Sesame Tahini Cookies

Yumna Jawad

Updated Oct 08, 2025

4.99 from 447 votes

Sesame Tahini Cookies are chewy and gluten-free with Middle Eastern flavor. Instead of butter, tahini paste is used to add a nutty taste!

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Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings 9
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Honey Tahini Cookies.
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Easy Tahini Cookies

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 so good with the honey.

These sesame tahini cookies are like a Middle Eastern version of my peanut butter cookies. They’re made with a handful of ingredients, quick-to-make, dairy-free and gluten-free since I make them with almond flour! I think you’re going to love them!

Happy Baking!
– Yumna

How to Make Sesame Tahini Cookies

Dry ingredients for the honey tahini cookies in a bowl.
Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together, and mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
After mixing the dry ingredients together.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix the honey with the tahini and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
After combining wet and dry ingredients together and making a dough for the cookies.
Step 3: Stir well until the mixture becomes dough-like.
Scooping the dough with a cookie scoop.
Step 4: Roll the dough into balls. I use a spring-loaded cookie scoop so they are are evenly sized.
Rolled ball of cookie dough.
Step 5: 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.
Placing cookie dough ball into the tahini mixture.
Step 6: Make sure to fully coat each dough ball.
Covering the cookie dough ball with the tahini mixture.
Step 7: You should be able to make about 16 balls all together.
Honey tahini cookies on a baking sheet before baking.
Step 8: 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. You’ll know they’re done when the dough becomes golden brown and the sesame seeds darken.
Honey Tahini Cookies.

Tahini Cookies

Author: Yumna Jawad
4.99 from 447 votes
These Tahini Cookies with sesame are chewy, nutty, and lightly sweetened with honey. They’re easy to make, naturally dairy-free and gluten-free for a wholesome treat
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Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Total Time23 minutes
Servings9

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Ingredients
 
 

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.

Equipment

Notes

My Top Tip: 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.
Storage: 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.
Freezing: You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. 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. Or, you can 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 and bake the cookies.
Recipe: This recipe is adapted from Food and Wine

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 130mg, Potassium: 87mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 7IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 134mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Did You Make This Recipe?
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Recipe Variations

  • 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.
  • Make these a thumbprint cookie. Once the cookies have been flattened, use your thumb or a spoon to make an indentation in the center of the cookie. Once it has been baked, press again to further develop the indentation. You can fill it with jam, more tahini or even melted chocolate.
  • Use black sesame seeds. For a spooky twist, black sesame seeds can give these a dramatic look and slightly different flavor.

Recipe Tips

  1. 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. Look for single-ingredient type of products.
  2. Check the consistency of your tahini. I like to use this brand of tahini which is quite runny. If your tahini is chalky or not pourable, you might want to buy a new bottle or else the cookie dough will be too dry.
  3. 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.
Bite taken out of one of the cookies to show the consistency

FAQs

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 a nutty flavor, but more slightly more bitter than nut butters. It’s a popular ingredient in Middle Eastern dishes.

What can I replace the tahini with?

Tahini paste gives these cookies a very slight hint of pleasant 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!

Small bowl of honey tahini cookies
4.99 from 447 votes (347 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. June says:

    These are delicious, a little crunch on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside. I’ve been looking for a firm, dry biscuit recipe for ages with no butter or oil and these are the best. Thank you so much, Yumna.

    Reply
    1. Yumna J. says:

      Aww, yay! So happy you love them, June!! Thank you so much for your kind words!

      Reply

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