Chocolate Halvah Sandwich Cookies with Cardamom buttercream

Disclaimer: This is not my recipe all the credit goes to Bake from Scratch in their v.4 cookbook you can buy it: here

Have you ever tried Halvah? This was my first time, let alone in baking. Halvah is a Middle Eastern treat with the perfect balance of savory and sweet. These Chocolate Halvah sandwich Cookies with Cardamom Buttercream are also the perfect balance between sweet and savory. The cookies by themselves are not very sweet, what the Halvah is in, but of course buttercream is very sweet, which together creates a great combination. The perfect touch to this recipe that makes it amazing, is the use of Cardamom. I’ve learned to appreciate this spice more and more in baking. It creates a unique taste to a lot of desserts that people aren’t used to but love and a little of it goes a long way!

Disclaimer: This is not my recipe all the credit goes to Bake from Scratch in their v.4 cookbook you can buy it: here

Ingredients

• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (32 g) almond flour
• ¼ cup (21 g) dark cocoa powder, plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp (6 g) table salt
• ½ cup (65 g) shredded halvah
• 1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips
• 1 ½ tbsp (21 g) coconut oil
• Small food-safe paintbrush
• Edible gold paint
• Cardamom Buttercream (recipe follows)
  • ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp (3 g) table salt
  • ½ tsp (1 g) ground cardamom
  • 2 cups (240 g) confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at high speed until combined, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Add vanilla, and beat at low speed until combined, about 15 seconds.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, cocoa, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture, gradually increasing mixer speed to medium until the mixture starts coming together, about 2 minutes. Add halvah and beat until well combined. (Dough should be dark brown without any specks of halvah showing. It will look a bit crumbly, but don’t worry – it will come together in the refrigerator when it sets.) shape dough into a disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Dust a sheet of parchment paper with cocoa. Turn out dough onto parchment, and dust with cocoa. Turn out dough onto parchment paper, and roll dough to ¼ – inch thickness. Remove top layer of parchment; using a 2-inch square cutter, cut dough, rerolling scraps. Using a small offset spatula, gently remove cookies, and place on prepared pans. Freeze for 10 minutes.
5. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.
6. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and oil; heat on high in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth (about 1 ½ minutes total).
7. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Dip cookies halfway into chocolate mixture, shaking off excess. Place on prepared pans, and freeze until chocolate is set, about 10 minutes.
8. Cover the undipped half of 1 cookie with a piece of parchment paper. Dip brush in edible gold paint, and flick paint onto chocolate-covered portion of cookie. Freeze for 2 minutes. Repeat process with all remaining cookies.
9. Cardamom Buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, vanilla, salt, and cardamom until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl. Add confectioners’ sugar, and beat at low speed to high, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Use immediately.
10. Place cardamom buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a 1/3-inch round tip (Ateco #804), and pipe buttercream onto flat side of half of cookies. Place remaining cookies flat side down, on top of buttercream. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.