Add butter to a wide and deep non-stick pan on medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and bubble. Turn off the heat.

Add almond flour, sugar, milk, saffron, and cardamom to the pan and use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients until combined. Turn the heat back on to medium heat. 

Once the milk starts to boil, turn down the heat to medium-low and stir the halwa constantly to ensure that the halwa doesn't burn on the bottom. Use the plastic spatula to continually scrape the bottom of the pan as well as to clean up the sides. Keep stirring until the halwa thickens and pulls away from the side of the pan. You may need to lower the heat as the halwa thickens to prevent burning. The halwa can take up to 15 minutes to fully thicken depending on how wide your pan is. If serving the halwa on its own as a warm dessert or as a spread for badam halwa croissants, remove halwa once it is thickened into a thick paste that resembles almond butter. Instructions for caramel: However, if using the halwa as caramels you will need to cook the halwa even more. To test if the halwa is at this stage, spoon a small piece and drop it into a small bowl of ice water. Pick up the halwa once cool; it should form into a ball. If you want a softer halwa, the ball should barely hold together, but if you want a chewier caramel cook the halwa until it forms a firmer ball. Turn off the heat.

 Transfer the halwa to a heat-proof glass container. Serve halwa while still warm in a bowl. Alternatively, if the halwa was made was made into a chewy caramel texture, spoon about 1 teaspoon of halwa onto a square parchment paper candy paper to wrap into individual servings to pass out during the holidays.