Is there such a thing as Keto Candy?
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Have you heard of Halvah (or Halva)?
This Middle Eastern candy is traditionally made in many different ways in many different cultures. One of the more popular versions of Halvah is made from sesame and honey, which obviously isn’t good for a ketogenic diet.
I stumbled on this wondeful sounding confection when looking for a way to make a low-carb fat bomb out of the jar of tahini languishing in my pantry.
This Keto Halvah is as close as I’ve gotten to a recipe for Keto Candy. Is it really Ketogenic Candy?
Should we be trying to make keto candy or should we just avoid anything that brings back fond memories of pre-keto candy?
Those are questions for you to answer, and when you do, please let us know in the comments.
Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. With a texture similar to nut butters, I knew there had to be fat bomb possibilities…perhaps even keto candy possibilities?
I used to use tahini to make homemade hummus. And while I still eat hummus occasionally when I am cycling in carbs, for the most part, hummus has phased out of my Keto life. With it went the one recipe that I was familiar with for tahini.
I also had a bag of cacao butter sitting around. I bought it because I thought it would make a good substitution for coconut oil in fat bombs. (Coconut oil and I don’t get along, unfortunately.) But I hadn’t found a recipe that really grabbed me to try out the cacao butter.
When reading about all the wonderful variations for Halvah, which include chocolate – you know I love chocolate, even on my keto diet! – I started to formulate a plan. Some variations added crushed pistachios, which are one of my husband’s favorites. All of a sudden, I knew I’d found my new fat bomb recipe!
Easy Low Carb Dessert Recipe.
Halvah Tahini and Pistachio Fat Bomb
Ingredients
- 110 g Cacao Butter melted
- 1/2 cup Tahini
- 2 tbsp Cacao Powder optional
- 1 tbsp Swerve confectioner's sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 dash pink sea salt or more if desired
- 1/2 cup Crushed Pistachios crushed
Instructions
- Melt cacao butter. I measure it in grams on my kitchen scale ahead because it’s usually sold in chunks. That makes it hard to measure by volume. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, melt an amount approximate to ½ cup. Pour into a glass measuring cup to determine ½ cup. Pour off any extra into a heat-safe container and let cool. Break apart and return to the container..
- Add tahini to cacao butter and melt over low heat.
- When combined, stir in cacao powder (if using), salt and Swerve.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in vanilla extract and crushed pistachios.
- Spoon by heaping tablespoons into candy molds. If you don’t have molds, line an 8” x 8” baking pan with parchment and pour the mixture in.
- Freeze until set, about 30 minutes. If using baking pan, break apart into serving size pieces.
Nutrition – Not laboratory tested.
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~Angela
Hi Angela,
Thank you so much for this great recipe. I have made this three times now and can’t get enough! Each time I have made half with & half without the cacao powder. This last time I added some ginger powder and cacao nibs to the half without, – delicious! I’m looking forward to exploring some other flavours in future batches e.g. Christmas spices, dried berries…The possibilities are endless. Many thanks again.
Gretchen,
I’m so glad you like this recipe! I love the idea of the cacao nibs – I make these mostly for my husband (his favorite!) but I can’t have the nuts, so I usually go without. The cacao nibs would add the crunch that’s missing when I leave out the nuts for myself – I love it! Thanks for the great idea. ~Ang
Hello! What can I use instead of cacao butter?
You can totally use coconut oil instead. It will alter the flavor slightly (but not much) and the texture will be about the same.
Love tahini, love coco butter. Taste is heavenly! Thank you for the recipe!
Perfect 🥰sweetness, perfect bite! Even better than a peanut butter cup! I substituted coconut oil for cocoa butter and it was wonderful. Thank you Angela 😊