Ετικέτες
One of the advantages that vegans who live in Greece have is that, because of the fasting on the one hand and of the traditional Mediterranean diet on the other, they can find plenty of lenten, plant-based foods and treats that are also vegan, at any time of the year. One of them is halvah, which, although is a delicious dessert by itself, it works also great in recipes such as my favorite fluffy ice-cream made with halva.
This time, as I was in a baking mood, I used halvah as a filling in one of my favorite recipes for chocolate cookies with olive oil. I came up with the recipe for the cookies once when I wanted to make chocolate cookies but did not want to use margarine. Having no alternative at that time I used olive oil. Finally the recipe was so delicious that since then, this is the one that I bake the most for our coffee or tea. Indeed these chocolaty bites are so crispy and yummy that no one is going to believe it’s vegan.
Wanting to make a little more interesting my original cookie recipe, I decided to enrich them with a tasty stuffing and I never regretted it! The halva and the chocolate are combined in an interesting way and every bite melts in the mouth, like a tasty surprise that you don’t expect but you will definitely welcome it as particularly pleasant!
Ingredients
(for 25-30 cookies )
For the cookies
- 100 g (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp ) olive oil, cold
- 45 ml (3 tbsp ) vegan milk, cold
- 3-4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 125 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 125 g (1 cup) whole-wheat flour
- 150 g raw cane sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
For the filling
125 g tahini halva, cut into cubes (I used vanilla, but feel free to choose your favorite flavor)
Method
- In a bowl mix with a wooden spoon the olive oil with the sugar, the vegan milk, the cocoa powder and the baking powder.
- Gradually add all-purpose flour while stirring. Once incorporated, gradually add the whole-wheat flour. Knead for a while, until all the ingredients are well mixed but do not overdo it as your cookies will become tough.
- Form a ball with the dough, cover with film and leave in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Take walnut-size pieces of the dough, press each with your hand to form a ½ cm width disc and put into a piece of halva. Fold the edges of the dough over the halva, push with your fingers to seal and to shape a proper cookie.
- Place the cookies on a lined oven tray, spaced 2 cm apart. Bake at 170 oC for 20-25 minutes (depending on your oven). Leave on a wire rack to cool and keep in an airtight container.