Chocolate Passover Desserts

I’m an avid baker. I always have been, even before I started my own family at which point it becomes a touchstone to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies with your child. How many of us have made that emergency batch of cookies on a raining day, making the kitchen smell divine while at the same time providing a learning moment for your kids. That’s one of the great things about baking - its pure chemistry in action. How does that batter, that starts out wet and sloppy, with mundane ingredients like flour, baking powder or eggs, end up producing such a lovely golden confection? Every time I bake, I get the satisfaction of watching this wonder happen again and again. And I get this opportunity a lot. Last Sunday I made a raspberry tart and a batch of brownies, Tuesday evening I made oatmeal cookies, Thursday afternoon I made an apple galette, and on Saturday I made another apple galette and chocolate crunch cookies. That’s a pretty typical week for me. My family eats it up and I try not too. My son put in a request for madeleine cookies, so that’s what I have on the schedule to bake today.

I can thank my mom for my love of baking. When I was younger and used to walk home from school, I looked forward to arriving at my house to find out what she had baked. I still have vivid memories of opening the front door to be greeted by the scents of vanilla or maybe chocolate. There were many times that I just wanted to stay in that kitchen forever ensconced in the warmth of the stove and my mom. My mom wasn’t trying to be a June Cleaver. We were a large family of six children and at the time it was cheaper to make fresh baked products at home than to buy the mass produced cookies that are so cheaply offered in today’s markets. I’m grateful for the fact that she did take the time to bake and cook from “scratch” as they formed in me a lifetime love for nourishing foods and the art and craft of baking.

And so it is that next week we will be gathering together for a Passover Seder, which always presents unique problems in the dessert category. How do you bake a good dessert without flour? For me it’s the most challenging part of the meal. Baking cakes with matzo meal is a bit of a trial. The large quality of eggs that are usually added, (and I do mean large - usually 8 to 10) are suppose to add lightness to the cakes but I haven’t found a recipe that’s been worth it. They usually lack flavor and are very heavy. That being said I went in search of desserts that could handle very little flour but would taste rich and satisfying, like all good desserts should. Chocolate was the answer.

The first two years I made these brownies for Passover, they were eaten so fast I wasn’t able to try them. The third year I got smart and doubled the batch. The recipe came from a friend and remains a favorite. They couldn’t be easier to make.

• Preheat your oven to 375F.
• Melt a stick of butter.
• Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup of sugar together.
• Gradually add the melted butter and mix well.
• To this add:
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3Tbsp matzoh cake meal
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1 cup chocolate chips.
• Pour into a buttered square baking pan (8x8 or 9x9) and bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick plunged into the middle of the brownies comes out slightly moist.

I came across the next recipe several months ago and they’d be perfect for Passover, no flour required. They have lots of chocolate and coconut and are chewy, soft and moist. The recipe comes from Alice Medrich and they are called Chocolate Coconut Macaroons.

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Combine:
• 4 egg whites
• 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 3 ½ oz bar of semisweet chocolate finely chopped (all food markets carry chocolate bars in this size in the baking aisle)
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt in a heat proof bowl.
• Set the bowl in a skillet of barely simmering water and stir the mixture continuously until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is sticky and hot to the touch.
• Drop rounded tablespoons of the mixture onto a cookie sheet that’s lined with foil.
• Flatten each cookie slightly with your fingers.
• Bake for 13 minutes.
• Cool the cookies before removing them from the foil.

Make sure you put these out while the children are looking for the afikomen. That way the adults are sure to get to taste one before they all disappear.