Salted Chocolate Halva Food

SALTED CHOCOLATE HALVA

Steps:

• Do ahead:
• Lightly coat an 8 1/2x4 1/2" loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2" overhang on both of the long sides. Mix tahini, kosher salt, and 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds in a medium bowl to combine; set tahini mixture aside.
• Cook sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring with a heatproof rubber spatula, until sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and fit pan with candy thermometer. Cook syrup, brushing down sides of saucepan with a wet pastry brush as needed to dissolve any crystals that form, until thermometer registers 250°F, 7-10 minutes. Immediately remove syrup from heat and gradually stream into reserved tahini, mixing constantly with spatula. Continue to mix just until halva comes together in a smooth mass and starts to pull away from the sides of bowl (less than a minute). Be careful not to overmix or halva will be crumbly. Working quickly, scrape into prepared pan and let cool.
• Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (do not let bowl touch water), stirring often. Remove from heat. Invert halva onto a wire rack set inside a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet; peel away and discard parchment. Pour chocolate over halva and sprinkle top with flowers (if using), sea salt, and remaining 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds. Let sit until chocolate is set before serving, about 30 minutes.
• Do Ahead
• Halva can be made 3 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

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.

CHOCOLATE HALVA RUGELACH

Steps:

• To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar and kosher salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Add the cubed butter, distributing it all over the top of the dry ingredients, and then dollop in the cream cheese (1-inch dollops should do it, but it doesn't need to be perfect). Turn the mixer on low and stir until the mixture is mostly mealy and there are still some larger clumps of butter and cream cheese intact. Continue mixing and add the yolks, vanilla and almond extract if using. Continue mixing until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in half and shape into discs. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler while stirring or in a microwaveable bowl in 30-second increments, stirring after each. Set aside to cool briefly while you roll out the dough.
• To form the rugelach, working with one dough disc at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as needed to prevent it from sticking, until it is a wide rectangle, 18-by-9-inches. Use an offset spatula to spread on half of the chocolate in a thin even layer, leaving a 1-inch border along the long edge that's furthest from you (try to work quickly so the chocolate doesn't harden). Sprinkle on the halva. Brush the 1-inch border with a thin layer of egg wash and then start on the end closest to you and roll the dough into a long tight log, placing it seam-side down. Transfer to a cutting board or baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 days (depending on fridge space, you might want to cut the log in half so you're dealing with 4 shorter logs as opposed to 2 really long ones). If you're only refrigerating for an hour or 2, no need to cover the logs. If longer than that, cover with plastic wrap.
• To bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Brush the logs with a thin layer of egg wash, sprinkle with a few pinches of flaky salt and a ton of sprinkles or colored sugar if desired. Cut into 1 1/2-inch slices and transfer to the baking sheets 1-inch apart. Bake until golden brown on top; begin checking for doneness at 24 minutes. (You might notice that the cookies seem to sweat and leak out some fat while in the oven, this is completely normal). Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Or enjoy them warm! Leftovers can be stored at room temp for several days.