Matzo Granola Is A Unique Spin On A Classic Snack

During the springtime Jewish holiday of Passover, matzo is a staple shared at many seders, family tables, and as a ritual among friends. Essentially, matzo is unleavened bread, consisting of wheat flour and water (and can sometimes contain eggs in egg matzo varieties). The classic flat square, which looks similar to big sheets of crackers, can be purchased in most grocery stores or online in the time surrounding the holiday. 

According to tradition, Matzo symbolizes both sacrifice and freedom, as Jewish people had only wheat and water to make bread in the haste in their departure from slavery in Egypt. To remember and honor this history, foods containing various grains including wheat, oats, rye, barley, and spelt are commonly restricted over the course of the eight-day holiday. 

During the observance or ritual, matzo is used widely across households and family meals as an ingredient used to substitute grains in a variety of favorite traditional recipes, including matzo ball soup and chocolate-covered matzo. While limiting grains, however, snack options are limited. Bon Appétit commerce producer Alaina Chou notes that "with that restriction comes the need for creativity." Inspired by a recipe in a community cookbook at her grandparents' synagogue is the answer to Passover snacking: matzo granola. Whether you're observing the holiday, want to connect to family or friends' rituals, or simply switch up your usual granola mix, matzo granola is a unique take on a classic.

The beauty of homemade granola is that once you have a good recipe, it can be customized with whatever spices and ingredient swaps you like. In her Bon Appétit recipe, Alaina Chou swaps the oats for matzo and gives the matzo what she calls "the granola treatment." To do so, she draws upon the tried-and-true formula of typical granola recipes: a mixture of grains, nuts, seeds, baked in a sweet syrupy coating and sometimes topped with dried fruit. 

Chou's method involves breaking up the squares of unleavened bread and combining them with nuts and seeds, just like you would in your typical granola. She toasts the combination and then tosses it with a gooey combination of brown sugar, honey, vanilla, salt, and a neutral liquid fat (such as melted butter or olive oil) and coconut flakes. She then bakes the mixture in the oven until the matzo pieces begin to stick together and become toasty and golden brown. 

Once the baking is complete, she tosses in dried fruit, presses the mixture down into the pan, and lets it cool before breaking the granola into delectable pieces. 

The perfect granola is slightly sweet, crunchy, and toasted to perfection. Depending on who you ask, the cluster size is what sets apart a granola and makes it the ideal snack — one you can grab a convenient and nutritious handful of any time of day.

The same cluster principles can be applied to matzo granola. The key to achieving cohesive granola bites has to do with the process of spreading out and pressing the granola into your prepared pan prior to and during baking. This helps with even baking, to ensure your granola pieces stick together. It's important to stir the mixture often during the first half of baking to get your ingredients nice and evenly toasted. However, to let your granola set during the final baking stage, you'll want to spread and tamp down your granola into the pan and avoid stirring any further.

In addition to stirring the granola halfway through baking, you'll want to bake matzo granola at a relatively low baking temperature to avoid burning the mixture. In her recipe, Bon Appétit commerce producer Alaina Chou first toasts the matzo, nuts, and seeds at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes. She then combines this mixture with the syrup and coconut and lowers the oven temperature to 300 before baking for 15-25 minutes. The final result: a treat that's simultaneously chewy and crisp. Enjoy your matzo granola with fruit and yogurt or devour it straight from the palm of your hand.