Guest post #3: Susan's turn

[Moriah’s parents, Susan and Ezra, visited over the Memorial Day weekend to be here with Moriah for her birthday. Susan brought two yummy treats to share. The first photo below shows Moriah lovingly admiring a piece of the chocolate chip torte after we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her and Jancalo.]

This Hungarian chocolate chip torte is quick and easy to make, and one of our family’s favorite recipes. Moriah’s Grandma Eileen was a very good cook and she loved being with her family. She regretted being an only child and always wanted a big family, so she was proud to have four children and eight grandchildren. She used to make big family dinners for every Jewish holiday. She went to college in her 40's after raising her children and got her Master’s in social work. She always said that she wanted her family to be proud of her and we were!

She would have loved to meet Dylan and your whole family, and I'm glad you got to taste her torte in Charlottesville when we came to visit.

 

Grandma Eileen's Hungarian Chocolate Chip Torte

For the crust
1 stick butter or margarine, softened [113 grams]
2 cups all-purpose flour [240 grams]
⅔ cup brown sugar [133 grams]

For the filling
1⅓ cups brown sugar [266 grams]
¼ cup all-purpose flour [30 grams]
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ cups chopped walnuts [125 grams]
1 cup chocolate chips [170 grams]
4 eggs

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    2. With your hands, mix together the crust ingredients until like sand. Then grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and pat the crust into the pan.
    3. Mix together the filling ingredients (don’t beat the eggs too much), then pour into the pan over the crust.
    4. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool, then cut into squares to serve.

Matzah Crack

Matzah is an unyeasted bread that’s flat like a cracker, eaten instead of bread for 8 days during the Jewish holiday Passover. I like to make this easy recipe for Passover every year, and again at the end of the holiday with any matzah that’s leftover. It’s so good we always wonder why we don’t make it all year!

4 sheets regular (non-egg) matzah
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces [113 grams]
1 cup packed brown sugar [200 grams]
2 cups (1 12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips [340 grams]
½ to 1 cup chopped walnuts [50 to 100 grams]
Coarse sea salt, optional

    1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
    2. Line a 13-by-18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Place matzah in an even layer on baking sheet and set aside.
    3. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add brown sugar and reduce temperature to low. Cook, stirring, adjusting heat as necessary, until sugar has completely dissolved and begins to bubble. Drizzle toffee over matzah and spread to cover using a spatula.
    3. Transfer toffee-covered matzah to oven and bake until toffee has a rich, shiny sheen, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cover with another baking sheet placed upside down to keep the heat in without touching the chocolate, and let stand 20 to 30 minutes.
    4. Remove the top baking sheet and spread melted chocolate over matzah to cover. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and optional sea salt. Transfer matzah to refrigerator and let chill at least 2 hours.
    5. Break chilled matzah into pieces.