These cookies are like a grown up version of peanut butter and jelly.
If you’ve ever bought a big jar of tahini for hummus and then scratched your head thinking what else you’d use it for, well, this izzzzz it. I remember ions ago, I tried to make hummus without tahini and thought it tasted great. I was like, why would I even need to buy that extra jar of tahini for $8. I obviously had no clue about life in general. Years later I wisened up and bit the bullet and bought tahini. The addition of tahini in hummus was revelatory. And I realized that hummus isn’t hummus without tahini.
These cookies celebrate the flavor of tahini. They have a bit of a bite, are slightly tangy, nutty and their texture is awesome (thanks to the sesame). These cookies are perfectly sweet which works great with all those flavors. And I mean, look at how cute they are!
Can we have a short discussion about how I cannot believe/I don’t want to believe that we’re halfway through August?! Yesterday while in Palm Springs, and in 100 degree weather, I saw Thanksgiving stuff at Rite-Aid!!! WHY! We’re so not there yet. I feel like I’ve always been a late bloomer. I’m not ready for summer to be over, though I absolutely love Fall/Winter/all things cozy.
Also, kids are already back in school. How is this possible?! I feel like when I was a kid I went back in very ate August. We need to let these kids live, man. They need a full fledged summer.
I’m going to stop complaining now and go eat a bunch of cookies. Bye. I’ll be back tomorrow with popsicles. It’s popsicle week on the blogosphere. You knew this, right?!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup smooth tahini
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Concord jam
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand-mixer, beat together the tahini and softened butter until very smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the two sugars and beat once more until smooth, about 30 seconds. Next, beat in the egg and vanilla extract. In two batches, add the dry ingredients until no speckles of flour are visible. The dough should be soft and supple. Transfer to the fridge to chill for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. To a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds and sugar.
- Using a 2-ounce cookie dough scooper (or a tablespoon), scoop out a ball of dough. Roll the dough into a circle using the palm of your hands. Roll the ball of dough in the sesame/sugar mixture until it's completely covered. Transfer to the cookie sheet; repeat the scooping and rolling process until you've worked through about half the dough (you'll need to bake these cookies in two batches), being sure to space the cookies about 3-inches apart (they'll spread a bit).
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies have spread slightly. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and using the opposite end of a spatula, make an indentation in the center of the cookie. If the hole isn't big enough you might have to make a crater using a few taps with the edge of the spatula. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes more, and until the edges are lightly golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet (they'll be very fragile right when they come out of the oven) and then transfer them to a cooling rack until they're room temperature. When cooled, add a teaspoon of jam to the center of the cookies. These cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
I made Concord Grape Jam this weekend and a LOT of it thanks to my cousins vineyard. I stumbled upon this recipe in search of Concord Jam recipes and was eager to try these as I’ve never made tahini cookies before but had been thinking of trying such for a few months now.
This recipe seemed like a win-win combo. I was a bit put off by the reviews, but decided to give it a try. The cookies cracked a bit as I pushed the “thumbprint” in them, but pretty much maintained their shape. Reading that they were a delicate cookie, I was prepared for that part. The cookies somewhat melt in your mouth and I found the flavor combo exquisite. Thank you for the recipe!
Completely falling apart. Made Concord grape jam yesterday. Excited about these cookies. Taste fine, but don’t hold their shape. They’re not exactly dry… I can’t explain it. They just don’t hold together. I pick them up and they crumble!
its like indonesian cookies called onde onde
Hi, I was looking at the ingredient list to make these cookies, and I saw you had separately listed 2 tbsp sugar and 3 tbsp sugar a few ingredients lower on the list. Does the recipe call for 5 tbsp of regular sugar altogether?
Thank you!
Hello,
I made these biscuits however I found the dough to be very dry and crumbly. I used one stick of butter and am wondering if I should have used more. I live in South
Africa, could there have been a problem with the altitude? Should I have added more butter? They tasted divine.
Thanks Vicki
Hmm…yes, altitude might’ve been a problem. How far above sea level are you located?
Thanks for the recipe! This sounds like a delicious recipe for leftover tahini. And they are so cute!
These look great. I’m a big tahini fan, and drizzle it on just about anything I can. Looking forward to trying these cookies!
Just wanted to say thanks for your book! Just got it and plan to cook up some pancakes…soon! 🙂
These cookies are so creative and I love the sesame seeds and the adorable thumbprints. I want to just smoosh my thumbs all over that dough!
Oh yay! So glad you finally received it!
These look AMAZING! I grew up with tahini and only used it for hummus until now! I’m going to make these! btw I have a GREAT tahini dressing that is perfect for BBQ meats if you want to try the recipe! Another way to use tahini!
If I get the chance to eat those sweets then there’ll probably be a few minutes of silence and a clean plate at the end. Lol, this is a compliment 🙂
These look like such a treat! What a fabulous, unique, cookie!