Halawa Truffles

The coolest new way to enjoy halawa! easy, homemade halawa (tahini halva) and turn it into the most elegant little truffles. roll them in either pistachios, sesame seeds or dunk them in glorious chocolate.  

Tahini halva is a sweet confection that is wildly popular in syria.  It is made from sesame paste (tahini) and has a distinctively flaky, crumbly texture and sweet pistachio flavor that is just a delight to eat.  It can also take on a variety of flavors like rosewater, hazelnut, almond halawa and chocolate swirl halawa.  

In syria, it’s called halawa, meaning “sweetness” in Arabic, and is a pantry staple in most households.  It was, and still is our peanut butter.  

The inside of these little truffles is halawa, but for the outside, it is covered with 3 different coatings: pistachios, toasted sesame and chocolate…  

 

Ingredients  

for the halawa truffles:  

• 2/3 cup tahini, stirred well  

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered milk  

• 1 cup powdered sugar  

• 8 squares (30g) from chocolate bar  

 

 Truffle coating:  

• pistachios, sliced or coarsely chopped  

• toasted sesame seeds  

• 16 squares from chocolate bar  

• 1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil  

• chocolate sprinkles, or sprinkles of choice  

 

Instructions  

to make the halawa truffles:  

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the powdered milk and powdered sugar until combined.  

2. Add in the tahini and stir or knead until the mixture is evenly coated and crumbly. it will look very dry and powdery at first, but will slowly start to hydrate as you continue to stir and knead.  

3. Using a measuring tablespoon or a tablespoon-size ice cream scoop, measure out 1 tablespoon of the tahini mixture and roll between your hands into a ball, while applying pressure and pressing firmly to compact as it’s pretty crumbly. if the mixture feels too dry to shape into a ball and is falling apart, knead in a tiny bit of tahini. repeat with the remaining mixture until you have about 16 balls.  

4. To make the chocolate swirled halawa, grate 8 squares of the chocolate over the remaining tahini mixture. Stir well to combine.  

 

For the sesame seed and pistachio coatings:  

1. Roll the plain balls into each topping separately while pressing firmly to adhere. the pistachios are not as easy to stick on as the sesame seeds, so you might feel the need to use your fingers to insert a few at time into the balls. place the truffles into mini cupcake liners to serve.  

 

For the chocolate coating:  

1. Chill the 8 chocolate swirled halawa truffles in the freezer for at least 15 minutes or until very firm and cold. grate 4 of the chocolate squares and set aside. in a small but deep, microwave-safe bowl, microwave the remaining 12 chocolate squares (45g) in 15 second intervals, stopping and stirring in between until mostly melted. continue to stir the chocolate until it has completely melted and very smooth.  

stir in reserved grated chocolate until fully melted.  

2. Dip a skewer about 1cm into the melted chocolate, then insert into the center of the firmed, cold halawa truffle. Only push it about 1/4 of the way through the truffle. Using the skewer, transfer the truffle to the bowl of chocolate and dip until it is completely covered.  

Transfer to the plate, then decorate the top with sprinkles. peel the truffles off the parchment and place into mini cupcake liners to serve. Truffles will keep well at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator for several weeks.