Crumbly, slightly nutty flavoured, these tahini cookies, rolled in sesame seeds are a must in your cookie repertoire. They are easy to make and will surely be loved by all.
What is tahini?
Tahini, sometimes tahina, is a sesame paste, often used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. The texture is like a runny peanut butter and it tastes like sesame seed. Nowadays I feel that you can find it in regular grocery stores, but if you have trouble finding it there, you can check your local Middle Eastern Halal store.
How to make tahini cookies
The best is to work with room temperate butter, so take the butter out of the fridge a few hours before you plan to bake.
Crumble the butter into a large bowl with the flour, and then add in the other ingredients. Kneed all the ingredients together. I use my hands, to get a feel for the dough, but if you prefer to use a wooden spoon, you can do so as when you add the tahini it can get a little sticky.
Once your dough has come together, it should be stuck together in a ball, leave it in the fridge to rest for twenty minutes to firm up.
Out of the fridge, roll the whole dough ball into one log, about three cm (about 1 inch) across. Then roll the log in sesame seeds. I like to mix white and black sesame seeds for the colour effect, but you can pick just one of the two.
Cut the log roll into 18 cookies and place flat on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes at 175 degrees C (350 F), until golden. Take out and let cool on a wire rack.
For full details and measurements see the recipe card below.
Freezable
This recipe is perfect to batch make and keep in the freezer. Complete the dough on to the resting phase. Instead of letting the dough rest in the fridge, roll it in plastic wrap, and then into an airtight container. Keep in the freezer for up to two months. Make sure it does not get any freezer burns, if the container is not completely air tight. Before using the dough, let it defrost in the fridge for a couple of hours, before rolling it into a log, ready to be rolled in sesame seeds.
If you do not eat all the cookies in one sitting, I dare you to try! Then they will taste best in the cupboard in an airtight container for up to two weeks. However, if you are planning a big bake, for a big event, then you can freeze the cookies even after they have been in the oven. Freeze in an air tight container for up to a month. Let the cookies defrost completely in the fridge or in a cool place. Try to lay out the cookies on a cookie tray, so that they do not stick together when defrosting because of the moisture that will be exposed. This can make the cookies softer than you intend to.
Variations
Prefer a chocolate chip cookie? Try these chocolate chip tahini cookies and add in 100 grams of chopped 70 percent dark chocolate.
For other cookies, try my lemon oat cookies.
The open jar of tahini will keep well in the fridge until the expiring date on the jar, but if you want to use it for other things try my many hummus variations, starting with my basic hummus.
Tahini cookies
Ingredients
- 100 g butter
- 140 g flour
- 60 g tahini
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 5 tbsp white and black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Crumble butter and flour in a large bowl.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients, except for the sesame seeds.
- Kneed it together to one dough. It should all stick together.
- Let the dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Set the oven to 175 °C (350 °F).
- Roll the dough into a long roll about 3cm (1 inch) across.
- Spread the sesame seeds on a plate.
- Take the log roll and roll it in the sesame seeds.
- Cut the log roll in eighteen roundels and place them flat on a cookie sheet.
- Put in the oven for 10-12 minutes, and bake until golden. check after ten minutes.
- Take out of oven and leave on a cooling rack until cool.
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