Sesame Tahini Cookies

4.99 from 427 votes

Sesame Tahini Cookies are chewy delicious gluten-free cookies with a 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 uses 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!

Honey Tahini Cookies covered with sesame seeds
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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.

Process shots to show how to make the cookies

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.

Process shots to show the dough getting rolled in sesame seeds

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.

The cookies on baking sheet with parchment paper before baking in the oven

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

  1. Use high quality ingredients. Aside from the salt, baking powder and vanilla extract, there are really only 4 ingredients and so it’s important that you use high quality ingredients that have no fillers. Instead look for single-ingredients type of products.
  2. Make the tahini cookies vegan by substitute the honey for maple syrup. It will slightly affect the taste and texture but the cookies will still turn out chewy and delicious.
  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

Frequently asked questions

How long do these sesame tahini cookies last?

Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, transfer them to an air tight 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

Small bowl of honey tahini 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!

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Sesame Tahini Cookies

Sesame Tahini Cookies are chewy delicious gluten-free cookies with a Middle Eastern flavor. Instead of butter, tahini paste is used to add a rich nutty taste
5 from 427 votes
Servings 9
Course Snacks
Calories 245
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes

Video

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.

Notes

Recipe: This recipe is adapted from Food and Wine
Freezing Instructions: 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.
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutions:
  • 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

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.

Cuisine Arabic
Course: Snacks
 

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Comments

  1. These are so delicious! Best tahini cookie recipe so far- my search can end now! I love the simplicity of the ingredients and the flavour and texture is perfect. Thank you very much for a great recipe. I will be doubling this next time and keeping them in the freezer.

  2. Love these!! Perfect with a cup of tea. Made as directed. Only question was whether I should ‘pack’ the almond flour. I did and it was a bit dry, so just drizzled some extra tahini. Baked 8 minutes and although they didn’t look done- they were perfect by the time they cooled. I love a simple recipe that produces such delicious results. The flavor is so unique and perfect sweetness. Thank you!

      1. I follow the recipe, but they came out a bit burnt at the bottom, not too much to where they’re not edible but the top and bottom kinda look like night and day 🤣 they tasted okay, added some chocolate drizzle to cover up the “burnt-ness” & to add extra sweetness. Next time i will be sure to bake 6 mins instead of 8.

  3. Hi thank you so much for the Sesame Tahini Cookie recipe. I shop at Sainsbury’s and they don’t sell almond flour but they do sell ground almonds. Is that the same thing? If it isn’t is it ok to use ground almonds in place of the flour? Thanks for reading. Alison Baker from Southampton UK😊

    1. Hi there! Ground almonds will not be as finely ground as almond flour so I’m afraid it won’t work for this application. Is it possible to order any almond flour online?

  4. Love this recipe! They may be my new favorite. Simple to make, ridiculously delicious. They freeze well to save some for later!

  5. These look yummy! Can’t wait to try them for my GF relative! Question – the instructions say this makes about 9 balls, but the recipe is for 16. Just looking at that for approximate size of the balls. About how big is your cookie scoop? Thanks!

      1. Thanks for the info about 16. I’m seeing 9 underneath the 3 photos of a hand holding a ball over the sesame seeds. Then right under it, is a baking sheet with 9 cookies on it. 16 does make more sense.

      2. Hi Yumna! I LOVED this recipe, they turned out fantastic. With regards to the 9 vs 16, the actual blog post does say “you should be able to make about 9 balls all together” in the paragraph above the picture of the pan with 9 cookies on it which is probably where the confusion came from, as the recipe itself says it serves 16.

  6. DELICIOUS cookies! I did try them with 2/3rds almond flour and 1/3 oat and used miso paste instead of salt – love them love them love them 🙂

  7. The dough was very dry, perhaps due to the dry climate and high altitude (7000ft) where I live. I added a tablespoon of avocado oil and more tahini and that helped.
    The cookies are delicious. Thank you.

  8. I have now made these twice! They’re so easy and quite striking visually. They’re also delicious, but quite sweet for me, so this time I added a bitter-sweet chocolate dip. Highly recommend!

  9. These are delicious!
    Quick question regarding the nutritional facts… is that based on single serving or full batch? What is the serving size?

  10. I have never commented on a recipe before but just had to for this one! It took me literally 20 minutes from pulling the ingredients out of my pantry to pulling the hot cookies from the oven, and that was with my 2-year-old “assisting” haha. They are phenomenal! Grain-free so perfect for those with gluten allergies and dietary restrictions, and maple syrup would probably make a delicious sub if wanting to make vegan. I wish I could make another batch right now but I’m out of almond flour so I will have to ration the few I have left. I will definitely be adding chocolate chips next time as suggested by a commenter below. And there WILL be a next time, soon!
    Shukran, Yumna!

  11. Addictive cookies… I couldn’t resist and ate while it was still a little warm… I replaced half the almond flour with tapioca flour as well as half honey and half maple sauce – it turned out great, thank you very much YUMNA!

  12. I am so excited about these! I was just wondering about the tahini. In your description, you explain tahini as toasted. In your link for tahini in your recipe, however, the brand is for untoasted. They have very different flavors. I was wondering which one you suggest? Thanks!

    1. Sorry about that, it was my understanding that tahini is always “toasted or roasted” which is how it’s made. I think it’s possible the brand I linked it toasted but it’s not mentioned in their ingredients. I still highly recommend that brand because it has a great texture and consistency, but you can also use this one: https://amzn.to/3yrwUyS

  13. These are so incredibly good!!!! I’ve made 3 batches in a week. I did sub 1/2 cup of almond flour for tapioca starch as I didn’t have quite enough almond flour, and it worked great. I also tried the last batch without sesame seeds added, but instead added half a cup of dark chocolate chips. They’re like extra flavourful, salty sweet gluten free chocolate chip cookies……I’m pretty sure this is how we do chocolate chip cookies at our place from now on.

  14. Thank you very much for this gorgeous recipe. Bake these cookies several times and every single person loved them.
    Recently when I bake with fresh and good quality as always, I don’t know why my cookies have cracks on tip side !!!
    Can you help what can I do to ??
    Many Thanks
    Ali

    1. Yay, so glad you enjoyed them! It’s possible that the tahini you’re using is dried out a little bit so if it doesn’t have as much fat in it, you may notice some cracks after it bakes.

  15. Hi, thank you for this beautiful recipe! Just wondering what the final texture should be (dry , very moist)? I converted everything to grams and think this has resulted in a too wet texture. Thank you!!

    1. Hi Summer! I am sorry the cookies didn’t turn out how you expected. The texture of the cookie is pretty soft, like biting into a soft breakfast cereal bar. That being said, it shouldn’t be wet, especially after baking. I’ve never made this recipe using grams, so I am unsure what the exact measurements would be. I hope you try them again and they turn out this time!

  16. I can never forgive you for the impact that these cookies are going to have on my life. I was interested in sesame (my Sittay/grandmother thought she was Lebanese until the Maronites and French drew the borders of Lebanon after WW1 a bit further south to keep out the high Orthodox Christian population north of Taraboulas) and almonds as good foods for my heart, but now the cookies just sit there being eaten by me, one after the other. I hope that the positive benefits outweigh the sheer quantity that I am making and eating (all with organic tahini/almonds/sesame).

  17. These were so delicious! I added just a sprinkle of cayenne pepper to the dry ingredients and for my taste it was great. I never cooked with tahini before. Thank you.

  18. Any issue with substituting honey or maple syrup with sweeteners such as erythritol, monk fruit, stevia powder? Is the liquid part of the honey important to the recipe? Thks

  19. These were so good, and very interesting to try. This was my first time using almond flour. I’ve never tried tahini before, either! I didn’t have quite enough honey, so I added about 2 tablespoons butter, which is fine because I don’t really care about the vegan factor. Thanks for all of your great recipes, once again.

    1. Thank you so much! I’m so glad you were able to try some new ingredients and enjoyed. Hope you continue to love the recipes!

  20. WOWZA! Almost too good and easy! Made as written. Love these vegan cookies that taste so special and unique. my yield was just over 2 dozen. I rolled then flattened to about a 1/4″ and they were a nice size. Great straight out of the oven or wrapped overnight. Thank you for this recipe – Jennifer Vigo MS, RDN

  21. I’ve made these several times and they are so good and not too sweet. I’ve used both honey and maple syrup and prefer maple syrup. I do use the 100% maple syrup not a hybrid with other ingredients in it. The maple gives them another layer of flavor the honey doesn’t imo. Thank you for this recipe. These satisfy my sweet tooth while keeping my gluten sensitivity under control.

  22. These are one of my favorite healthier cookie recipes. I accidentally used almond extract instead of vanilla and they turned out even better.

  23. I tried this with an equal amount of oat flour and toasted the sesame seeds beforehand.
    The results are divine! Crispy edges and chewy centre.
    Thank you for the awesome recipe.

      1. Thank you for this healthful, simple, delicious recipe! My new favorite cookie, sans the usual load of eggs and butter. Second batch, I used buckwheat honey and toasted the seeds. Will definitely do both going forward, and look forward to some experiments: adding cardamom or ginger or chocolate chips or toasted pecans or cacao nibs or toasted coconut or orange/lemon zest. 😋

  24. Excellent recipe!! I usually make a double batch and use 1/3 honey or maple and 1/3 date syrup. I also add spices like cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. I roll some of the cookies in sesame seeds, some in sunflower seeds and some in sliced almonds

  25. I’m using maple syrup because I prefer it to honey, not because I want to make vegan cookies. I love that it’s so easy to make and that there’s no egg, milk, or butter in the batter. Don’t get me wrong, I love dairy a LOT, it’s just that with this batter I get to use my tahini and sesame seeds. It’s so weird because I was just looking at my almond flour today — I have a lot — and wondering what to do with it! Now I know. I think my pantry is stuffed with Lebanese ingredients!

    1. I usually make a double batch and use 1/3 honey or maple and 1/3 date syrup. I also add spices like cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. I roll some of the cookies in sesame seeds, some in sunflower seeds and some in sliced almonds

  26. I am about to make these for the second time. Absolutely love them….so moorish! Naturally gluten free so a real bonus! Thank you for sharing.

  27. Best recipe. Consistent texture and taste. When she says bake…8 minutes, she means it. They are delicate and will burn if you go over that time!

  28. The instructions and the video are very different, the instructions said add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. But your video shows add wet ingredients to dry ingredients!! Which one should I follow? 🤔😕. Please do reply, I want to make this cookies tomorrow. Thanks

    1. It really doesn’t matter, but I find it better to add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well incorporated. Hope you enjoy!

      1. Best recipe. Consistent texture and taste. When she says bake…8 minutes, she means it. They are delicate and will burn if you go over that time!

  29. Absolutely amazing and Delicious. I made it as soon as I saw it and it’s soft and delicious and not too sweet. Just perfect!!! Thank you

  30. Baked these today. Thank you for the recipe. Mine spread a lot and the dough was very soft. Might be the tropical Singapore climate. I had to bake them longer as they were definitely not done at 10 mins even. The center was dough. They smell heavenly though. Will make again with some freezing time for the dough.

  31. Hi! I just love your blog — I’ve probably made a dozen of your recipes! I feel like you’re teaching me how to cook. Thank you!

    I made these and they are crazy delicious. I’m already hankering for a second batch. However, mine flattened out a lot — not at all like the picture. I was wondering if you had any ideas why this might be? The dough was definitely soft. It almost felt like it was melting in my hands. Maybe I should pop it in the fridge for a second if my house is particularly warm that day?

    1. That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for all of the support!! Hmmm, that shouldn’t be the case as these sesame tahini cookies will expand slightly when baked, but not by much. I think it would be helpful to stick in the fridge too!

      1. Some brands of tahini are thicker then others. Possibly your tahini had a higher oil content causing a wetter batter.

  32. I used maple syrup as I didn’t have any honey, and the cookies were very good. I think it’s important to “underbake” them if you want a chewy center — which I like. They held together well, and weren’t a crumbly as the other tahini cookies I baked, from different recipes. Thank you!

    1. There’s definitely a similarity, but these are like the Middle Eastern version of my peanut butter cookies!

  33. These cookies are INCREDIBLE ,,, If I hadn’t baked them myself, I’d swear they were chewy peanut butter cookies with sesame seeds on top. Yumna makes cooking and baking easy and fun. I’m grateful to her for inviting me back into my kitchen xo

      1. I make these all the time now.
        There are the easiest and most beautiful yummy biscuits ever’!
        Thanks

  34. My daughter and I are both gluten free and I have tried SO many biscuit, snack and cake recipes over the years.
    These are definitely the one of the best!! They taste absolutely yummy and have a lovely crunch to them as well a soft middle (my gluten eating husband and second daughter also agree!!).
    Thank you SO much!!
    Kate

  35. WOW! I loooove these cookies!!! They turned out so delicious and addicting! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

  36. Made this twice now and it’s sooo great. Not overly sweet, great texture, and doesn’t feel “healthy” or gluten free at all. Saving it!

  37. Do you toast the sesame seeds fore rolling the cookies? I see variations in the seed color that you roll them in

  38. The recipe works very well. Chewy and not overly sweet. Only because I have it in my pantry, I added 1/3 cup chopped dried figs. Yum. Thanks for posting this recipe.

  39. I am addicted to this! A milk booster while breastfeeding! My husband also takes them before mountain biking!

  40. The cookies were so soft I couldn’t check the bottoms. I could see color change in cookie and seeds so I turned the oven off and left them inside until they cooled in the pan before transferring to rack. We are at a higher altitude so that may be the reason. They are very tasty and I love that they are gluten free.

    1. I haven’t tried it with regular flour unfortunately, but you can experiment and adjust the other ingredients if you’d like!

  41. Hi from Germany,
    could you send me the amounts in Gramms ? I tried your receipt but I think the converter didn’t work well;(
    Thank you very much
    😘

  42. I’ve been wanting to make these for a while and they did NOT disappoint. They were even sweeter than expected! These will definitely be a regular in the cookie/treat rotation!

  43. Thank you Yumna! This recipe is amazing and very low in carb. My entire family loves it. We make it all the time; even my 2.5 year old daughter enjoys making them with me. I’ve tried it with both almond meal and walnut meal. Latest version was hazelnut meal+coco powder; tasted like Nutella!

      1. Didn’t use a specific ratio. Still the same amount of the nut meal (hazelnut in this case), just added a Tbsp of coco powder to give it chocolate color.

  44. Hello. I’m interested in making these keto friendly. Do you think this recipe would work w/Stevia? If so, would you recommend sticking w/liquid Stevia, or would powdered work? Also, how much do think would be needed? Thank you.

    1. Hello, I have actually never baked with stevia so I have no experience with how it works or when to use liquid or powdered. I’m sorry!

  45. Really yummy and easy to make.
    I made them for the second time yesterday. This time I used maple syrup instead of honey to make it vegan and that worked out well too. My vegan friends loved them.

  46. I tried these with half oat flour, half almond and they turned out great. I baked them 14 minutes total, swapping at 7.
    I also used agave instead of honey and used about 3/4s of the specified amount of honey. They were lightly sweet, but could have used a bit more sweetness, I think.

  47. If you like tahini you must absolutely try these gluten-free, white-sugar free yummy recipe! The cookies are deliciously chewy and light. Thank you for this amazing recipe!

  48. Absolutely delicious, super healthy and so easy to make. I avoid sugar in my nutrition so the combination of honey and tahini is out of this world! Best cookies ever!

  49. I have made those cookies and inhaled them in a matter of minutes. So easy to make, so simple and they are rick with flavour. (on a side note they are refined sugar free!).
    Thank you again for sharing this recipe!

  50. Went on a hunt for sesame seeds to make these. It was worth it! So easy to make, delicious and great no-guilt snack!

  51. Just baked these cookies. They’re so delicious! I love the subtle sweetness and how the sesame seeds gives a great nuttiness and texture. Would definitely make these again!!

  52. Made these earlier this week so easy and healthy. Instead of reaching for chocolate chips cookies this is a Great healthy alternative when you have a sweet tooth !

  53. These cookies are so delicious!!? They were so easy to make, and I will definitely make them again soon!

  54. Love sesame and tahini. Simple and easy. Light and satisfying. No sugar or butter or milk. For me, the ideal cookies.

  55. This was such an easy, delicious recipe. I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. And the end result was so amazing. Love the chewy texture of these cookies. I didn’t have almond flour, so ended up using ground almonds, and it worked out so well! Lovely recipe ?

  56. Tried this recipe yesterday and absolutely loved it! It was so easy to make and a perfect pairing with a cup of tea.

  57. This recipe is pretty fool-proof (I’m not a great baker). My husband LOVED these. They smelled like halawa, which is a sesame paste dessert, also know as halva. I’m not a big fan of halawa, but the subtlety of the flavors in this recipe was perfect. The cookies are soft and have this almost umami flavor. Really shocked at how much my family loved this simple dessert! Thanks Yumna!

    1. I totally agree that they are pretty fool-proof! It’s hard to mess them up and there’s something sweet and salty and satisfying about them. So glad the whole family enjoyed them!

  58. These cookies were so easy to make and truly delicious!!! I had them with coffee in the morning and they made for the perfect treat

  59. Love these cookies!!! Super easy to do and very tasty. I use oat flour instead of almond and it worked out perfectly! Must try!!! ?

  60. If you like the taste of tahini then you would sure love these cookies! I didn’t have almond flour so I did them with oat flour and they came out pretty nice! Thank you for this awesome recipe 🙂