Cookies so delicious: Tahini cookies

Cookies so delicious you'll want to hide some away for later.
Tahini cookies on a plate with chocolate chip meringues and pine nut cookies. (Photo: sackton/flickr)

These cookies couldn’t be simpler to make, and they are extremely, meltingly, delicious. I doubled the recipe because the original doesn’t make enough to keep the family happy. I used margarine to keep the cookies non-dairy, but if butter is no issue for you, then use butter.

Tahini cookies

Print
Prep10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Yield3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

  • 200 grams soft margarine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup tahini. If there’s a layer of oil floating on top of the jar, stir it back in.
  • 2 cups plus 4 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp pine nuts and powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325° F (160° C).
  • Cream the margarine and the sugar together.
  • Add the vanilla and the tahini and blend again.
  • Combine the flour and the baking powder; add to the tahini mixture.
  • Form balls the size of walnuts and place them on a baking sheet protected with baking paper. The dough is dry and crumbly, so squeeze it together to make the balls.
  • If adding the optional pine nuts, do it like this: form one cookie ball; take 2 or 3 pine nuts into your left palm, and with your right hand, press the ball onto them. Reverse it onto the baking sheet. If the ball crumbles slightly, just squeeze it back into shape with your fingertips.
  • Some of the cookies looked like little caricatures. My family has given up wondering why I laugh when I’m alone in the kitchen.
  • Bake for 13-15 minutes. Do not bake longer. The cookies need a little moisture to retain their shape and not crumble.
  • Cool the baking tray on a rack, and don’t touch the cookies for at least 5 minutes. If they’re handled while hot, they will fall apart.
  • Dust with powdered sugar if you wish, when they’re cool. Hide a few for yourself before you offer them to family and friends.

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