Black & White Tahini Cookies

Tahini is such a fun and interesting baking ingredients. It is often unexpected but always appreciated. These Black & White Tahini Cookies begin with a tahini base that pairs perfectly with the crunchy black and white sesame seed shell.

Tahini is made from roasted and ground sesame seeds

Did you know that? Such a simple thing. So tahini can naturally sub in as an alternative to peanut butter. When exploring the baking possibilities of tahini, peanut butter cookies come to mind, naturally. I got to thinking. I've got some yummy peanut butter cookie recipes. My Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookie Cups with Nutella are both excellent recipes.

I began with the same base used in Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe and swapped in tahini for peanut butter. It worked like a charm. That was the catalyst for these Black & White Tahini Cookies.

Tahini cookies are like peanut butter cookies for grown-ups

While very similar to peanut butter cookies, these tahini cookies feel more sophisticated. They're just indulgent enough without being overly sweet. They've got familiar nutty undertones but with a hint of earthy intrigue. Take tahini an even more elegant direction by trying me Tahini Pistachio White Chocolate Rose Skillet Cookie recipe.

These Black & White Tahini Cookies were inspired by a classic

The legendary Black and White Cookie has been associated with New York delis for decades. It's a cakey cookie, double dipped in chocolate and vanilla fondant. It's simple, soft and everything you want in a grab and go cookie. The look of these Black & White Tahini Cookies was inspired by that classic. But the flavor story has a whole different personality.

When developing the recipe for these Tahini Cookies, I was all over the map. I tried different shapes, different sizes, considered adding some kind of nuts and incorporated dark chocolate (which was a good idea that I need to explore further). Then it came to me as I stared down at the two bottles of black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds on my counter. Black & White Tahini Cookies!

Sophisticated ingredients give the Black & White Tahini Cookies elegant flavors

• Tahini adds warm and toasty notes to the cookie base. Since tahini has a natural bitterness, it can lean savory but when incorporated into the cookie dough it levels out into a nice and nutty flavored cookie base. It also helps gives the cookies their soft and tender, chewy texture.
• Honey naturally smooths out the slight bitterness of the tahini. When mixed together the honey and tahini are a union of sweet, nutty smoothness.
• Black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds boast bring big personality points to these Black & White Tahini Cookies! These nutty and soft tahini cookies are bold and beautiful thanks to the yin-yang match up of the black and white sesame seeds. The crunch of the outer sesame coated cookie shell pleasantly compliments the soft squish of the nutty tahini cookies.

While tahini may be unexpected for some, I encourage you to give these Black & White Tahini Cookies a try. The flavors and textures are an experience in cookie elegance with a modernly bold black and white exterior.

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