At the start of last year, the preschool teacher Sarah asked all the mothers to bring a photo of their child and a written recipe to the small evening she hosted in the classroom to speak about the upcoming school year. I, the photographer and recipe developer, showed up with neither. I didn’t manage to print a photo (who does that these days?) amidst the rush and countless errands, and I missed the tidbit about writing a recipe. Maybe I trashed that first Friday newsletter too fast? Eventually I redeemed myself and brought in a photo of my handsome toddler and Sarah added it to the book she compiled of all the boys in the class. This fun green-papered book had laminated pages for each boy with a decorated questionnaire each mother had filled out (like what he wanted to be when he grows up, because most 3 year olds are certain of their future occupation) and on the back side were the recipes pasted in all their glory. The ones the efficient, organized mothers brought along to that first meeting. I supposed a link to this blog would have been sensible for me to write but this was in Israel, most of the women would pass up reading an English blog. So my son’s was blank. He didn’t notice or seem bothered I hadn’t shared another challah, babka, cheesecake, etc. so I moved on. We forgot about the green book.

A solid 20 weeks in, my son’s turn to take the green book home for the weekend, a privilege granted to the Shabbat Aba, finally came. We flipped through each classmate’s page and while he stared at the photos, I read the recipes. Amidst the challah, babka, and cheesecakes, were Kadurei Halva, translated as Halva Balls which I aptly renamed Halva Bombs. I knew I was making them the second I read the title. Plus it consists of a handful of ingredients so there was no excuse. With a new baby around, I didn’t make them while in Israel but only once we moved to Lakewood. One night I was scrolling through my camera roll and as my heart was tugging looking at photos from our life in Israel (nostalgia), I saw the green book and the Halva Bomb recipe. I made it and it’s here now. It deserves a permanent place to live because once you taste one you’ll appreciate the ease of finding the recipe over and over.

The halva bombs don't have the sandy texture of halva because the flavor comes mostly from tahini and ground up biscuits. It helps keep the mixture cohesive. I added coconut oil to the dark chocolate because I like the shell it creates. And I made them sweet enough, because that’s how I like all my desserts.

Halva Bombs

Ingredients

250g petit beurre (tea) cookies, finely crumbled

100g halva, grated

100g shredded coconut

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

450g tahini paste

1/2 tsp sea salt

250g dark chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Maldon salt, for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a medium bowl mix the cookie crumbs, halva, coconut, sugar, and tahini until a smooth mixture forms. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Roll into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Alternately, pack the mixture into a cookie scoop and drop them on the baking sheet. Refrigerate while you melt the chocolate.

In a double boiler, melt chocolate with coconut oil. Drop halva balls into the chocolate and, using two forks, coat in chocolate, tapping off excess before placing back onto the parchment paper. Freeze until firm. Store in freezer and try to hide them somewhere no one can see them. Otherwise they’ll be gone fast.