Tahini is an ingredient I grew up with since it is a staple in Middle Eastern cooking. The creamy, savory depth of tahini adds balance and rich texture to an otherwise simple grain-free, dairy-free cookie.
If you love baking with Almond Flour, you are in for a treat because we have so many almond flour cookie recipes in our archives. Gingerbread Cookies with Almond Flour, Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies, and Almond Butter Almond Flour Cookies are just a few to name.
Ingredients
These sesame tahini cookies require nothing more than a handful of simple ingredients that are easy to find at grocery stores. We will need:
- Almond flour: Either make your own almond flour or purchase blanched almond flour (affiliate link) from the store or online. If you are in a pinch, an equal amount of almond meal is a great alternative.
- Kosher salt: Kosher salt balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of these sesame cookies with tahini. Sea salt can also be used.
- Baking soda: Baking soda tenderizes and lifts the cookies ever so slightly.
- Tahini: Also known as ground sesame seeds or sesame seed paste, one of my favorite brands of tahini is Soom (affiliate link). Just make sure to stir the tahini really well before using as the oils tend to separate easily. Additionally, make sure to purchase a sugar-free tahini for this recipe.
- Maple syrup: The key is to use a liquid sweetener here, which can either be maple syrup, agave syrup, or honey. Keep in mind that the almond sesame cookies will be darker and a little bit sweeter if you use honey. I would not recommend coconut sugar here.
- Sesame seeds: Sprinkling the cookies with a pinch of sesame seeds is an optional step, but I think one that you do not want to miss. You can toast sesame seeds yourself or buy toasted seeds from the store.
Substitutions and Optional Add-Ins
While I usually stick to the main ingredients, you can easily have fun and get creative with some of the optional additions below:
- Chocolate Chips: Omit the sesame seeds and toss in ½ cup dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks for tahini chocolate chip cookies.
- Vanilla Extract: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the tahini almond flour cookies for extra flavor.
- Ground Spices: Add warmth with the addition of ¼ – ½ tsp of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, or nutmeg.
How to Make Sesame Cookies with Almond Flour?
These healthy tahini cookies come together in no time at all. You’ll be amazed at how fast you’ll be enjoying this freshly baked tahini cookie recipe. Below are the steps you need to follow to make them:
- Line baking tray: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176 C.)
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Add wet ingredients: Gently add in the tahini and maple syrup to the bowl.
- Stir: Mix until fully combined. At first, you might feel like there is not enough liquid in the cookie batter, but it will come together as you mix it.
- Roll cookies: Scoop the cookie dough using a small cookie scoop (we used #40). Alternatively, use a tablespoon and measure out 2 tbsp of cookie batter per cookie. Roll into a ball between the palms of your hands.
- Flatten cookies: Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Gently press down the cookie balls until each is 1-inch thick.
- Top with sesame seeds: This step is optional, but if you prefer, lightly brush the tops of the cookies with a very small amount of tahini paste (1 teaspoon or so) and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Bake: Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly brown with crisp edges. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through for even browning.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
How to Make Ahead, Store, and Freeze?
We think that these vegan sesame cookies are best on the day that they are baked. Therefore, we recommend baking them in small batches and storing them in a cookie jar. Here’s how I like to store them:
- Make Ahead: Tahini cookie dough can be made in advance and tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
- Storage: Flourless tahini cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
- Freeze: Flash-freeze the raw almond tahini cookies on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer them to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month.
Expert Tips
- Stir the tahini: A jar of tahini tends to separate very easily. Give it a good stir with either a knife or thin spatula until smooth and pourable.
- Texture of the dough: After you add in the liquid ingredients and start mixing it, you might think that there is not enough liquid in the batter to hold the dough together. However, please resist the urge to add more liquid. You will realize that it will come together as you continue to mix it.
- They don’t spread: Unlike other cookies made with all-purpose flour, sugar, and butter, these tahini sesame cookies do not spread when baked. However, we still advise you to arrange them 1 inch apart from each other to make sure they don’t touch each other during the baking process.
FAQs
Yes, sesame paste is naturally gluten-free as it is only ground sesame seeds.
Yes, tahini is vegan since the only ingredient is sesame seeds.
Tahini gives these cookies a special savory, nutty flavor that is hard to replicate. However, if you can’t find tahini, another great alternative is any of the other nut butters, like almond butter, cashew butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter. Keep in mind, the cookies will taste different, so it’s best to use tahini if you can.
Raw tahini cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. First, flash-freeze them on a baking sheet for 1 hour. Then, transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container. When you are ready to bake them, follow the instructions on the recipe card as written. No need to thaw them.
More Recipes with Tahini:
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Almond Flour Tahini Cookies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup tahini, aka sesame paste – well stirred and at room temperature + 1 teaspoon to brush the cookies
- 1/3 cup maple syrup, or honey*
- 1 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, kosher salt, and baking soda.
- Gently stir in the tahini and maple syrup. Mix until well incorporated. At first, it will feel like you do not have enough liquid, but as you continue to mix the dough, it will come together.
- Using a small cookie scoop (see equipment section for the cookie scoop we used), portion the cookie dough. Alternatively, you can use a tablespoon measure and measure out 2 tablespoons of cookie batter (per cookie) and gently roll them into a firm roll in between the palms of your hands. Arrange the cookies on the prepared sheet pan, making sure that they are at least 1 inch apart.
- Gently press down to flatten the ball so that it is 1 inch thick.
- Lightly brush the cookies with a teaspoon of tahini and lightly sprinkle them with toasted sesame seeds on top.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly brown on top, rotating the baking sheet halfway through for even heat distribution and browning.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer onto a wire tack to cool and serve.
Notes
- Yields: This recipe makes 16 cookies. Nutritional values below are per cookie.
- Using honey instead of maple syrup: If you prefer to use honey instead of maple syrup, you can substitute for the same amount. Honey will definitely add more sweetness to this cookie. It will also cause the cookie to brown faster, so you should reduce the baking time to 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Make Ahead: Tahini cookie dough can be made in advance and tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
- Storage: We find that these cookies are best on the day that they are made, so we recommend baking them in small batches. However, you can store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
- Freeze: Flash-freeze the raw almond tahini cookies on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer them to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month. Bake as directed in the recipe. There is no need to thaw them. However, you may have to add a few extra minutes to the baking time if you bake them right out of the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Heya Ice 🙂 Wanted you to know I just adapted your Almond Tahini cookies to be less sweet and more keto, and it worked out really well. Basically instead of using 1/3 c of honey or maple syrup to sweeten and bind the dough, I added 1 tbsp. zero-calorie monkfruit w/allulose sweetener to dry ingredients, increased the tahini to 1/2 cup, and used only a tablespoon of honey mixed in with the tahini (could have used maple syrup to be vegan). FYI also flavored cookies with vanilla and cardamom. Thanks for giving me such an excellent recipe as a foundation.
These were delicious! I had a jar of honey tahini I wanted to use up, and this was a perfect way to do it. I adjusted the sugar a bit so the cookies wouldn’t be too sweet, since the tahini already had honey in it, and the recipe still turned out great– it’s a really forgiving, easy recipe. They make me miss all of the various kinds of delicious little kurabiyeler we had with tea and coffee in Turkey. Just sweet enough, really nice texture, and a great little afternoon treat (or morning, or evening…). Thanks for posting this recipe!
Hi Christina,
These tahini cookies are truly delicious. I shared this recipe years ago. It has been a minute since I made it. I put it on my weekly menu and plan on making them to treat myself in the afternoon.
So happy to hear that you liked them and it reminded you of Turkey.
Thank you for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.
Cheers!
My husband grew up eating helva (helwa here) as well and yea us Americans love peanut butter and jelly, I still eat it daily. I never get how my husband can eat helwa on white bread lol, I’m like eww. Okay, so on to these cookies I saw them on Pinterest and had to see the recipe and I was happy it was your site. Now, I want to make these like now. Maybe, I will this weekend they sound great mashAllah. A lot of people here use tahini to brush dessert pans instead of butter and I just love the taste.
These are beautiful! I love the whole pistachio in the middle of them. Tahini is delicious but it’s definitely underused in my kitchen, especially in baking. Thanks for reminding me of it!