These Passover Chocolate Chip Cookies are now a “holiday classic,” made with love every Seder to share with family and friends. It’s such a simple recipe, but somehow magical. The combination of matzo, brown sugar, butter, honey and vanilla creates a cookie that tastes every bit as good as a traditional flour cookie. Read through the comments if you don’t believe me! This recipe is a keeper.
This recipe his always a popular one on my site during the lead up to Passover, so I felt it deserved fresh new photos. I originally obtained the recipe from an organization called the Jewish Outreach Institute (no longer in existence) and their “Mother’s Circle Cookbook,” which shared recipes from women of various backgrounds raising Jewish children. It was submitted to the book by Mother’s Circle member Kathy Kersul-Wiener. Of the recipe, she writes:
After several years of suffering through store-bought Passover “treats,” I decided that I’d better learn to make them myself. I think the secret to this recipe is that the chocolate chips overwhelm the matzo.
These cookies are chocolatey, buttery and decadent, I would even go as far as saying they are the BEST Passover cookies. The original recipe calls for 3 cups of chocolate chips, which made the cookies too sweet for my taste. I have adapted the recipe by reducing the amount of chocolate chips to 2 cups, which is more than enough chocolate for our family’s taste.
For those of you wondering what matzo cake meal is, it’s simply matzo that has been ground very fine into a powdery texture. Most grocers with a kosher or jewish food section carry it during Passover. If you can’t find it, just grind up some matzo meal in your food processor until it becomes powdery like flour.
All of the other ingredients should be pretty easy to find. Enjoy, and Chag Sameach – Happy Passover!
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Passover Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups matzo cake meal
- 1/4 cup matzo meal
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter with brown sugar, honey, vanilla and salt. Add eggs and mix well.
- Mix in cake meal and matzo meal.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Press down slightly to flatten.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until slightly golden. These are great when slightly warmed, dipped in a cold, frothy glass of milk. Yum!
Jaki says
I don’t have any matzo meal but I do have matzo cake meal do I need both or can i sub it for something else ?
Tori Avey says
Matzo cake meal should work.
Vicky says
Would it make difference if I used sugar instead of brown sugar? Dint have on me now but if it makes the difference ill buy before making
Rona says
The cookies came out really good. I used all matza meal and tried to grind it a bit to make it slightly finer and i think it worked ok. Since the honey adds a lot I would try and half the sugar or put fewer chocolate chips. These cookies definitely made my holiday better 🙂
Dorothy Rademaker says
I had a great recipe for Passover banana chocolate chip cookie but can’t find it anywhere. A search brought me to this one that is almost like the one I had except for the bananas and farfil, which I cannot find in Ocala, FL and cake mix is so I’ll try this one. Whenshould mashed bananas be added?
Tori Avey says
This recipe does not include mashed bananas, I wouldn’t add them in unless I had tested it myself first– which I haven’t. It might throw off the whole balance of the batter.
Lori slavin says
Love this recipe! Last year I had to bake another batch because everyone ate them! I put the second batch in the freezer. They freeze so well everyone ate them frozen!! My husband prefers them frozen. I’m not sure where I can hide the batch I’m baking this year!
Sharyn Fireman says
I can not get matzo cake meal
Can I make my own!
Tori Avey says
Yes! If you have a food processor, just process the matzo meal until it becomes very fine– with a texture similar to flour.
Myndi says
I have made this recipe for years and everyone LOVES it! I would like to try and make it dairy free so we can eat them at the seder we are hosting for the first night. I was wondering what you would recommend? I saw that there were some previous posters that had luck with using margarine but didn’t know if the amounts needed to be changed?
Thank you!
Tori Avey says
Hi Myndi! Sorry for the delayed reply, I was hosting my own Seder so was busy cooking for a few days. 🙂 For future reference, it’s a 1 – 1 sub for margarine – butter, so no change in the amount.
Shelley says
Hey Myndi! I was asking Tori that same thing just recently. Did you ever make this without using butter, and how did they come out?
Jen says
Hi, I just googled passover chocolate chip cookies and these came up. I was wondering could this recipe be used in a pan to make “blondies”
Rachel Abrahams says
Great recipe! I used all cake meal because I had a lot of it in the house and decided to throw in a handful of dried cranberries. Just had one slightly cooled from the over. YUM! Thanks! Happy Pesach.
judy says
I still have a batch in the oven and couldn’t wait to taste one while it was still warm Without a doubt, these are the best Passover cookies I’ve ever made. I used all cake meal (instead of matzo meal), but followed the rest of the recipe to the letter. I will make these cookies year ’round. I’ve frozen cookies before, ahead of the holiday, and am going to freeze these as well. I think they should freeze well.
Cindy says
Can this recipe be made into a cookie cake instead of individual cookies?
Tori Avey says
I have never tried that Cindy, so I’m not sure.
Joyce says
Thank you for this recipe. I’m not Jewish, but in my faith, we observe the Holy Days, and the spring holy Days of Unleavened Bread begin in just two and a half weeks. We don’t eat or use any leavened products during that time, and don’t even have anything leavened in our environments; this recipe will be great to have during the DUB because I REALLY like chocolate chip cookies, but have not been able to have the during the spring holy days since traditional recipes call for baking soda.
I’m going to enjoy this recipe, I can already see that 🙂
Emily says
Can I use flour and not the matzo cake meal and matzo meal?
Tori Avey says
Emily – you probably could, but the recipe is meant for Passover when Jewish cooks who keep kosher do not use traditional flour, and instead use matzo. It would probably turn out ok with regular flour, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t be certain of the results.
Melissa says
Delicious. I made them twice during Passover and everyone raved over them. Thank you for making me look good!
Ricky says
Can I substitute the matzo meal and replace it with all cake meal?
Tori Avey says
Yes I think that would work fine Ricky.
Rachael W says
I made these last night and my 12 year old tested one this morning. I was hesitant with the honey, but I followed the recipe to a “t” even doing the 2 cups of chips. Am so glad to say they are taste-tested and Passover approved!!! Thank you so much.
Randie K. says
These cookies could not be served at the Seder or with a meat meal because, as your recipe notes they are dairy. They would be par eve if they were made with coconut oil (healthy) or the kosher for Passover margarine (not healthy). To those who posted questions about substituting regular flour for matza meal/flour – they would not be kosher for Passover!
jess says
any substitutes for the honey if I don’t have any? these look great.
Tori Avey says
Hi Jess, you can substitute agave nectar if you have it.
Terry J says
I just made these, but substituted gluten free matzo cake meal, and they came out flat! What would be the magic ingredient to get them to rise – baking powder? Need them to be gluten free.
Tori Avey says
Terry unfortunately I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free matzo (which can vary from brand to brand), my guess is I’d need to develop a totally different recipe to make these GF. Wish I could help, but I won’t have time to test these again before the holiday. I’ll keep it in mind for next year though!
Lucy says
How about almond flour! I think that would work
Barb says
Tori,
While The the dough tasted delicious, it does not work at high altitude. They completely flattened out in the oven. Any suggestions on how to adjust to altitude. Am in Denver (5280)
Thanks
Tori Avey says
Hi Barb, I don’t have any guidance here, but if you Google high altitude baking adjustments you’ll find lots of articles with advice. Good luck!