Vegan tahini cookies
Vegan tahini cookies
Hands up who doesn’t like homemade cookies? Exactly, just as I thought…! Today’s recipe transforms 6 humble ingredients into a delicious vegan tahini cookie (as I love all things tahini) that will make you look forward to your tea or coffee break that little bit more.
Apart from tasting great, this cookie is practically a health food:). It does not use any refined sugar or any other fat other than the mighty tahini itself. Tahini is a great ingredient as not only does it taste great but it’s also super rich in some key nutrients that you body actually needs (phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium, vitamins E, B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15).
In my search for a perfect vegan tahini cookie, I did a fair bit of experimentation. I rolled up my sleeves and made 10 different cookies, which were then sampled by a two person testing team to help me decide which one is worth the guilt. Some of the candidates were unmitigated disasters, others were okay, but did not make you want to reach for another one.
In the end, it came down to two cookies, this one and a gluten-free version of it (see instructions). Just to manage your expectations, as I know there are two different cookie camps out there: some like them soft and chewy while others like them thin and crisp. These cookies are definitely of the first variety. They are quite soft, a little bit chewy and very, very nutty.
- 60 ml / 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 60 ml / 4 tbsp tahini
- 60 gr walnuts, whizzed into a flour / approx. ½ cup ground
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 90 gr / approx. ¾ cup all purpose flour, sifted / oat or buckwheat flour (for GF version)
- 1/3 tsp baking soda
- black & white sesame seeds to decorate (optional)
- In a bowl, mix up maple syrup, tahini* and vanilla essence until fully combined and there are no lumps in your tahini.
- Mix in ground walnuts until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine sifted flour and baking soda. Add it to the tahini mixture in 3 batches. The mixture will be thick and sticky so it’s best to use your hands. If you want to make these cookies gluten free, either use ready-made oat or buckwheat flour or grind up gluten-free oats in a coffee grinder or food processor.
- Divide dough into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and dip it in a plate of sesame seeds (if using), press the ball down with a bottom of a glass to create a ½ cm thick 5 cm (2 in) diameter disc.
- Once you get all the discs coated in sesame seeds, put them into the fridge for about 40 min. 30 min in, pre-heat the oven to 175° C / 350° F.
- Bake in a hot oven for 10-12 mins. Remove the biscuits from the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely before eating. Store in an airtight container.
They are not supposed to be like a shortbread (which is what you are thinking of perhaps), they are meant to be denser yes. Flour needs to be incorporated as gently as possible - if you overwork the dough this activates gluten making them tough. Hope this helps. Ania
Great recipe! Can we skip the fridge part before putting in the oven, if we don’t have that much time?
Yes in the sense that it solidifies the cookie mixture around the sesame seeds and so they stay on better, but the main reason for chilling the mixture is to allow the flour to rest. It could also be that your dough was a bit too dry - in which case use a touch less flour or add a bit more moisture (plant milk). Hope that helps! Ania
Thanks so much.
Kind regards, Emanta
Welcome and I'm sorry to hear that you are battling an autoimmune disease. I'm pretty sure I do. My blog is vegan so no lactose anywhere, as for sugar and chocolate you probably want to avoid dessert section unless you can have things like dates or maple syrup. And many other recipes are gluten-free. Have a browse, hopefully something catches your eye! Good luck! x Ania
P. S. Tahini is a gift from the gods!
can I cut out this cookies with a cutter?
The recipe proportions are calibrated to work with a liquid sweetener (like maple syrup) so changing it to coconut sugar, for example, will require some adjustment. I am not sure it will taste exactly the same either as coconut sugar is less sweet, at least to my palate. Stevia might give it sweetness, but won't give the cookies the same texture (sugar is used in baking not only to give sweetness, but also to provide texture to baking goods) You are welcome to experiment, but it certainly isn't a one-to-one swap. Hope that helps! Ania
I'm not sure as they always get eaten quickly in my house, a couple of days for sure, but like any cookie they taste best freshly made, I would say. Ania
Yes, it does. Or in a coffee / spicer grinder if you prefer. The point is to make it into flour. Hope that helps! Ania
Sure you can! I like how tahini and walnuts taste together, but I'm pretty sure hazelnuts will be just as nice :) Ania
thank you!
just a quiet word of advice though in regard to oat flour. it actually isn't gluten free ;-)