Tahini Shortbread Cookies
Rich and light shortbread cookies made with Tahini (sesame seed paste). These cookies have a lovely, nutty flavor and very tender bite. They're not too sweet.
Servings: cookies
Ingredients
- 10 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 8 oz granulated sugar (1 cup)
- 8 oz Tahini (1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 15 oz all purpose flour (3 cups, see note)
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Cream 10 oz unsalted butter and 8 oz granulated sugar in a mixer bowl and mix for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until the mixture is lightly aerated. Add 8 oz Tahini and 1 teaspoon vanilla cream for another minute.
- Sift together 15 oz all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon table salt and ½ teaspoon baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and mix until almost combined.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and gently form it into a rectangle. Transfer the rectangle to a sheet of parchment or a silicone baking mat and roll to ½" thick, 12" x12” square. Slide the paper onto a baking sheet and sprinkle the dough with granulated sugar and optional sesame seeds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. If you don't have parchment paper you can roll the dough on the back of a lightly floured baking sheet.
- While the dough chills, Preheat the oven to 325 °F and line a 2nd baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Slide the paper off the tray (or work on the tray if you didn't use paper) and use a pizza cutter or sharp knife the cut the dough into 32 rectangles. (see note)
- Line the cookies onto the baking sheets, leaving ½" between cookies. Use a fork to poke 3 holes in each cookie. Bake until the cookies are just set and barely beginning to brown around the edges, 12-14 minutes. (see note) Leave the cookies on the tray to cool for at least 5 minutes. They're very fragile when they're warm and will break if you try to transfer them to a cooling rack right away.
Notes
If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.
To work ahead freeze the cut cookies until firm, the place them in a freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. When you're ready to bake, line the cookies up on the tray to defrost, then sprinkle with sugar and seeds and bake.
If you can only bake one tray at a time, leave the other tray in the refrigerator while the first tray bakes. The cookies spread less if they go into the oven cold.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 29mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 226IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg