Sesame Tahini Cookies
Updated Feb 09, 2024
Sesame Tahini Cookies are chewy delicious gluten-free cookies with Middle Eastern flavor. Instead of butter, tahini paste is used to add a rich nutty taste!
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If you’ve tried my Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies, then you’re going to love these Sesame Tahini Cookies that also use tahini instead of butter. Tahini is a sesame seed paste often used in Middle Eastern cooking and baking. It adds a creamy, savory taste to the cookies, that balances beautifully with the honey. And the best part is you only need a handful of ingredients!
They are like Middle Eastern version of my peanut butter cookies. These honey tahini cookies are perfect for parties and make for great snacking! And my favorite thing about them is you can actually taste the dough while making them since it’s mostly made with almond flour, honey and tahini.
What is tahini?
Tahini is a condiment that is made by grinding toasted, hulled sesame seeds to create a creamy, smooth spread. It’s a similar process to making peanut butter. Once it’s in paste form, it has an earthy and nutty flavor, but more slightly more bitter than nut butters. It’s a popular ingredient in Middle Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean dishes.
Cookies made with almond flour
These sesame tahini cookies are made with Almond flour instead of all purpose. Almond flour is also known as almond meal, and it is made from finely ground almonds. It is widely available at health food stores.
How to make honey tahini cookies
In a small bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together, and mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir well until the mixture becomes dough-like. Roll the dough into balls. I use a spring-loaded cookie scoop so they are are evenly sized.
Now you’re ready to roll the dough in the sesame seeds. I prefer using toasted sesame seeds for best flavor, but you can use regular sesame seeds as well since they will be getting toasted in the oven as well.
You should be able to make about 16 balls all together. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten them out slightly. These sesame tahini cookies will expand slightly when baked, but not by much.
They only need 8-10 minutes in the oven. You’ll know they’re done when the dough becomes golden brown and the sesame seeds darken.
Tips for making sesame tahini cookies
- Use high-quality ingredients. Aside from the salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract, there are really only 4 ingredients so it’s important that you use high-quality ingredients that have no fillers. Instead look for single-ingredient type of products.
- Make the tahini cookies vegan by substituting the honey for maple syrup. It will slightly affect the taste and texture but the cookies will still turn out chewy and delicious.
- Allow the cookies five minutes to finish cooking on the baking tray. Once you remove them from the oven, they may still look soft and slightly undercooked. But they will firm up once they cool.
Frequently asked questions
How long do these sesame tahini cookies last?
Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, transfer them to an airtight container and they will keep for up to 7 days. You can keep them at room temperature or in the fridge.
You can also make the dough ahead of time, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. When ready to bake, allow the dough to thaw in the fridge until you’re ready to form, roll them in sesame seeds, and bake the cookies.
Can you freeze tahini cookies?
You can freeze the baked sesame tahini cookies for up to 3 months. Next, you’ll want to place them on a baking sheet in the freezer until they are completely frozen. Then transfer them to freezer bags or an airtight container. To reheat the frozen cookies, bake in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes, or until until warmed through.
What can I replace the tahini with?
Tahini paste gives these cookies a very slight hint of bitterness which makes them so tasty! However, if you can’t find tahini, you can substitute it with another nut butter such as cashew, almond or peanut or sunflower seed butter works well too. The taste of the cookies will be affected, so use tahini if you can!
More recipes with tahini
More cookie recipes
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Shortbread Lebanese Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Date Cookies
The whole family will love these delicious, gluten-free cookies. They are chewy on inside and crisp on outside, just how cookies should be! So quick and easy to make too – you have to make a batch!
If you make this feel good Sesame Tahini Cookies recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Sesame Tahini Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup sesame seeds
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the sesame seeds in a pie plate.
- In a small bowl, whisk the almond flour with the baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, mix the honey with the tahini and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well incorporated.
- Using a spring-loaded cookie scoop, scoop the dough into balls. Roll the balls in the sesame seeds, then flatten them into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Transfer the rounds to the baking sheets, arranging them so they’re about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes, until the bottoms are golden; shift the pans from top to bottom halfway through. Transfer the cookies to a rack and let cool before serving.
Notes
- To make it vegan, substitute the honey with maple syrup.
- Instead of almond flour, you could try oat flour, although I haven’t tried it myself.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Comments
How will one added egg affect the cookies?
Hi Doren! I havenโt tried making these cookies with an egg before, so Iโm not sure. Iโd love to hear how they turn out if you end up trying it though!
Could you soak these after in a syrup?
Hmm, I haven’t tried that but I think it would make them pretty soggy.
Absolutely delicious! I substituted the maple syrup as per the notes for my vegan SIL and they turned out delicious. I couldn’t check for a golden bottom as they were not firm enough in the oven but they firmed up as they cooled – in my oven, they needed around 9.5 to 10 minutes. Lovely!
Yay, so happy you liked them!! Thanks so much!
Love, love, love them. As suggested, swapped out honey for maple syrup, and did a triple batch, using slightly less maple syrup as I donโt like too sweet. Amazing and full of goodness. So easy to put together. Five stars for true recipe instructions, effortless, texture, taste, goodness! Thank you
Aww, yay!! So glad you love the cookies, Mezza! Thanks!
The mixture for these cookies was so dry. I tried adding an extra teaspoon of peanut oil, still they wouldn’t begin to hold together for rolling. Then I tried water; it took about 2.5 Tablespoons before I could get them to roll at all, and then the sesame seeds barely stuck. I’d like to make these cookies work; what else can I try?
Oh no! Sometimes the oil in tahini separates, so I’m wondering if you had a dry dough to begin with due to dry tahini? Others have mentioned that they live in a dry climate and high altitude and had to adjust the recipe by adding some extra oil and tahini because their dough was also too dry. Could this be the case for you? Next time, try adding more oil instead of waterโthat should help the cookie dough roll up better.
Instead of rolling the cookies in the sesame seeds, can I slightly grind the seeds and incorporate them into the dough?
I haven’t tried making them that way myself but I’m sure it would work! Let me know how they turn out for you.
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