white chocolate halvah blondies;
Halvah is a Middle Eastern candy with a sweet and salty, crumbling, dissolving texture. Mixed into these delicious white chocolate tahini blondies, this sweet sesame dessert adds little pockets of delicious moisture to a soft blondie.
Oven Temp: 350°F
Servings: 16
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Equipment
- candy thermometer
Ingredients
vanilla halvah;
- 3 Tbsp water
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean extract (or vanilla extract)
- ¾ cup tahini
- ⅜ tsp salt
white chocolate halvah blondies;
- 1¼ cup flour (all-purpose, or gluten free all-purpose)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 6 oz white chocolate chopped (170g, note: use white chocolate from a bar, baker's chocolate, or melting wafers. Chocolate chips may not melt appropriately.)
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- ¼ cup tahini
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
- white chocolate chips
- ½ cup halvah crumbled
Instructions
vanilla halvah;
- Optionally, you can skip making your own halvah and purchase some at the store! Any flavor will work, though I'm partial to vanilla since it complements the blondies.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Add tahini and salt into a large bowl and set the bowl on a kitchen towel to keep it from spinning or moving when stirring later.
- Add the ¾ cup tahini and ⅜ tsp salt to the bowl and stir briefly to combine. Optional, add another 1 tsp of vanilla bean extract for extra vanilla flavor.
- In a medium pot over medium heat, add 3 Tbsp water, ¾ cup white sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla bean extract. Stir a few times with a spatula, then remove. Using a candy thermometer, cook the sugar mixture until it reaches 245°F without stirring. You can use a wet pastry brush to brush down the sides with water if you see crystals forming at the edge of the mixture.
- Immediately upon reaching 245°F remove from the heat. While stirring the tahini with one hand, pour the sugar mixture in slowly with the other hand while continuing to stir. Stop as soon as the mixture seems to thicken.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate until chilled (roughly 30 mins - 3 hours)
white chocolate halvah blondies;
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1¼ cups flour, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp baking powder and set aside.
- Use a double boiler, or if you don't have a double boiler, you can use a metal bowl and a pot. Add about an inch of water to your pot, and find a metal bowl that will sit on rim of the pan without touching the water (you want the steam to heat the bowl).
- Add 6oz white chocolate (note: you want melting chocolate here, not chocolate chips), 1 stick butter, ¼ cup tahini to the bowl. Heat over low heat, stirring until the ingredients melt together and mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool for roughly a minute.
- Whisk ½ cup brown sugar into chocolate mixture. It will be grainy and some of the fat may separate a little, but continue to stir until the mixture comes together. Add the egg, 2 egg yolks, and 1 Tbsp vanilla bean extract, mixing until thick, smooth, and glossy.
- Add in the flour mixture of dry ingredients and stir until evenly incorporated and thick and glossy. Crumble ½ cup (4oz) of the halvah and gently fold it in, to avoid breaking it up too much. You want a few bigger chunks or crumbles.
- Pour into a parchment-paper lined 8"x8" pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with white sesame seeds and white chocolate chips as desired.
- Bake 20-25 minutes as 350°F or until the edges are golden brown. The center should still ever so slightly jiggle. Allow to cool in the pan before removing and slicing.
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