Cook Something Different: Halvah Shortbread....

Halvah Shortbread :

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
• pinch of salt
• 1¼ cups brown sugar
• 2 cups unbleached pastry flour
• ½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped or ground
• a few pecan or walnut halves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F .
2. Cream the butter with the tahini, using a food processor or electric mixer, or by hand. Add the salt and brown sugar, and blend until smooth.
3. Sprinkle in the flour, blending well. Mix in the chopped or ground nuts. The dough will be very stiff.
4. Lightly butter two 7-inch pie plates or shallow baking pans. Press the dough to evenly cover the bottom of the pie plates to a thickness of no more than 1 inch. Press a few nut halves into the surface to decorate.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Check the short-bread frequently, and remove it from the oven as soon as the edges are golden-brown.
6. While it is still warm, cut each short-bread into 8 or 10 wedges in the pan (if you wait until it is cool to cut it, it will crumble).