This time last week
I had posted a new recipe here for the first in 2 months. Feeling good about my little achievement I got the urge to get back in the kitchen once again to bake.
I know, crazy in this 35°C+ weather. Only people with either a baking obsession, a sweet tooth, a food blog, or all three (raises hand) will identify.
A short pinterest browse later = this lovely little tahini cookies recipe
When I say little, the recipe is meant to make 36, ½ tbsp batter per cookie. I used a regular tablespoon instead of the measuring kind and got 26.
Another change, using margarine not butter. Only because it’s the cheaper option. The original recipe uses butter and gives a suggestion for substituting with oil. I have yet to test it out.
Using margarine means it’s necessary to take a heavy-handed approach when flattening the cookie dough balls on the tray. You want to flatten them more or less to your desired baked cookie thickness.
The science behind it is; Margarine has a higher melting point which means less spreading when baking the cookies.
I chose not to garnish each with a blanched almond before baking. To keep things simple and costs down. It’s totally your choice though. I like the idea of rolling the cookie balls in sesame seeds before flattening and baking.
Aaaannd I know I keep referring to these as cookies, really they are more like what us British call biscuits. As they have more of a crisp, crumbly and buttery texture.
The bold flavour of the Tahini biscuits reminds me of Turkish Halwa/Halva. Furthermore, similar to when over indulging in Halva, you want to have a drink to hand when eating these biscuits.
Tahini Cookies / Biscuits
Tasty melt-in-your-mouth cookies made with Tahini – sesame seed paste
- 113 g Margarine or Butter
- 100 g Sugar (granulated)
- 135 g All-purpose flour
- 1 small pinch Salt
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Sugar (Vanilla)
- ½ cup Tahini (well stirred before measuring)
- Pre-heat the oven Gas Mark 4 / 180 C / 350 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder and vanilla sugar, set aside.
- In a large bowl cream, the butter and sugar well. Then add flour mixture and tahini and mix until well combined.
- Transfer about ½ tablespoon cookie dough or the size of ping pong ball into prepared baking sheet(s). If using butter, slightly press the dough. If using margarine, press the dough until its roughly the thickness of your desired baked cookie. Why? *see blog post*
- Bake about 14- 15 minutes rotating the baking sheets halfway through until lightly golden and beginning to crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on trays. Enjoy with a tall glass of cold water / milk / coffee / tea.
- See original recipe for instructions on how to substitute butter / margarine with oil.
- Store biscuits in an airtight container in a cool dry place.
Wondering why I’m not posting a meat dish as Eid al Adha is right around the corner? Well, here are a few recipe ideas to whet your appetite. No offal I’m afraid because I still think it’s, awful.
