The joy of Diaspora is the variety of experience it brings into our tradition. Almost any kind of food has analogues in every tributary of Jewish heritage and candy is no exception. We’ve sifted through the internet and our cookbook collections to bring you Jewish candy recipes from Eastern Europe, South Asia and the Mediterranean, including, of course, the sticky and celebrated halvah, in its classic sesame rendition and with a serendipitous autumnal twist.

Raw Halvah
(From Arrowhead Mills)

1/2 cup Sesame Seeds (ground)
2 tablespoons Sesame Seeds (whole)
3 tablespoons Raw honey
1/4 cup Sesame Tahini (use the driest part of the jar)
1/8 teaspoon Almond extract

Grind 1/2 cup seeds in a blender. Mix ground seeds, whole seeds, tahini, honey and extract in a bowl all together until thoroughly blended. Roll into small balls or into a long roll and refrigerate.

More after the jump…

Pumpkin Halvah
(From Claudia Roden’s “The book of Jewish food: an odyssey from Samarkand to New York”)

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (or 3 seeds)
2/3 cup clotted or heavy cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds and/or pistachios

This is a Bene Israel sweet from India.  Roden calls for a fresh, good-flavored pumpkin, but canned pumpkin would do. Since she calls for 1 lb of fresh pumpkin, with some of the liquid boiled away, about 3/4 lb would probably be right.

Heat pumpkin to boiling, stirring often, and add sugar and cardamom. Continue cooking until thick and slightly jammy.  Let it cool before folding in cream and nuts. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Walnut or Almond Candy
(From Vivienne Alchech Miner’s “From my grandmother’s kitchen: a Sephardic cookbook”)

10 oz sugar
10 oz coarsely chopped walnuts or almonds

Melt sugar in a deep pan on low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  When melted and golden, quickly remove from heat, stir in chopped nuts and pour onto a lightly oiled surface. Wearing protective, oiled gloves (and carefully – mixture is HOT), quickly shape into walnut-sized balls.  Wrap individually in plastic wrap or put in tiny paper cases (like those for marzipan).  Store tightly covered.

Makes 2 dozen. Instead of nuts, you may use 1 cup sesame or poppy seeds.

Amandines (Almond Balls)
(From Claudia Roden’s “The book of Jewish food: an odyssey from Samarkand to New York”)

2 cups ground almonds
1/2 – 3/4 cup confectioners’ or superfine sugar (plus a little more
for rolling the balls in at the end)
1 or 2 drops almond extract (optional)
3 tablespoons rose or orange-blossom water
12 blanched almonds or pistachios for garnish (optional)

Mix the ground almonds and sugar in a bowl. Add extract and flower water and work well with your hands.  It will be dry at first, but the almonds will release enough oil to bind it.  Knead to a soft dough. Roll into 1″ balls (large marble size).  Roll in sugar and decorate each with a split almond or pistachio. Makes 22 to 24.

Abricotines (Apricot Balls), a Syrian Jewish sweetmeat
(From Claudia Roden’s “The book of Jewish food: an odyssey from Samarkand to New York”)

1 lb dried apricots, unsweetened and soft, do not soak or wash
1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
Confectioners’ sugar
A few whole pistachios for decoration

Process the apricots to a smooth paste, adding a little water by the teaspoon if needed. Work in the pistachios with your hands.  Wash hands, and wetting or greasing them with a little oil, roll little lumps into marble-sized balls.  Roll them in confectioners’ sugar and press a pistachio half on each.

Israeli Chocolate-Coated Orange Peels
(From About.com)

You’ll want to use low spray or organic oranges for this recipe, if you can find them, since the peel of the orange absorbs the toxins sprayed on the fruit. If low or no spray oranges are used, you may be able to skip or shorten the first soaking step, since it looks like a detox soak to me.

3 Oranges
2 cups Sugar plus extra for rolling
2 T Fresh lemon juice
5 oz. Bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp. Vegetable oil

Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Set aside.

Scrub oranges well, half them and scoop out the flesh. Cover shells with cold water, weighting them with a plate to keep them submerged, and let soak for about four hours, replacing the water once.

Cut each shell in half and place in a large heavy saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil for 15 minutes, drain and repeat the process. When oranges are cool enough to handle, cut into strips about 1/4 by 2″. Return the strips to the saucepan, add sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until liquid is almost gone, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add the lemon juice, stir and drain the strips in a sieve. When they are cool enough to handle, spread on the prepared baking sheet.

For the chocolate dip, combine all but 1/4 cup of the chocolate with the oil in the top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Stir just until melted, remove double boiler from heat, and add the remaining chocolate, stirring until melted. Roll each orange strip in sugar, then dip half of each peel into the chocolate and return to the baking sheet. Place in the freezer for a minute or two to let the chocolate set. Remove from the freezer and let them sit for several hours until they are firm. Makes about 80 pieces, which can be stored in an airtight container for up to three months.