Passover begins this coming Monday night. This eight-day holiday means many things to many people: the survival of the Jewish people in the book of Exodus, the overall history of Judaism, and even the last supper of Jesus.

This year Easter came more than three weeks before Passover. Although they are both lunar holidays, and coincided in the year during which Jesus died (his last supper was in fact a Seder), they are calculated differently.

Easter comes on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Passover comes with the first full moon after the first new moon after the vernal equinox. They can thus either come together or arrive up to four weeks apart.

For me, Passover is a time to remember my Jewish relatives, particularly my grandparents, who we always joined for Passover when I was a child. Its rituals were precious to me as a child and still are.

As an adult food writer, I appreciate the way the whole holiday is structured around food. Each thing eaten at the Seder has its own meaning. In addition, the practice of eating no bread other than unleavened matzo during Passover commemorates the departure of the Jews from Egypt. Their bread didn’t have time to rise.

It is also a sort of penance. Eating matzo, pretty much the plainest of breads imaginable, reminds Jews of the trials of their forebears.

My grandmother served matzo without much adornment during Passover, occasionally sprucing it up with a little whipped cream cheese for breakfast or lunch.

Despite this tradition, I’m always tickled by the idea of getting a little more creative with matzo. After all, this holiday involves a feast.

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Years ago, I was tickled to find a sweet confection at an upscale grocery store: Matzo Crunch. (Beware: many call it Matzo Crack because of its highly addictive properties!)

This expensive and delicious treat combined matzo, buttery brown sugar and chocolate. I fell deeply in love.

I decided that it would be a lot more cost effective to make my own crunch than to keep buying it. I looked around for recipes. I learned that Marcy Goldman of BetterBaking.com invented this confection, which I have adapted a little.

I have seen it covered with nuts (pressed into the chocolate when one sprinkles the optional salt). My non-Jewish friend Lark Fleury even makes it during other times of year with saltine crackers rather than matzo.

Goldman maintains that you can make the crunch with margarine if you keep kosher and want to eat it just after a meal involving meat since kosher law forbids the mixing of meat and dairy. I think the butter adds so much flavor that I would advise you not to try the margarine. Just don’t eat the crunch with a meat meal!

You may either wait the requisite six hours after you eat your meat meal to consume the crunch or eat the crunch after vegetables or a neutral food. According to Jewish law, the term “neutral” includes most fish and all eggs.

Whenever and however you make it, I advise you to make sure that you have lots of people to whom you can give the crunch. It really is addictive — and very, very rich. I love to make it — and I love to get it out of the house fast.

Happy Passover!

Ingredients:

6 pieces matzo, broken into several strips each

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet, white, or some of each — even milk if you like, and I like)

coarse sea salt for sprinkling (optional but yummy)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil, and place parchment paper or silicone mats over the foil. Place the pieces of matzo on top.

In a medium saucepan combine the butter and brown sugar. Bring them to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Spoon the sugar mixture over the matzo, spreading it with a spatula to cover the matzo as well as you can. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the matzo from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

After 5 minutes, spread the chocolate with a knife. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top if you wish for additional crunch and flavor. Be careful not to use too much salt. If you do, it will overwhelm the other flavors.

Allow the crunch to cool; then break it into more pieces. Makes about 40 small pieces. Don’t forget to give most of them away!

Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.