A few years ago, I published a cookie recipe with tahini, almond and honey. I made those cookies many times for gluten free friends and customers, and I also made vegan versions, maybe even more, by substituting honey with syrup. This recipe I’m writing today is a variation of those cookies with the added loveliness of cacao.

 

 

I love puffed up cookies but I equally love chewy, flatter cookies. These ones are the latter version. They are not too sweet so they don’t overpower you, which is just the way I like sweets.

 

 

A few days ago I made a bunch of these cookies for the new MA students in my school, Aalto University. I wasn’t at present while they were eating them, but I saw photos of people with happy faces eating them so they must have loved them!

 

 

 

There isn’t much of a trick for these cookies. I adapted them from “Salted Plains” blog, with my own changes. My most important recommendation is to put them in the fridge after they are shaped and place on the oven tray, for about 10-15 minutes, before baking. This way you can control how much they will spread a bit better. Also, do not bake them more than 12 minutes. For me, 10 minutes baking time was enough.

 

Enjoy your cookies with fresh tea or coffee!
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Ingredients:

 

Difficulty: Easy
(makes about 24 cookies)

 

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

 

1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 1/2 dl + 2 tbsp (or 3/4 cup) almond flour (ground almonds)
1 dl (or 6 tbsp + 2 tsp) cacao powder
4 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) tahini
1/2 dl + 2 tbsp (or 3/4 cup) cane syrup (you can use any syrup you like, you can also use molasses)
about 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 dl toasted sesame seeds

 

 

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1. In a small bowl, mix 3 tbsp warm water with ground flax seeds and let it sit for about 5 minutes to from “flax egg”.

 

 

 

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients, meaning ingredients in the list above from almond flour to vanilla sugar.

 

 

 

3. In a medium bowl, put tahini, syrup and flax egg and whisk well.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Add mixed dry ingredients and whisk until all ingredients are incorporated. I used a spatula in the end to pull them altogether.

 

 

 

 

5. Cover the bowl with a stretch film and put the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.

 

 

 

6. When the cookie batter has rested enough in the fridge, preheat the oven to 180C. Put baking papers on the required amount of oven trays (according to your oven size, I baked mine in 2 batches).

 

7. Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and immediately start making the cookies before it gets too soft. Take about a tablespoon from the cookie dough and in your hand, form it into a ball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Cover the cookie ball with sesame seeds and place it on the oven tray. Repeat the same with all the dough. Put the cookies about 2 cm away from each other as they are going to spread.

 

 

9. Press on the cookie balls slightly to make them flatter. Put the tray(s) in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes, then bake in the oven, in medium rack, for 10-12 minutes (12 minutes is absolute maximum). Let the cookies cool down on the tray for about 10 minutes after baking, then transfer them gently onto a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy with tea or coffee!