Not too sweet, with a hint of saltiness these sesame tahini cookies are perfect for afternoon snacking.
I’ve made more than a few batches of these sweet and salty tahini cookies recently each time meaning to photograph them.
But the truth is I don’t especially like photographing cookies. Delicious as they are, I find cookies the hardest to style (hence the two different image styles here).
For all intents and purposes, cookies are little flat nubbly blobs. Sometimes they are perfectly round, making them look a little prettier, but not all cookies come out looking perfect. And to me, that is part of their charm, even if it does make them hard to photograph and style.
Slightly misshapen cookies are the best cookies. You can tell they are homemade, with love and aren’t from a factory.
As misshapen and higgledy piggledy as these cookies are they remind me are reminiscent of the Anzac biscuits I used to help Mum make when I was little. The dough is sticky, and straight from the oven, they are still soft. As they cool and set they become firm and crisp and have that delicious cookie crunch that I sometimes crave.
Tahini is a star ingredient here. You could use any nut butter you like, though, depending on your preferences and what you have in the pantry. If you’re into peanuts then I’m sure a peanut version would be great, and perhaps be even better drizzled with a little chocolate.
But for me, these cookies are perfect as they are because they aren’t too sweet and have an ever so slightly savoury note.
Black Sesame and Oat Tahini Cookies
Ingredients
- 100 g wholemeal spelt flour 3/4 cups plus 2 tbs
- 100 g oats 1 cup plus 1 tbs
- 50 g black sesame seeds 1/3 cup
- 100 g raw sugar 1/3 cup plus 1 tbs
- 2 pinches of salt
- 90 g tahini 1/3 cup
- 1 tbs golden syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbs warm water
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 celsius (350 fahrenheit) and place your oven rack on the middle shelf. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
- Grab a large mixing bowl and add the flour, oats, sesame seeds and sugar. Mix well.
- In another bowl or jug and combine the tahini, golden syrup, olive oil and all but the last tablespoon of the water. Use a whisk and stir until smooth. In a small bowl add the remaining tablespoon of water and add the bicarb (baking) soda and mix well. Add this and the tahini mixture to the dry mix. Mix everything until all the dry ingredients are absorbed.
- Use a teaspoon to scoop the mixture into small balls (roughly 15mm/ 1/2 inch diameter). Flatten with the back of your hand and place on the baking tray, making sure the cookies are evenly spaced. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly golden. Lave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes (the cookies will be very soft still) before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
