It’s been a long, matzah-filled week. Here are some fun treats to keep you going. 

When Gail Pasternack found out that her son was gluten-intolerant, she and her husband scoured cookbooks to find recipes for him. “Sadly, we didn’t like most of them,” Pasternack, a writer and storyteller, told The Journal. “We found it simpler to adapt our own recipes.”

She altered Passover sponge cake recipes by substituting coconut flour for matzah cake meal and adjusting the quantities of the other ingredients. “I was nervous when I served it, because cakes made with coconut flour can get dry,” she said. “But when we cut into it, the cake was moist and delicious!” She added, “My family decided that it was the best sponge cake they’d ever had; a holiday tradition was born.”

Coconut Sponge Cake

10-12 servings 

10 large eggs, room temperature

1 lemon

1 ½  cups sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

¾  cup coconut flour

Preheat oven to 350°F

Grease either a bundt pan or a 9-inch tube pan well. If you use a flat-bottomed tube pan, grease the bottom of the pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and then grease the parchment paper. 

Separate the egg yolks and whites into two bowls.

Zest and juice the lemon.

Beat the egg yolks well with a fork and add the lemon juice and zest to the yolks. Set aside.

Add the salt to the egg whites. Beat with an electric blender until very stiff. The whites will begin to look lumpy. 

Gradually add sugar to the egg whites in small additions, and beat after each addition. The mixture will become smooth and will have a nice sheen.

With a large spatula, gently fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites mixture. Add one to two tablespoon(s) of coconut flour at a time to the egg white/egg yolk mixture and gently fold after each addition. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Once the cake is completely cool, dust it with powdered sugar (or even cocoa powder) to serve.

Judy Elbaum has been told that her chocolate filled macadamia crisps are the best Passover cookie ever. “They are delicious, addictive crowd pleasers,” Elbaum, founder of LeaveItToBubbe.com, told The Journal.

Chocolate Filled Macadamia Crisps

Makes 40 macadamia crisps/20 chocolate filled cookie sandwiches

Macadamia Crisps:

1 cup macadamia nuts (4 1/2 ounces)

1/2 cup sugar

8 Tbsp unsalted margarine (room temperature)

2 egg whites

4 Tbsp matzah cake meal

Chocolate Filling:

6 ounces semisweet chocolate

4 Tbsp unsalted margarine

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Adjust racks to middle and low positions in the oven. Line two uninsulated baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the nuts and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles a fine meal.  

Beat the margarine in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and creamy for 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the nut/sugar mixture and beat for 5 minutes, until very light.  

Add egg whites one tablespoon at a time and beat until batter is shiny and smooth, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the matzah cake meal.

Put the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip and pipe ¾-inch mounds of batter 2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.

Cool for about 1 minute. Then, using a spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the filling: Melt the chocolate and margarine in the top of a double boiler.  Cool to room temperature.

To Assemble: Spread the flat side of a crisp with a thin layer of chocolate. Top with the flat side of another crisp.  

Can keep up to two weeks in an airtight container or freeze up to one month.

Every year, Lior Lev Sercarz eagerly anticipates Passover cookies, as they evoke wonderful childhood memories. Growing up, coconut macaroons and peanut cookies were a special treat, only available during this holiday.

“When we launched La Boîte and began experimenting with cookie recipes, I realized that tahini could be a fantastic, naturally gluten-free addition to coconut,” Lev Sercarz, chef, spice master and owner of La Boîte,  told the Journal. “The result is an incredibly flavorful cookie that transcends the Passover season, a testament to the power of unexpected ingredient pairings.”

Halvaroons

Makes about 15

150 grams shredded unsweetened coconut (1 3/4 cups)

40 grams tahina (3 Tbsp)

50 grams halva – crumbled (1/4 packed cup)

30 grams sugar (2 1/2 Tbsp)

5 grams Yemen N10, or 2.5 grams ginger + 2.5 grams cinnamon (1 Tbsp)

3 grams amchoor (or 3 grams ground green cardamom) (1 tsp)

2 egg whites – beaten to soft peaks

1 gram salt (1/4 tsp)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a bowl combine all the ingredients except the beaten egg whites. Gently fold in the whites. Scoop small balls of the batter (about golf ball size) and place evenly on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 12 minutes then let cool.

If using a professional convection oven, like we have here at the shop, reduce the heat to 325°F and the baking time to 11 minutes.

It would not be a Passover roundup without chocolate covered matzah.

Allyson Stone’s family recipe is a crowd-pleaser year after year. 

“It’s essentially fool-proof to make,” Stone, founder and president of Stoneshine Ventures, told The Journal. “The steps and patience are really what makes it the most special.”

Stone’s Chocolate Covered Matzah  

6-8 sheets of unsalted matzah 

1 cup of salted butter 

1 cup of tightly packed light or dark brown sugar 

1.5 bags of chocolate chips 

½ tsp of vanilla extract (optional) 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with foil, covering all of  the edges. Line the bottom of the cookie sheet evenly with the matzahs, darker side facing up. Fill in any open spaces with smaller pieces of matzah. 

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter completely then add the brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil (about 2 to 4 minutes). Add a ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional) then stir. Let the mixture cook for an additional minute before pouring over the matzah. The mixture will spread in the oven to cover the surface completely. 

Place the baking sheets in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes or until mixture begins to  bubble. Remove from the oven and sprinkle immediately with chocolate chips. Let stand for 4 minutes, then spread the melted chocolate over the matzah with a butter knife. Refrigerate or freeze baking sheets until chocolate hardens completely. About 30 to 45 minutes. 

Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator or freezer then cut matzah sheets into squares (9-12 pieces, depending on the size of matzah squares). Enjoy!