Matzah Granola
A creative way to mix up your matzah meals during Passover. This granola is such a treat, it may even tempt you to be on the lookout for matzah all year round. The coconut just sweetens the deal!
Ingredients
- 2 crushed matzah (see how I crushed them below)
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup whole almonds
- 2 TBSP safflower oil
- 2 TBSP light brown sugar
- 2 TBSP maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 275-300ºF (275 is my sweet spot, but my oven runs hot!).
- Step 2 Stir together crushed matzah with all of the ingredients except the coconut.
- Step 3 Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until very lightly toasted.
- Step 4 Let cool, break into smaller pieces if any chunks have stuck together and then stir in coconut.
Continuing on with the holiday cooking this week (did you see my Cadbury cookies?!), it was time to give that other big spring holiday some love – Passover! Marc’s favorite of the Jewish holidays, Pesach gets a lot of love in our house. And like most other holidays (no matter what religion you are), it’s another holiday that’s all about the meal, but with one very important distinction.
On Passover, we Jews eat unleavened bread (matzah) to commemorate our ancestor’s exodus out of Egypt. They didn’t have time for their bread to rise before they escaped, so when baked, instead of a loaf of bread, they were left with matzah. For those who are unfamiliar, just picture a large flat crispy cracker.
So for one week a year, during the week of Passover, there is no bread in our house and we try to find new and creative ways to eat matzah. This matzah granola is one of those very recipes. I worship granola (check out my granola muffins!), so much so that I’m surprised my first granola post is actually a matzah version. But, I didn’t go too crazy with this kosher-for-passover alternative. Essentially I’ve prepared a traditional granola and just replaced the oats with crumbled matzah. Genius right?!
A quick note when you’re prepping. I find the easiest way to crumble the matzah is using a mug:
As it’s toasting, the granola really takes on an identity of its own. I almost didn’t want to stop at 15 minutes because my kitchen smelled so amazing, but you don’t want the matzah to burn, just lightly toast. It’s pretty temping to try it fresh out of the oven, but once you let it cool, you can add the coconut and man is that worth the wait.