Halva Cookies or Easy Tahini Cookies
These halva cookies, often referred to as tahini cookies, are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Unlike traditional halva cookies, these are based on my butter cookie recipe. And, they use grated pistachio halva, before being baked until golden and delicious. They make great gifts during the festive holidays or to serve with a cup of tea of coffee.
Buttery Halav Cookies, Best Halva Cookies, Tahini Cookie Recipe, How to make Tahini Cookies
What is halva?
Have you heard of Halva? Well, if you are middle eastern or associated with Middle Eastern cuisine then you probably know what halva is.
Quite simply halva is a Middle Eastern confection made of sesame flour and honey. These days, there are many flavors and variations. And, it can be added to many different desserts. I have pistachio halva here today. You also get almond, caramel, pecan - yup.. lots of different variations. Of course, you can always get the classic plain halva.
One of my favorites is - halva with vanilla ice cream. Yes, just place two scoops of vanilla ice cream in a bowl and grate a generous amount of sweet halva over it. Yum!!
Buttery Halva Cookies, Tahini Cookie Recipe, Middle Eastern Buttery Halva Cookies Recipe
Not your traditional halva cookies
These are halva cookies but they are not traditional. Nope! They are even better!! Based on my butter cookie recipe.
Unlike traditional halva cookies, where you add tahini and honey in the cookie dough, I prefer to use ready-made halva. Then, I grate it into small pieces and carefully add them to my cookie dough. I barely incorporate the halva. So, the cookie dough tastes like cookies with a burst of this delicious sweet halva in between. Told you they are better!!
Buttery Halva Cookies, Tahini Cookie Recipe, Middle Eastern Buttery Halva Cookies Recipe
Buttery halva cookies or tahini cookies (Save/Pin)
Useful tips and tools
- I'm not a slave to mixers. And yet, when you need some good creaming I have to insist that you use the K-Mix or Kitchen Aid.
- A good baking tray is always important. So, try using a light colored baking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with parchment paper.
- If you aren't going to fill or decorate these cookies a regular rolling pin will work just fine. And yet, a cookie rolling pin has the side spacers that will also help you with rolling. So all your cookies are leveled and bake evenly.
- Also, it is really important to cool cookies completely on all sides as soon as they come out of the oven. So, take them off the baking tray to prevent them from cooking further and place them on a cooking rack so they air circulates on all sides. This prevents steam from going back into the cookie, thus, keeping them crispy not soggy.
- Always bake cookies on the center rack of your oven. And if you have more than one tray simply bake them one at a time. You can bake two trays at the same time, and yet this can lead to some of the cookies in the bottom tray spreading too much. Also, you can rotate the trays during the baking. This is helpful with some cookies.
- Most cookies usually bake between 10 to 12 minutes. Since cookies bake quickly they can also get over-baked. This is due to our tendency to get distracted at the last minute. Hence, my solution is a kitchen timer that is always set to 10 minutes. I turn it on as soon as I place the cookies in the oven. This has saved me many cookies since my kids always keep me busy.
Buttery Halva Cookies, Tahini Cookie Recipe, Middle Eastern Buttery Halva Cookies Recipe
This is what store bough Halva looks like
Prepare
- Sift all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Grate the halva and set aside.
Make the dough
- Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add egg and egg yolk.
- Followed by the vanilla.
- Add flour and combine well.
- Gently fold in the grated Halva. You want the halva to just be incorporated, not rubbed in.
- Divide dough into two discs and wrap in plastic or cling wrap.
- Let rest in the fridge for an hour or until the dough is firm enough to roll.
Roll the cookies
- Roll one disc at a time just like you do with butter cookies.
- Cut cookies using a 3-inch cookie cutter or any desired shape.
- Place them on a parchment-lined cookie tray.
Bake the cookies
- I prefer to chill my cookies, in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking them.
- Preheat the oven at 180 C / 356 F.
- Bake at cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes - Baking time will differ with the thickness of the cookies.
Storage
- These cookies will stay at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- You can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 4 days, or
- You can freeze the dough for up to 2 months - thaw in the fridge overnight before you roll.
- This recipe can be halved or doubled successfully.
Don't forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later. You can also find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
Buttery Halva Cookies, Tahini Cookie Recipe, Middle Eastern Buttery Halva Cookies Recipe
Buttery Halva Cookies or Tahini Cookies
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
- 169 grams (0.74 cups) Unsalted butter
- 1 (1 ) Egg
- 1 (1 ) Egg yolk
- 200 grams (1 cups) Sugar
- 330 grams (2.64 cups) All-purpose flour
- 1 cup (1 cup) Halva nuts or plain
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) Salt
Instructions
Prepare
- Sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Grate the halva and set aside.
Make dough
- Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- Add egg and egg yolk.
- Followed by the vanilla.
- Add flour and combine well.
- Gently fold in the grated Halva. You want the halva to just be incorporated, not rubbed in.
- Divide dough into two discs and wrap in plastic or cling wrap.
- Let rest in the fridge for an hour or until the dough is firm enough to roll.
Roll Cookies
- Roll one disc at a time just like you do with butter cookies.
- Cut cookies using a 3-inch cookie cutter or any desired shape.
- Place them on a parchment lined cookie tray.
Bake cookies
- I prefer to chill my cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking them.
- Preheat the oven at 180 C / 356 F.
- Bake cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes. Baking time will differ with the thickness of the cookies.
Storage
- These cookies will stay at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- You can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 4 days, or
- You can freeze the dough for up to 2 months - thaw in the fridge overnight before you roll.
- This recipe can be halved or doubled successfully.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Do you like Middle Eastern Food? Israeli Food?
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Middle Eastern Recipes or Israeli Recipe Collections
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Must have cookie jar recipe collection by Veena Azmanov
Marisa Franca
I didn't know what halva was but I do now. The cookies look fantastic and I think they'd be great to make at Christmas time. We love tahini and I'm looking forward to making a batch. I'm always learning something new with your posts!!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Marisa. If you like tahini you will love halva. It's the sweeter version of tahini but in a block. So glad you like my posts.
Mahy Elamin
This is a great idea for my breakfast! Its fantastic! YUM! This looks so delicious!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Mahy. Absolutely great anytime.
Jenni LeBaron
I've never worked with halva before, never heard of it actually, but I love the flavors you've described in using it and can see why it's a favorite. I think these cookies look spectacular!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Jenni, if you love tahini you will love halva. Halva really is so delicious.
Claudia Lamascolo
Darn I wish I saw this before I tossed my sesame paste. I bought it and had no idea what to do with it! I used it to make eggplant with baked. These sound perfect. The jar got very old and I didnt know how long to keep it. Next time at least I will have another recipe to try it out on thank you
Veena Azmanov
Oh nooo. Halva is so delicious. You can even grate it over vanilla ice cream!! These are delicious. You must try these next time.
Denay DeGuzman
I absolutely love discovering beautiful recipes from different cultures! These Halva Cookies look so delicious. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe one day next week.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Denay. I think you will love these.