We have finally got our hands on Claire Saffitz’s New York Times Best Selling book “Dessert Person”. The book is stunning and we highly recommend you get a copy. We immediately wanted to try a recipe and these White Chocolate Halva Blondies seemed perfect for Ramadan (or any other day). Let us tell you they were amazing! The combination of white chocolate, tahini, and halva work so well together. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty and oh so yummy! The texture is just the right amount of soft, chewy, and dense everything you would want out of a blondie. The best part is they come together so easily, with no mixer needed.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE WHITE CHOCOLATE HALVA BLONDIES
WHAT IS A BLONDIE?
Blondies, as the name insinuates, are blond brownies. Basically the same exact texture of a brownie with no cocoa powder, and white chocolate instead of dark or milk chocolate. Because of the white chocolate you get a rich vanilla flavor instead of a cocoa one.
HOW TO MAKE THE WHITE CHOCOLATE HALVA BLONDIES
This recipe is super easy to make with almost nothing to really worry about except not over-baking it.
In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
Using a bain-marie (double boiler) or a microwave, melt the butter, chocolate, and tahini together.
Baine- Marie Method: Place the butter, tahini, and chopped white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, then place it on top of a medium pot filled with about 2.5cm of simmering water. The water should not be touching the bottom of the bowl. Stir occasionally until the butter and white chocolate have melted. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
Microwave Method: Alternatively, you can use a microwave, place the ingredients into a bowl, and microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring occasionally until everything has melted. If you have never melted chocolate in the microwave be very careful if you don’t stop it every 15 seconds it will seize up and create one hard lump.
After the chocolate mixture has slightly cooled, whisk in the light brown sugar.
Add the egg + egg yolks + vanilla and whisk well, the mixture will look thick and glossy.
Using a spatula fold in your dry ingredients (flour + baking powder + salt) until everything is well combined with no lumps visible.
Very gently fold in the crumbled halva into the mixture. Try not to break the halva into smaller pieces as you fold, we want to maintain some good sized halva chunks in the blondies.
BAKE YOUR HALVA BLONDIES
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and flaky salt. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the surface is golden brown and puffy, there should be a slight jiggle in the center. Do not overbake or they will dry out, they will continue to set up as they cool.
SIDE NOTE: We used a brownie pan we got from Tavola. This a great little pan we like to use when we make brownies or blondies. It produces perfect individual sized brownies plus it makes sure ever serving get the coveted brownie edge everyone always fights over.
Take the pan out of the oven and allow the blondies to completely cool.
Using the ends of the aluminum foil, lift the blondies and cut into 16 squares (squares of heaven) and enjoy with a lovely cup of coffee. These keep well for about 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Prebake 
Postbake
If you make these White Chocolate Halva (Halawi) Blondies please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #thetablediaries on Instagram. We love seeing all the recipes you and your family enjoy.
Claire Saffitz White Chocolate Halva Blondies
Ingredients
- 163 grams all purpose flour 1¼ cup
- 1 tsp salt 3 grams
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 170 grams white chocolate roughly chopped 1 cup
- 113 grams butter plus extra to butter the pan
- 70 grams tahini ¼ cup
- 100 grams packed light brown sugar ½ cup
- 1 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 113 grams halva (halawi) crumbled into medium chunks about ⅓ cup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- sesame seeds for sprinkling
- flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) Prepare an 8×8 inch pan lined with aluminum foil then buttered generously on all sides.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Place the butter, tahini, and chopped white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, then place it on top of a medium pot filled with about 2.5cm of simmering water. The water should not be touching the bottom of the bowl. Stir occasionally until the butter and white chocolate have melted. Set aside and allow to cool slightly. Alternatively, you can use a microwave, place the ingredients into a bowl, and microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring occasionally until everything has melted.
- After the chocolate mixture has slightly cooled, whisk in the brown sugar.
- Add the egg + egg yolks + vanilla and whisk well, the mixture will look thick and glossy.
- Using a spatula fold in your dry ingredients (flour + baking powder + salt) until everything is well combined with no lumps visible.
- Very gently fold in the crumbled halva into the mixture (try not to break the halva into smaller pieces as you fold.)
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and flaky salt. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the surface is golden brown and puffy, there should be a slight jiggle in the center. Do not overbake or they will dry out, they will continue to set up as they cool.
- Take the pan out of the oven and allow the blondies to completely cool.
- Using the ends of the aluminum foil, lift the blondies and cut into 16 squares (squares of heaven) and enjoy with a lovely cup of coffee.
- Keeps up to 5 days in an airtight container.
