Delicious & Easy Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars: Your Go-To Holiday Dessert Recipe

As the joyous occasion of Passover approaches, finding delicious, compliant, and easy-to-make desserts becomes a delightful quest. Look no further! These Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars are not just a recipe; they’re a revelation. Imagine a rich, chewy, and utterly satisfying bar bursting with dark chocolate, perfect for your Seder table or as a sweet treat throughout the holiday. This particular recipe for Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars was initially shared with me by a dear friend, Karen, and it quickly became a staple. Karen’s version, in turn, draws its inspiration from the revered pages of A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking by the talented Marcy Goldman. While the original recipe calls for an 8×10 inch pan, Karen cleverly adapted it for a 9-inch square pan, which yields a similarly generous and wonderfully hearty bar. My own journey with this recipe involved a few thoughtful tweaks to perfect it, resulting in a batch of bars that are simply irresistible.

Why These Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars Are a Must-Try for Your Holiday Table

Passover baking often presents unique challenges due to specific dietary restrictions, particularly the absence of leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda. This can sometimes lead to desserts that are either too dense or overly crumbly. However, these Chocolate Chunk Bars beautifully defy expectations. They strike a perfect balance, offering a substantial chewiness that holds together exceptionally well, yet maintains a unique, delicate “sandy” or melt-in-your-mouth texture. This characteristic comes from the ingenious use of matzo cake meal and potato starch, making them distinctly Passover-friendly and incredibly appealing. Beyond their delightful texture, they’re remarkably easy to prepare, requiring no fancy equipment or complex techniques, which makes them an ideal choice for busy holiday preparations when time is of the essence.

My Personal Adaptation: The Secret to Perfect Browning and Enhanced Flavor

When I first embarked on making these delicious bars, I decided to try a smaller batch – a convenient approach for experimenting with new recipes and perfect for households that don’t require a huge quantity. During our conversation, Karen had mentioned that her bars didn’t brown much, which can sometimes leave a dessert looking a little pale and less inviting, despite tasting wonderful. To address this aesthetic, and to enhance the flavor profile, I made a simple but impactful change: I opted for dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar. The results were truly phenomenal!

The dark brown sugar, with its higher molasses content, not only contributed a deeper, richer, and more complex flavor with delightful hints of caramel but also ensured a lovely, golden-brown hue that made the bars look as tempting as they tasted. This small adjustment truly elevated the final product, giving it that perfect bakery-style finish that makes all the difference when presenting a holiday treat. Despite their unique composition, featuring potato starch and matzo cake meal, these bars are surprisingly easy to cut into neat portions and hold their shape exceptionally well. The “sandy” texture I mentioned earlier is not a flaw; rather, it’s a delightful characteristic that melts in your mouth, contributing to the overall deliciousness. It’s a testament to how creative and satisfying Passover baking can be, even within traditional guidelines.

Ingredient Spotlight: Crafting the Perfect Passover Treat

Understanding the role of each ingredient is key to appreciating the magic behind these bars. Every component plays a vital part in achieving their signature taste and appealing texture, ensuring a consistently delicious outcome.

Unsalted Butter: The foundation of richness and moisture in almost any baked good. Using softened butter is crucial as it ensures it creams smoothly with the sugars, creating a light and airy base for the batter.
Dark Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: This dynamic duo provides balanced sweetness and contributes significantly to the bar’s texture and enticing color. Dark brown sugar, with its higher molasses content, is pivotal for adding depth of flavor, extra moisture, and that desirable golden-brown color that makes the bars look so appealing. Granulated sugar, on the other hand, offers a touch of crispness and helps to perfectly balance the overall sweetness.
Large Egg: Acts as a crucial binder in the recipe, holding all the ingredients together and adding to the overall structure and richness of the bars. It contributes to their chewy texture.
Salt: A pinch of salt is absolutely essential for balancing the sweetness and enhancing all the other flavors. It acts as a flavor amplifier, making the rich chocolate and nutty walnuts truly pop and preventing the bars from tasting bland.
Vanilla Extract: A classic flavor enhancer that adds warmth, depth, and complexity to the overall taste. It beautifully complements the chocolate and brings out a subtle sweetness that rounds out the flavor profile.
Matzo Cake Meal: This is the primary “flour” substitute for Passover, essential for keeping the recipe kosher for the holiday. It’s essentially very finely ground matzo, offering a delicate texture. If you can’t find matzo cake meal specifically in stores, don’t fret! You can easily make your own by grinding regular matzo meal in a coffee grinder or a food processor until it reaches a fine, flour-like consistency. This simple trick ensures you never have to miss out on this fantastic recipe due to ingredient availability.
Potato Starch: A gluten-free starch that plays a key role in contributing to the unique, tender, and slightly sandy texture of these bars. It helps bind the ingredients together without making the bars heavy or dense, ensuring a light and pleasant mouthfeel.
Dark Chocolate Chunks: The undisputed star of the show! Using chunks rather than smaller chips is highly recommended as they melt into delicious, gooey pockets of rich chocolate throughout the bars, offering a more indulgent and satisfying experience with every bite. Feel free to use your favorite dark chocolate – anything from 60% to 75% cocoa solids works wonderfully and provides a rich contrast to the sweetness.
Walnuts (Toasted and Chopped): These add a delightful crunch and a robust nutty flavor that perfectly complements the rich chocolate and the unique texture of the bars. Toasting the walnuts beforehand is a step not to be skipped, as it significantly enhances their flavor, bringing out their essential oils and giving them a deeper, more aromatic profile that elevates the entire dessert.

Step-by-Step Guide: Baking Your Perfect Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars

Follow these straightforward and easy-to-understand steps to create a batch of these delectable bars that will undoubtedly impress everyone at your Passover celebration. Precision and patience are your best tools here.

Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars Recipe

Yields: 12 hearty bars
Prep time: Approximately 15 minutes
Bake time: Approximately 25 minutes

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup matzo cake meal
½ cup potato starch
3 ounces dark chocolate, cut into chunks
½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Instructions:

1. Prepare Your Oven and Pan: Begin by preheating your oven to a precise 350 degrees F (175°C). Next, carefully line an 8-inch square metal pan with either parchment paper, non-stick aluminum foil, or greased regular aluminum foil. It’s a helpful trick to ensure the paper or foil extends over the sides of the pan; these extensions will act as convenient “handles,” making it much easier to lift the cooled bars out of the pan later without any fuss.

2. Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, using either an electric mixer for ease or a sturdy whisk for a bit of a workout, thoroughly cream together the softened unsalted butter with both the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. Continue mixing until the mixture appears light, fluffy, and uniformly combined. This crucial step incorporates air into the mixture, which is vital for achieving a lighter and more tender texture in the finished bars.

3. Incorporate Wet Ingredients: Next, mix in the large egg, the small but significant amount of salt, and the vanilla extract. Continue to beat until all these ingredients are fully incorporated and the mixture looks smooth and cohesive. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed with a spatula to ensure all components are evenly mixed and no dry pockets remain.

4. Add Dry Ingredients: Gently stir in the matzo cake meal and the potato starch. Mix until they are just combined, and no visible streaks of dry ingredients remain. Be particularly careful not to overmix at this stage, as excessive mixing can develop gluten (even though matzo meal has minimal, it’s best to be cautious) and potentially result in a tougher, less tender bar. A few barely visible dry streaks are perfectly acceptable; they will disappear during baking.

5. Fold in Chocolate and Nuts: Now it’s time for the delicious additions! Add the chopped dark chocolate chunks and the toasted, chopped walnuts to the batter. Using a spatula, stir gently until these wonderful add-ins are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. The goal is to ensure that every single bite of your bar contains a delightful combination of chocolate and nut!

6. Spread into Prepared Pan: Transfer the thick, rich batter into your prepared 8-inch square pan. To effectively spread the sticky mixture evenly into all corners, lightly wet your hands with water. This simple yet incredibly effective trick prevents the dough from sticking to your fingers and makes the spreading process much easier and cleaner. Press the batter firmly and evenly into the pan to create a uniform layer.

7. Bake to Perfection: Place the pan in your preheated oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes at 350 degrees F (175°C). The bars are ready when the edges appear set and lightly golden, but the very center still looks slightly moist and feels a bit soft to the touch. It is absolutely crucial not to overbake these bars; they will continue to set and firm up considerably as they cool. Overbaking can lead to a dry, crumbly, and less enjoyable texture. A good indicator is when the edges are firm but the very center still gives slightly when lightly touched.

8. Cool Completely: Once baked, carefully remove the pan from the oven and immediately place it on a wire rack to cool completely. This step is essential for clean cutting! Attempting to cut warm or even slightly warm bars will inevitably result in a messy, crumbly outcome. Patience is truly key here for perfectly formed bars.

9. Cut and Serve: Once the bars are entirely cool – which might take an hour or two – use the parchment paper or foil handles to gently lift the whole slab out of the pan. Place it on a clean cutting board and, using a sharp knife, cut them into 12 even bars. Serve and enjoy these delightful homemade Passover treats!

Tips for Perfect Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars Every Time

Don’t Overbake: This cannot be stressed enough – it’s the most critical tip! The bars might appear slightly underdone or moist in the center when you pull them from the oven, but they will firm up considerably as they cool. Overbaking is the quickest way to end up with dry, hard bars.
Use Room Temperature Butter: Softened butter creams much better with sugar, creating a smoother, more emulsified, and ultimately more even batter. This impacts the final texture significantly.
Toast Your Nuts: Do not skip this step! Toasting walnuts (or any nuts you choose to use) enhances their flavor profoundly, bringing out their natural oils and adding an extra layer of deliciousness and depth to the bars.
Quality Chocolate Matters: Since chocolate is such a prominent flavor in these bars, invest in good quality dark chocolate that you genuinely enjoy eating on its own. The better the chocolate, the better your bars will taste.
Grinding Matzo Meal Finely: If you are using regular matzo meal and grinding it yourself to achieve matzo cake meal, ensure it’s ground very finely. This contributes directly to the desired sandy, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes these bars so unique.

Variations and Customizations for Your Passover Bars

While the classic recipe is undeniably divine, feel free to get creative and customize these chocolate chunk bars to suit your personal taste or dietary preferences (while keeping them kosher for Passover, of course!):

Nutty Swaps: Experiment by replacing walnuts with toasted pecans, almonds, or even a delightful mix of your favorite Passover-friendly nuts for varied textures and flavors.
Fruity Additions: For a burst of fruitiness, fold in a handful of finely chopped dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped dried apricots, or even some candied orange peel for a vibrant citrusy hint. Always ensure any dried fruits or candied items are certified kosher for Passover.
Spice It Up: A delicate pinch of cinnamon, a tiny dash of nutmeg, or a hint of cardamom can add wonderful warmth and complexity to the flavor profile, complementing the chocolate beautifully.
Chocolate Drizzle: For an extra touch of elegance and indulgence, once the bars have completely cooled, melt a bit more dark chocolate and drizzle it artfully over the tops.
Coconut Delight: If you’re a fan of coconut, consider adding about ½ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut to the batter along with the chocolate and nuts. It adds a lovely chewy texture and tropical flavor.

Serving and Storage Suggestions

These Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars are incredibly versatile and perfect for any occasion during the holiday. They are delightful on their own, especially with a warm cup of coffee or tea. For a more decadent dessert, try serving them slightly warmed with a scoop of pareve vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped coconut cream for a dairy-free treat. For optimal freshness, store the cooled bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. If you wish to extend their shelf life, you can refrigerate them for up to a week. They also freeze exceptionally well for up to a month; simply thaw them at room temperature for a few hours before serving to enjoy their original texture and flavor.

More Passover Dessert Inspiration

If you’re looking for other fantastic Passover-friendly desserts to complete your holiday menu, be sure to explore these delightful recipes:

Matzo Cake Meal Passover Brownies
Matzo Meal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Edge Wafers
Nutty Matzo Granola
Quick Small Batch Matzo Crunch

These Passover Chocolate Chunk Bars truly embody the spirit of holiday baking – simple, heartfelt, and utterly delicious. They are a wonderful, crowd-pleasing addition to any Seder table or a comforting treat for any day of the holiday. Enjoy creating and sharing these delightful bars with your loved ones, making new cherished memories around the table!