Tahini Cookies

Submitted by: VIVIAN SCHWERNER

My dad got this recipe from his friend Cathy Salter, who is one of the people who created The Common Ingredient; he really wanted to make these cookies, but I wasn’t so sure. First off, I had never had tahini and I didn’t know if it would be good in a cookie. And second, I have Celiac disease so I can’t eat regular flour, which has gluten in it. But we have discovered that it’s easy to get “1-to-1” gluten-free flour in most supermarkets, so it’s really easy to bake all kinds of desserts. Using 1-to-1 flour, we’ve been able to make banana bread, brownies, and lots of other things. 

It turns out that tahini actually tastes really good — and especially in these cookies, which are something like a nuttier version of a sugar cookie. They're soft and chewy — they’re great when you don’t want a super-sweet dessert and are versatile enough that you can eat them any time of day!

Tahini Cookies

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter

• ¾ cup Tahini

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (or 1-to-1 gluten-free flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill)

• ¾ teaspoon baking soda

• Sesame seeds (optional)
  

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

1.   Cream butter, tahini, sugars until fluffy (mixer with paddle).

2.   Add egg and vanilla.  Mix at medium speed.

3.   Add to the butter mix.  Beat just to combine.

4.   Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough.  Shape into a ball.

5.   Roll in sesame seeds for added crunch.

6.   Place 3” apart on baking sheets. 

7.   Dip tines of a fork in warm water and press dough balls lightly to flatten.

8.   Bake 18-20 minutes.  Rotate ½ way through baking)

Adapted from a recipe on Martha Stewart.com