Halva Biscotti Recipes

PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lay the pistachios on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until the nuts are lightly toasted. Remove from the oven.
• In an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer running, gradually add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla; mix until creamed. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dough until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the pistachios until evenly distributed.
• Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Roll each half into a log, each 12 inches long by 1-inch high. Place the logs on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly brown. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes and then place on a cutting board. Slice each log on a diagonal into 12 1-inch thick pieces. Put the cookies back on the cookie sheet and bake 5 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake the other side for another 5 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container.

HALVA 5 WAYS

Steps:

• Line an 8x8" baking pan or a 9x4" loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2" overhang on 2 sides. Using a wooden spoon, mix tahini, salt, and vanilla in a medium heatproof bowl.
• Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan, then stir in sugar. Attach a candy thermometer to side of pan.
• Bring sugar to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally to help sugar dissolve, until thermometer registers 250°F. Immediately remove syrup from heat. Gradually stream syrup into tahini mixture, mixing tahini constantly with wooden spoon. Continue to stir just until halva comes together in a smooth mass and starts to pull away from sides of bowl (less than a minute). Be careful not to overmix or halva will be crumbly.
• Working quickly, scrape halva into prepared pan, pushing toward edges; smooth top. Let cool to room temperature, then cover tightly with plastic and chill at least 2 hours. Remove from pan using parchment overhang. Slice as desired to serve.
• Do Ahead: Halva can be made 3 weeks ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill.
• For Pistachio-Rose Halva
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 300°F. Spread 1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast until fragrant and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate. Let cool, then coarsely chop.
• Prepare halva, adding half of the chopped pistachios and 1/4 tsp. rosewater to the tahini, salt, and vanilla mixture.
• Stir sugar syrup into tahini mixture and form halva as directed. Sprinkle remaining nuts over, pressing gently to adhere. Cover and chill as directed.
• For Cardamom-Chocolate Halva:
• Prepare halva, adding 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom to the tahini, salt, and vanilla mixture.
• Stir sugar syrup into tahini mixture, then quickly stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate just to combine (you want to see streaks of chocolate). Form halva as directed. Sprinkle 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate over, pressing gently to adhere. Cover and chill as directed.
• For Lemon-Poppy Seed Halva:
• Prepare halva, adding 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds to the tahini, salt, and vanilla mixture.
• Add 1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest to water in saucepan before making the sugar syrup, then prepare syrup as directed.
• Form halva as directed. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds over, pressing very gently just to adhere. Cover and chill as directed.
• For Chocolate-Za'atar Halvah:
• Prepare halva, adding 1/2 tsp. za'atar to the tahini, salt, and vanilla mixture.
• Stir sugar syrup into tahini mixture as directed, then quickly stir in 1/2 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate just to combine (you want to see streaks of chocolate). Form halva as directed. Sprinkle 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate over, pressing gently to adhere. Cover and chill as directed.

CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE CHIP HALVA COOKIES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and fine salt in a medium bowl.
• Add the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until just combined; add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until everything is incorporated before adding the next batch. Add the chocolate chips and beat until combined. Turn off the mixer and add the halva. Gently beat on "stir" until just combined and the dough looks a bit crumbled and swirled (this will take only 5 to 6 turns on the mixer); do not overmix or it will lose the swirl effect.
• Drop about 2 tablespoons dough per cookie (a 2-ounce ice-cream scoop works nicely here) onto 2 baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart (you should have 12 cookies per sheet). Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the sesame seeds and sea salt.
• Bake until the cookies are set on the bottom and top, 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

WHEAT FLOUR HALVA

Steps:

• Bring water and sugar to a boil in a small pot, stirring until sugar dissolves into a syrup. Stir rose water, cardamom, and saffron into the syrup. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep syrup hot.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour until mixture is a smooth paste, about 1 minute. Cook, stirring constantly, until paste turns brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove flour mixture from heat. Whisk in hot syrup gradually until syrup is completely absorbed and mixture is the consistency of a smooth, soft paste, at least 4 minutes.
• Spread mixture in a shallow bowl. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

HALVA (IRANIAN DESSERT)

Steps:

• Heat 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden and thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool briefly.
• Combine water and sugar in a separate saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Stir in rose water and saffron. Add the flour mixture. Cook and stir until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes at most. Serve halva with crushed pistachios and almonds sprinkled on top.

HALVA ICE-CREAM

Steps:

• Separate eggs and whisk whites until stiff.
• Add in sugar, a spoonfull at a time and whisk.
• Pour yolks and vanilla essence into mixture and carefully mix through.
• Beat up cream in separate bowl.
• Fold cream into egg mixture.
• Chop up halva - crumble it - and then fold into egg/cream mixture.
• Pour into loaf pan lined with wax paper (or use silicon container)and freeze.
• Before serving, turn out onto serving plate and drizzle with melted chocolate (optional).

HALVA BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Sift flour and add egg and sugar.
• Thoroughly mix the halva into the dough.
• Knead dough so all ingredients are combined and shape into a log.
• Brush with the remaining egg white and place in the oven at 180celcius for 10-15mins.
• Remove from the oven and cut into inch-thick slices. Return to the oven at a lower heat until the biscotti are hard and crunchy.