Tahini Cookies

A local “fitness café” called Sweat and Soda introduced me to sesame lattés, a non-caffeinated beverage made by steaming milk with a bit of sugar and two tablespoons of tahini. The drink has a subtle nutty and slightly bitter taste that I like very much. Those same flavors found their way into these cookies that I made for an evening meeting at our house.

I found this recipe from the cookbook Jerusalem. The base is a simple sugar cookie, with the addition of tahini. It makes a really soft dough, easy to work with. To ensure consistency and even baking, I weighed each portion, then let my daughter roll them into spheres. I dusted one batch with cinnamon, and made one batch plain.

Hours out of the oven, these cookies were delicate and crumbly, with crisp edges, and a very mild, but detectable, sesame flavour. I found the cinnamon distracting, and preferred the undusted batch. If I ever need to make a cookie assortment, this recipe would definitely make the cut.