Blending the best of both worlds, these halva brownie cookies have the perfect combination of crisp and chewy edges, while remaining soft and gooey at the centre.
Enjoy them warm from the oven for that chocolatey treat or served cold and chewy straight from the fridge (my personal favourite).
The addition of halva brings a delicious twist to these cookies. Halva is a traditional Middle Eastern confection made using tahini (sesame seed paste), sugar, and vanilla. It's also often enhanced with ingredients such as pistachio, rose, or cocoa.
You can locate halva in well-stocked gourmet grocers, delis, as well as local Middle Eastern or Persian grocery stores (if you have one in your area). Additionally, you can find it in the international aisle of supermarkets. In this recipe it offers a semi-sweet, nutty profile with a subtle hint of bitterness that perfectly complements the sweet, cocoa-rich brownie cookies.
I've used plain halva, but you're welcome to experiment with pistachio, rose, or your favourite flavour variation.
If you're not a fan of halva or sesame, feel free to leave it out and enjoy the brownie cookies in their pure form.
Any uncooked batter can be stored in the fridge for several days, and baked cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Hope you love this one! And please let me know if you make them or have any questions. @gatherandfeast #gatherandfeast
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Ingredients
GF 
15 minutes preparation time + 8 minutes cooking time (+ cooling time) 
Makes 25 cookies - 100g salted butter
- 3 eggs
- 300g (1 1/3 cups) raw castor sugar or castor sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 120g (1 cup) dark Dutch-processed cocoa
- 20g (2 tablespoons) corn flour/corn starch
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- Pinch sea salt
- 50g milk chocolate, very finely chopped
- 150g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 80g halva, roughly sliced (I’ve used vanilla-flavoured halva - you could also use pistachio, rose, or your preferred variety)
- Flakey salt for sprinkling
Method
- Add the butter to a small saucepan and melt over medium heat, stirring continuously throughout the process.
- Once melted, continue heating and simmer the butter until it foams and brown caramelised pieces appear at the bottom of the pan. The butter should turn golden and smell beautifully nutty and caramelised.
- Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This should take about 3-4 minutes.
- Fold in the cooled browned butter, dark Dutch-processed cocoa, corn flour, espresso powder, and a pinch of sea salt.
- Now fold in the chocolate until just combined.
- On two paper-lined baking trays, scoop tablespoon-sized portions of batter (about 30g each), spacing them evenly as they will spread during baking.
- Top each scoop of batter with a slice of halva and a small pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven at 180°C/350°F for approximately 8 minutes.
- Once baked, remove the trays from the oven. If desired, sprinkle a little more flaky salt on top of the cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the trays for at least 20-30 minutes. During this time, they will continue to cook slightly, creating a chewy edge and base.
- After cooling, transfer the cookies from the trays to a serving plate.
- Enjoy the cookies while slightly warm from the oven or cold from the fridge (my personal favourite).
NOTE
To achieve the highest quality cocoa flavour in these cookies, opt for the finest quality dark Dutch-processed cocoa available. This ingredient is crucial in providing the cookies with their rich cocoa flavour.
Halva, a traditional Middle Eastern confection, is made using tahini (sesame seed paste), sugar, and vanilla. It is often enhanced with ingredients such as pistachio, rose, or cocoa. You can locate halva in well-stocked gourmet grocers, delis, as well as local Middle Eastern or Persian grocery stores (if you have one in your area). Additionally, you can find it in the international aisle of supermarkets.
I've used plain halva, but you're welcome to experiment with pistachio, rose, or your favourite flavour variation.
If you're not a fan of halva or sesame, feel free to leave it out and enjoy the brownie cookies in their pure form.
Any uncooked batter can be stored in the fridge for several days, and baked cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
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