These tahini cookies are buttery, sweet, and loaded with the taste of sesame seeds. A simple and easy cookie recipe that takes just 10 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to bake with no chilling required.
Table of Content
The middle Eastern tahini has become a must-have condiment in every home. Right? I can't think of a week in our home when we do not use it in some recipe. I love making tahini sauce for my salad and of course, we have hummus every week. But, have you tried cookies with it? Similar to my halva cookies or halva cake, these are so delicious.
Why make these cookies
- The recipe is very simple with the standard creaming method for making cookies.
- Apart from the tahini paste all the rest of the ingredients are simple pantry staples
- The dough needs no chilling time, which means you can bake these cookies from start to finish in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Tahini - These days, most supermarkets have tahini paste or tahini sauce in the condiments isles. In some, you can find it in the aisle that sells foreign products. And sometimes, in the isle that sells, Middle Eastern or Asian foods.
- All-purpose flour - Simple, plain flour works just fine for this recipe. No need for any cake flour or self-raising flour.
- Sugar - I am using both white and brown sugar. And yet, brown sugar works just as well. In fact, brown also adds a nice caramel flavor.
- Butter - Regular unsalted butter is perfect. Make sure the butter is at room temperature but not too soft so it creams with the sugar nicely.
- Spices - Today, I am using cinnamon. But, you can also use pumpkin spice, gingerbread spice, or garam masala.
- Vanilla - You can use vanilla extract, bean paste, and vanilla sugar.
Step by step instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350°F / 177°C / Gas Mark 4
- Dry ingredients - In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Then, add the raw tahini paste followed by the vanilla extract.
- Next, add the flour mixture and combine well.
Pro tip - Combine well but do not over mix as we do not want to activate the gluten in our flour.
- Shape golf size amounts of dough into balls and space them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Make sure to leave enough room for them to spread. Use a fork to make the cookies as shown in the video.
Pro tip - Marking the cookies with the fork is optional, you can also leave them for a smoother top.
- Bake the cookies on the center rack for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Pro tip - Baking time will differ with the size of the cookie dough balls. Mine took about 8 minutes. - Cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
More great cookies
Frequently asked questions
These cookies will keep at room temperature for a week or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. They also freeze beautifully for up to a month or more.
Tahini is a thick paste made of sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are soaked in water overnight, then crushed, so the bran and kernel are separated. The paste made from the kernels is then sold in supermarkets for us to use. You can use it to make tahini sauce as well as to make halva. You will often find it served alongside hummus, falafel, and kebabs.
Tahini is a distinct flavor of sesame seeds. You can use other nut butter like peanut butter or almond butter but it will be a very different cookie.
Printable Recipe
Tahini Cookies
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Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
- 2 cup (250 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) Unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup (150 g) Sugar
- ¾ cup (180 g) Tahini paste (raw )
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350°F / 177°C / Gas Mark 4
- Dry ingredients - In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Then add the raw tahini paste followed by the vanilla extract.
- Next, add the flour mixture and combine well.Pro tip - combine well but do not over mix as we do not want to activate the gluten in our flour.
- Shape golf size amounts of dough into balls and space them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Make sure to leave enough room for them to spread. Use a fork to make the cookies as shown in the video.Pro tip - Marking the cookies with the fork is optional, you can also leave them for a smoother top.
- Bake the cookies on the center rack for about 8 to 10 minutes. Pro tip - Baking time will differ with the size of the cookie dough balls. Mine took about 8 minutes.
- Cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Sara Welch
Whipped up a batch of these for an afternoon treat, and they were delicious! Exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth; easily, a new favorite treat!
Veena Azmanov
Happy you enjoyed these cookies, Sara. Thank you for the lovely feedback.
Andrea
Big fan of tahini but never had it sweet like this. I can't wait to try these.
Heather
I love tahini but don't think I've ever had it in sweet desserts! Cannot wait to try this flavor combination. Thanks for the great tips!
Jill
I had not thought of using tahini in cookies before, but they were delicious. Really enjoyed them. Thanks for the recipe!
Annie
Can I use Chocolate Sweet Tahini? I have a jar in the pantry.
Veena Azmanov
Yes, I think that should work too!