Dubai Chocolate Bon-Bons

I have tried so hard to avoid making these trendy treat but alas, here we are. 

Since I needed to practice the process of coloring, molding, filling and capping my bon-bons, I figured I would indulge in my children's request for Dubai Chocolate. At least I knew someone would eat it if I messed up....

But, of course, I couldn't just buy the paste and make it from a bunch of store-bought ingredients. Anyone could do that! I wanted to make as many ingredients as possible from scratch, all why keeping it dairy-free. 

So, I started with the Tahini Paste. I toasted the sesame seeds and, using the stone-grinder, aka the melanger, I ground them down into a smooth butter using just a hint of avocado oil to help with fluidity. 

Next, I focused on the pistachios. I blanched them, peeled them, dehydrated them, and then toasted them until fragrant and slightly golden. Then I made two different batches of pistachio "cream".

The first batch I ground in the melanger along with caramelized sugar to make a smooth pistachio praline. It's sweet with notes of nutty pistachio and dark caramel.

For the second batch, I used the food processor to turn it into a more textured paste. I then sweetened it with powdered sugar, vanilla powder and sea salt. The results? A milder, more nutty paste that is lightly sweetened with hints of vanilla and sea salt. 

After that it was just a matter of toasting the katifi (THAT I did buy!) with a bit of vegan butter and putting it all together. 

I will admit, I prefer the praline over the regular butter. However, the kids prefer the butter over the praline. 

Since we can't agree on a winner - and also since these turned out WAY better than I expected - I'm going to leave it up to you. Help us decide. Team praline or team butter?