Black and white tahini cookies

5:17 AM | Labels: English Food, olivemagazine, UK Food

Easy Tahini Cookies Recipe

These tahini cookies were created by Edd Kimber, the first Great British Bake Off winner and one of the UK’s best-loved bakers. Edd says… “These soft cookies were created because I was introduced to black tahini, similar to the tahini we all know and love, but made with black sesame seeds. It has a deeper and slightly more bitter flavour that I thought would be a great pairing for white chocolate.

The cookie base is made with the tahini, and a little cocoa to intensify the colour, and the filling is a simple white chocolate ganache which I infuse with cardamom (although that’s an optional extra). The combination of white chocolate, cardamom and tahini is a joy, and I would encourage you to try it. To create as flavourful a cookie as possible, I also included wholemeal rye flour, which is one of my go-to ingredients that I use as a flavour enhancer. Rye also happens to be the perfect partner when it comes to chocolate.”

What is black tahini?

Black tahini is a little less common than traditional tahini (this recipe will work with the latter but the colour won’t be as dramatic) but it’s worth trying. The flavour is deeper, more intensely sesame but with a little added bitterness. I think its more robust flavour makes it a perfect choice for baking and it can stand up to other flavours and not disappear into the background. It’s available online and from Middle Eastern shops. The one I use is from Belazu.

611
Total time 1 hours 15 minutes
Note + Chilling + Freezing
Difficulty A little effort

Ingredients

wholemeal rye flour 125g
plain flour 100g
cocoa powder 2 tbsp
baking powder 1 tsp
bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp
fine sea salt 1/2 tsp
unsalted butter 85g, softened
black tahini 85g
soft light brown sugar 100g
caster sugar 100g
eggs 2 large
vanilla extract 1 tsp
sesame seeds 100g
white chocolate 100g, finely chopped
double cream 50g
ground cardamom 1/4 tsp (optional)

Method

Step 1

Start by making the filling as it needs a little longer to chill. Put the chocolate, cream and cardamom, if using, into a small bowl and either melt in a microwave in small bursts, or put the bowl over a small pan of simmering water and heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Once you have a smooth ganache, cover the bowl and chill until needed.

Step 2

For the cookie dough, put the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl, and whisk until everything is evenly distributed. Put the butter, tahini and sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer (or an electric hand mixer will also work well) and cream together on a medium-high speed for 1 minute until just combined. You are not trying to cream the mixture like a cake, just making sure everything is evenly combined and the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix briefly until just combined. Add the vanilla and mix in briefly.

Step 3

Add the flour mixture and mix on a slow speed until a uniform cookie dough is formed. Scrape into a bowl, cover and chill for at least 4 hours.

Step 4

About 20 minutes before you want to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 180C/ fan 160C/gas 4 and line two baking trays with baking paper. Take the ganache from the fridge and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll into balls and then press into 8cm-wide discs the width of a £1 coin. Put these onto the baking-paper-lined trays and freeze for 20 minutes.

Step 5

Divide the cookie dough into 12 even-sized pieces and press into flat discs. It's important that the thickness is even and is only wide enough to be wrapped around the ganache. If the dough becomes too thin you risk the ganache escaping as the cookie bakes (don’t worry if this happens, the cookie will still be delicious). When forming the cookies I find it useful to take the ganache out of the freezer one piece at a time to prevent it softening. [image id="107857" size="landscape_thumbnail" align="none" title="Black and White Tahini Cookies" alt="Black and White Tahini Cookies" classes=""]

Step 6

Once all the cookies are formed, roll in the sesame seeds and put on the baking trays, setting no more than six per tray as they will spread. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges feel set but the middles are still soft.
[image id="107855" size="landscape_thumbnail" align="none" title="Black and white tahini cookies" alt="Black and white tahini cookies" classes=""]
Remove and cool for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 7

These cookies will keep in a sealed container for two to three days.