Halva Cookies – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Whip the soft butter with the powdered sugar, to a smooth, pale mixture.

   BowlHand mixerorStand mixerorWhisk

   💡Cream the butter soft, at room temperature: cold butter doesn't take in air, and melted butter doesn't hold it.
3. 3
   Grind the sesame seeds in a powerful blender about 3 minutes, until smooth paste forms.

   Blender

   💡At first the sesame looks like dry crumbs: keep grinding, scraping down the sides, and after a few minutes it releases its oil and turns liquid.

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
4. 4
   Taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. 5
   Add the egg, spread and vanilla and mix well.
6. 6
   Add the flour and salt and mix just until a dough forms.

   💡Mix in the flour only until a dough forms: long kneading develops gluten, and the cookies come out hard instead of crumbly.
7. 7
   Fold the halva into the dough gently.

   Silicone spatula
8. 8
   Roll into balls the size of a walnut and place on the baking sheet, spaced apart.

   Baking pan
9. 9
   Flatten each ball lightly with the palm of your hand.
10. 10
    Bake 14–16 minutes, until the edges are golden.

    OvenBaking pan

    💡Take the cookies out while they still look soft: they firm up as they cool, and long baking dries them out.

    💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
11. 11
    Cool on a rack: the cookies firm up as they cool.

    Cooling rack