Tahini Almond Cookies, chewy delicious gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free cookies, with some crunch from the crushed pistachios topping, are fast and easy to make, nutritious, and perfect to satisfy your sweet cravings.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. - (attributed to Mahatma Gandhi)
Happy New Year, friends, this is my first post of 2017! Hope you all had a nice, relaxing time with family and friends. We said farewell to a year that hasn't always been easy, and we're welcoming new beginnings, challenges, and delights. I am willing to take actions, making things happen. I won't just wish for something to change, I am going to start from within and be the change.
The year started with a drop in the temperatures, more snow, and ice fog. I look out the window and everything seems to sit still in a frozen landscape. The lights still hanging on the tree, the branches, the decorations, are covered in ice, making it look like a winter wonderland.
I need to bake some cookies, healthier ones, though, to warm me up :-).
If you love peanut butter cookies, then you're going to love these Tahini Almond Cookies. And they're better for you! Nutty, chewy, delicious, dairy-free, egg free, made with just a few, good ingredients:
- tahini paste: a good source fo healthy fatty acids, vitamin B1, phosphorus, copper, and not many calories,
- a blend of almond flour and chickpea flour, or all almond flour if you prefer, or your own blend of gluten-free flours,
- just a teaspoon of pure baking soda to lift them up a bit,
- organic maple syrup: an unrefined, natural sweetener that contains higher levels of beneficial nutrients, antioxidants, and phytochemicals,
- some extra virgin olive oil: among the world's healthiest foods, in my humble opinion,
- organic pure vanilla extract,
- some crushed roasted and salted pistachios as a topping, perfect flavor, and texture counterpart.
They're easy and fast to make, you don't need a stand mixer, just two bowls, a spatula, and an ice cream scoop (or a tablespoon). You can make the cookies bigger or smaller and top them with almonds, with crushed pistachios like I did, or no topping at all. You can flatten them or not, in that case, you will have tahini cookies with a nice hump.
The flavor of these Tahini Almond Cookies is delicious. The nutty sesame flavor is predominant, but it gets mitigated by the almond/chickpea flour and the maple syrup which also gives a subtle sweetness. Their texture is beyond chewy, as my husband would say, they are bendable chewy, so soft and chewy that you can bend them without breaking them. The only disadvantage is that they are best eaten fresh or within a day. If you leave them for longer they become a little hard and they lose their beautiful texture. I haven't tried to freeze them, so I don't know if they freeze well. I would suggest inviting some friends for an afternoon tea so you can share these amazing Tahini Almond Cookies.
I like to have homemade sweet treats at home that we can have for breakfast, afternoon snack, post-workout, or after dinner dessert. The fact that I made them and I know what's in them, let me feel less guilty if we're indulging in our sweet craving.
Song of the day: "Big Time", Peter Gabriel.
PrintTahini Almond Cookies
Tahini Almond Cookies, chewy delicious gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free cookies, with some crunch from the crushed pistachios topping, are fast and easy to make, nutritious, and perfect to satisfy your sweet cravings.
Recipe adapted from: Natural Kitchen Adventures
- Total Time: 22 minutes
Ingredients
- 100 g almond flour (or almond meal, or ground almonds)
- 35 g chickpea flour (if you want to omit chickpea flour, replace with a total of 135 g of almond flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 150 g maple syrup
- 120 g tahini
- 1 ½ Tbs olive oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- roasted, salted pistachios, chopped, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine almond meal (or ground almonds), chickpea flour and baking soda.
- In a smaller bowl, weigh and stir together maple syrup, tahini, oil and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and combine until you have a medium stiff cookie dough.
- Use a small ice-cream scoop to portion the dough and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
- Flatten the dough balls with a fork and top with chopped pistachios.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. They will still be soft and harden as they cool.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
The cookies are best eaten fresh or within a day. They can be stored in an airtight container for a few days, but they will lose some of their chewiness, becoming a little hard.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
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I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Tiffany says
I am on a huge tahini kick right now, especially in my smoothies and oatmeal. These cookies sound wonderful and with the extra health kick of pistachios. I'm bookmarking this to try with my daughter one Saturday soon.
Tahini is so good and good for you! We only used it in hummus, but now I see a lot of possible uses! These cookies are so good, have fun making them with your daughter! And thanks for your comment.
Aryane @ Valises & Gourmandises says
Yum! They do look amazing! I just drizzled lots of creamy tahini sauce on my supper <3
Just a question though, is it really 35g of chickpea flour or an additionnal 135g of almond flour? Is the 100g difference normal?
Thanks!
Hi Ariane, thanks for your comment! They are yummy cookies! Sorry for the misunderstanding, the total of the flour is 135 g that I decided to divide in 100 g of almond flour and 35 grams of chickpea flour. So keep that in mind if you want to use all almond flour or make your own blend: 135 g total. Hope you make them and let me know!
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
I love tahini..these cookies look and sound amazing! And the fact that they're healthy makes it even better. I can't wait to try these Nicoletta. Pinning 🙂
Thank you, Stephanie! We had only used tahini for hummus, before, so these cookies were a pleasant surprise! Love them, even better than peanut butter cookies because they're not as sweet and are healthy for you. Hope you try them!
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
Nicoletta, these cookies look absolutely fantastic! You know I seriously love it when you share your incredible vegan gluten free treats. 🙂 I've totally been craving tahini cookies lately--these would do the trick and more! Happy New Year to and Loreto. Wishing you a wonderful year of positive change and good vibes. <3
Thanks so much, Demeter! These cookies are so good, light and rich at the same time, hope you try them! Wishing you all the best!
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
Happy New Year to you and Loreto!! I've been eating a ton of tahini lately and baking up a storm with it. Loving the one bowl action in this recipe and using maple syrup as the sweetener. So perfect and may have to do more baking this weekend so I can try this recipe 🙂
(p.s. I would totally eat a plateful of these for breakfast)
Happy New Year Karrie! Tahini is good! And happy you're joining the baking wagon 🙂 . P.s. I had them for breakfast 😉 .