passover. Doh!

So thank goodness for Marlene Sorosky, who developed a Rocky Road Brownie recipe that IS kosher for Passover. It's no cousin Rachael's, but it's good, and to think you could have anything remotely like the original during a holiday when flour is a no-no? Um, yeah, I'll take what I can get!


Rocky Road Brownies
Recipe by Marlene Sorosky in Fast and Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays

Brownies
4 ounces (4 squares) semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup matzah cake meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows, or large marshmallows, cut up
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Topping
1 cup mini marshmallows, or large marshmallows, cut up
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Grease or spray with nonstick spray a 9x13-inch baking pan.

To Make Brownies: In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and margarine on high (100%) for 1 to 2 minutes, or until melted. Stir well. Stir in sugar and cool slightly. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Stir in cake meal and salt. Stir in chocolate chips, marshmallows, and walnuts. Pour into prepared pan. Spread evenly.

To Bake: Bake for 30 minutes, or until set.

To Top: After 30 minutes, sprinkle brownies with marshmallows. Return to oven for 3 to 4 minutes, or until puffed but not browned. Remove from oven. Place chocolate chips in a small, heavy plastic bag. Microwave on high (100%) for 60 to 90 seconds, or until melted and smooth when pressed with fingers. squeeze chocolate into one corner of bag. Cut a small tip off the corner and drizzle chocolate over brownies. Sprinkle with nuts. Cool completely. Cut with a serrated knife into 1 3/4 x 2 1/4-inch bars. (Brownies may be refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen.)

Makes: 30 brownies.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Melt the chocolate and margarine together...

Add in the sugar...

Add the eggs...

Then stir in the cake meal and salt...

Get rid of all lumps...

Stir in the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and toasted nuts...

Spread the batter into a prepared pan...

Bake for about 30 minutes at 325 degrees F...

When the brownies are done, top with more marshmallows and return to the oven to bake until they're puffed up...

Pipe melted chocolate through a plastic piping bag or sandwich bag across the top of the brownies...

Sprinkle with more toasted nuts, then you're done!...

Passover Recipe Roundup from the Happy Go Marni Archives

I've posted a handful of Passover recipes since this blog's incipience, and with Passover just getting going, I thought I'd remind you all of the past deliciousness. Here are my Passover recipes from days gone by, pulled from The Happy Archive! Now you'll have no excuse to go hungry on Passover, or at least, here's proof that Passover doesn't have to taste like cardboard.


Surprise Meringues --> Recipe


Strawberry Sponge Cake --> Recipe


Caramel Matzoh Crunch --> Recipe


Matzah Meal Pancakes --> Recipe


Passover Rolls --> Recipe


Pistachio Macaroons --> Recipe

Spinach Matzah Quiche for Passover

I decided that for Passover this year, I was going to make one casserole-type dish that could last me the week so I wouldn't have to cook again. I sifted through several Jewish holiday cookbooks and ultimately decided on this Spinach Matzah Quiche by Marlene Sorosky. I went vegetarian because I still haven't recovered from the barbecue overload of my recent trip to Austin, Texas.

The original quiche recipe called for 10 eggs and I wanted to cut back on all that cholesterol. Since the quiches I'm used to have milk in them, I replaced some of the eggs with a cup of milk. The result was brilliant. I gave myself a big pat on the back. This is a FABULOUS quiche! I would make this any time of year it's so good. Plus, what a great way to use up leftover matzah after Passover.

Happy Passover to you!


Spinach Matzah Quiche
Adapted from a recipe by Marlene Sorosky in Fast and Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays

3 matzot, broken into 2-inch pieces
3 large eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup milk
2 cups regular, low-fat, or nonfat cottage cheese
2 cups shredded jalapeno Jack cheese or regular Jack cheese (about 8 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound trimmed and stemmed spinach, baby leaves preferred (I used frozen baby spinach and defrosted it)

Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray with nonstick spray a 9-inch square baking dish.

To Make Quiche: Place matzot in a colander in the sink and pour boiling water over. Let soak 2 minutes. Squeeze out liquid. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and whites together with the milk. Stir in cottage cheese, Jack cheese, matzot, salt, and pepper. Stir in spinach. Pour into prepared pan. It may seem like too much; just pack it in tightly.

To Bake: Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until puffed and golden. (Quiche may be cooled and refrigerated, covered, overnight. Before serving, bring to room temperature. Reheat at 350 degrees F, uncovered, about 10 minutes, or until heated through.

Makes: 8 servings.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Pour boiling water over the matzah pieces and let soften for 2 minutes...

Squeeze out the excess liquid from the matzah; set matzah aside...

Combine eggs and milk in a large bowl...

Add the cottage cheese and Jack cheese...

Add the matzah, salt, pepper, and spinach...

Spread the mixture compactly into the prepared baking dish...

Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees F...

Almost-Like-a-Bakery Traditional Hamantaschen

For Purim this year, I made chocolate-peanut butter hamantaschen, which you saw in my last recipe post, but I also made these more traditional ones by Marcy Goldman. That's because Purim wouldn't be complete without a little poppyseed filling and jam filling. Plus, since part of the fun of making these cookies is giving them away to family and friends as mishloach manot care packages, I wouldn't want my grandfathers on either side to miss out on the flavors they grew up with as little kiddos in Youngstown, Ohio, and New York.


Two years ago I blogged about traditional hamantaschen by Carole Walter. They were delicious and I will absolutely be making those again. But this year, I wanted to try a new recipe and so naturally I found myself sitting on the carpet in front of my cookbook bookcase studying Marcy Goldman's Jewish baking book. She had more than one option for traditional versions, but I was drawn to the title of this one, "Almost-Like-a-Bakery." They were true to their name and turned out yummy!


Almost-Like-a-Bakery Traditional Hamantaschen
Recipe by Marcy Goldman in A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking
Makes 4 to 6 dozen pastries

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or unsalted margarine
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice or milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Approximately 4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Golden egg wash (see recipe below)
Fillings: chocolate hazelnut paste, cherry, apricot, prune, or poppy
Regular or coarse sugar (optional)

In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening, butter, and sugar together. Add the eggs and blend until smooth. (If the mixture is hard to blend or seems curdled, add a bit of the flour to bind it.)

Stir in the orange juice or milk and the vanilla. Fold in the flour, salt, and baking powder and mix to make a firm but soft dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a smooth mass. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into 2 or 3 flattened discs and work with one portion at a time.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter and cut as many rounds as you can. Brush the rounds with egg wash. Fill with a generous teaspoonful of the desired filling. Draw 3 sides together into the center. You should now have a 3-cornered or triangular pastry. Repeat this process with the remaining dough and filling. Brush the pastries with additional egg wash. If desired, sprinkle with regular or coarse sugar, and bake in the center of the preheated oven until golden brown (18 to 25 minutes). Cool on the baking sheets.

If you prefer, this dough can be made ahead and refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, for up to 2 days, or frozen (either as a disc of dough or as already formed and filled pastries, for a couple of months). If refrigerating, allow the dough to warm up before rolling out. For frozen pastries, bake without defrosting.

Golden Egg Wash
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1-2 tablespoons milk or water
Pinch of sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients. Use a pastry brush to glaze or brush on prepared, unbaked hamantaschen.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Cream the shortening, butter, and sugar together...

Add the eggs, milk (or orange juice), and vanilla...

Fold in the dry ingredients until the dough comes together. Then let rest before shaping or wrap up and chill...

To shape, cut circles out of the dough, then brush the rounds with egg glaze and fill with poppyseed filling or jam...

Fold the sides up to form triangle cookies. Poppyseed filling here...

Apricot-jam filled with egg glaze and rainbow coarse sugar, ready to go in the oven...

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 25 minutes, then you're done!