If you have 30 minutes to spare, make these delicious vegan tahini cookies. They’re healthy and easy to make – but more importantly, with their crispy caramelised edges, sweet chewy centre and an amazing tahini flavour… they’re absolutely to die for.
These cookies take, start to finish, less than 30 minutes… And about 5 minutes to gobble up while standing over the counter “waiting for them to cool”. Oops?
There’s something terribly tempting about them. It could be the crunchy caramelised edges. Or the sweet chewy centre. Whatever it is, these vegan tahini cookies are equal parts pretty and delicious.
As it happens, they’re also SUPER HEALTHY – without being obvious about it. That’s right, these bites of tahini goodness are gluten free, dairy free, vegan and paleo… and they do it effortlessly.
The ingredients are simple:
- tahini
- maple syrup
- vanilla paste
- baking soda
- pinch of salt
- almond flour
- sesame seeds
That’s it. Just simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. But the results are spectacular. If you’ve never tried using tahini in a dessert, you need to give these a try.
Trust me, there’s so much more to tahini than just being one of the main ingredients of hummus. It’s absolutely incredible in sweet treats, and these vegan tahini cookies are a wonderful introduction into the world of sweet tahini treats.
Of course, you could omit rolling the cookies in sesame seeds before baking… but why on Earth would you want to??? Just look how ridiculously pretty that coating of white and black sesame seeds makes them!
You’ll love these tahini cookies. Promise.
Because when you take a bite, you don’t think about the fact that they’re healthy or vegan or paleo. Instead, you think about their amazing texture, delicious flavour, and the fact that you want to hide them all far far away so they remain yours and yours alone.
Also, top tip: they’re even better the next day (and the day after that). Though, let’s be honest: there’s no way they’re gonna last that long.
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Quick + Easy Vegan Tahini Cookies (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, Paleo)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (100 g) tahini
- 5 tbsp (95 g) maple syrup or honey (if the cookies being vegan isn't a concern)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp (100 g) almond flour
- 3 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together all the tahini cookies ingredients except the sesame seeds.
- Mix together the white and black sesame seeds in a small bowl.
- Shape one tablespoon of the cookie dough into a ball, roll it in the sesame seed mixture and place it onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup, gently compress the cookie ball until it’s about ¾ cm (1/3 inch) thick.
- Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.While the cookies are chilling, pre-heat the oven to 180 ºC (355 ºF).
- Bake the cookies at 180 ºC (355 ºF) for about 8 minutes or until slightly spread out and light golden brown on top.
- Immediately out of the oven, the cookies will be very soft. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- The tahini cookies keep well in a cool dry place in a closed container for about 1 week.
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I have made these multiple times now and they always come out yummy. I add a teaspoon of cardamon and use less maple syrup (4 or just 3 tablespoons instead of 5). I also use less sesame seeds not to have any left over (2 tablespoons of white and 1 and a half tablespoons of black). My Lebanese husband says they are something like a biscuit they have in Lebanon especially with the added cardamon – and he loves them.
Thank you so much for making this recipe.
I replaced the almond flour with 1/2 cup all purpose flour. I don’t know what they’re supposed to be like, but they were pleasantly soft. I also added 2 tbsp of water because I was using honey instead of maple syrup, but I don’t know if that was actually necessary. Didn’t seem to hurt. Be careful not to overbake!
These were terrific! I used honey — 4 instead of 5 tbsp, which was the perfect level of sweetness for me. I did need to add maybe a heaping tbsp additional almond flour: my tahini was particularly liquidy (just the brand I happened to have in the house). Instead of 14 I wound up with 12 slightly larger cookies, and probably could have given them 9 rather than 8 minutes, but they did brown and were delicious: lovely sesame and almost buttery taste despite no butter! Looking forward to making these again and trying maple syrup.
To make them nut free I used besan rather than almond flour and they were delicious.
Can I use something other than almond flour? I really dislike almonds.
Hi Tabitha, I haven’t tested this recipe with other flours, unfortunately.
Works with besan flour
I have made a number of batches and all were delicious! Sometimes, though, the batter is extremely wet and sticky and are difficult to roll. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Hi Debbie, so glad you’ve been enjoying the cookies! By any chance, were those tricky batches made with a different type/brand of tahini or maple syrup? That’s the main thing that could cause the batter to behave differently.
refridgerate the dough before balling them.
Simplest tastiest cookies ever I’ve made them at least 10 times and everyone loves them !
Thankyou
Hi I am just wondering if I could sub a gluten free all purpose baking blend for the almond flour? What would you recommend as a ratio?
Hi Micaela, I haven’t tried it so I really couldn’t say. I think it might work, but it will drastically affect the texture and appearance of the cookies.
I made these with carob molasses instead of the maple syrup because I had some to use and thought why not continue with the middle eastern flavour theme. They turned out absolutely delicious. Thank you ☺️
I made these cookies and they are delicious! but they didnt turn into your golden colored cookies, mine are still white/pale. Any idea why?
It could be that they needed a few minutes longer in the oven, or that your oven runs a bit cold – maybe try increasing the oven temperature a bit?
Love this cookie recipe. I had 5 in a row. Its an obsession. I was able to make it with sugar free maple syrup, and it still came out great! It would be great to add nutritional value as such as carb count,fiber and calories per cookie. Just a thought but love your recipes!! Keep doing great things!
maybe I will be the first one to ask that, is it possible to sub the maple syrup with cane sugar? thank you!
I’ve never tried, but I’m not sure it will work, as you’d be trying to replace a liquid sweetener with a solid/crystalline one… However, if you do give it a try, let me know how it turns out!
made these today and i’m obsessed! they were so easy to make and they taste so so good! I did about half the maple syrup, and they were still quite sweet 🙂
also didn’t need so many seeds for rolling, i used 2 tbsp of white and 1 tbsp of black and still had leftover. i’ll definitely be making these on the regular <3
Could I use coconut flour instead of almond?
Unfortunately not, as coconut flour absorbs a lot more moisture and would make the cookies very dry and crumbly.
Hi, is it OK to substitute the almond flour for tapioca flour / coconut flour/ arrowroot starch?
Since the latter three all absorb completely different amounts of moisture to almond flour and also give very different textures, I wouldn’t recommend it.
these are incredibly good!!!!!!!!!!!! life changing
I’ve tried several tahini cookie recipes and this one is the best!
I was looking for a quick/easy cookie recipe and this did not disappoint! I’m looking forward to trying variations using this recipe as the base because it was so simple. Thanks!
I baked these cookies today. Definitely saving the recipe. I love them! And so little effort. 🙂
Thank you!
These turned out so well! Delicious- loving the texture of the sesame seeds on the outside. I only used 3 TBSP honey to reduce the sugar a little and they still taste like a treat. I may reduce even more the next batch. Thanks for the great recipe!
I absolutely love these cookies! They are not very sweet . I love the nuttiness of the sesame flavor. I used maple syrup. I will definitely make these often and am anxious to try it with honey. Thanks Kat!!
So yummy! Perfect texture and I love the combo of sweet and savoury. I used honey and would probably add another tablespoon for a tiny bit more sweetness
Delicious cookies! Thanks for the recipe. I used less maple syrup (approx 70g) and still found them quite sweet, will probably use 50g in future. Off to make another batch for my son’s birthday!
can you replace vanilla paste with vanilla extra? if so, would it be equal ratio?
You can use vanilla extract, I recommend using double the amount of vanilla paste.
If using the liquid vanilla (which is what I have on hand) isnt this going to make the batter too thin??
It shouldn’t, unless you add really huge amounts – but a teaspoon or two won’t make a difference. 🙂 If you find that the dough is softer, you can always add a bit more almond flour.
Hello, I made these and they were really good…. the tahini taste is super strong though, could I maybe add 1/4 cup instead of 1/2
The recipe relies on tahini for its texture as well as flavour, so reducing it without substitution wouldn’t work. Maybe try mixing it with another nut and seed butter that is milder in flavour, like almond or cashew butter?
If I wanted your recipe to be keto can I sub a sugar free syrup for the maple syrup.
I think it should work, but haven’t tried this substitution myself – let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
These tahini cookies are DELICIOUS!l Looked online for ‘vegan tahini cookie recipes’ and came across yours. These came together so quickly! Love the black & white sesame seeds.
I didn’t have any vanilla bean paste so I used vanilla bean powder. Used Bob’s Red Mill blanched almond flour and Soom tahini. Definitely a BIG winner (says my husband) in this house!
Thank you for sharing your recipe ❤️
So glad you enjoyed the cookies, Denise! 🙂 They’re definitely one of my favourites.
These tahini sesame cookies are fabulous. Unusual and delicious. And easy to make.
Glad you like them, Yvonne!
Oh my God! I´ve just made and they are delicious. Thanks for sharing!
You’re super welcome! So glad you enjoyed them!
I love these cookies!!
I made them with maple syrup the first time and they were good. Second time I used honey and they were fabulous!
Thanks so much for this recipe
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Sara! 🙂
I love tahini more than I can say. Thanks for another great way to use it!
Yay for tahini! The cookies are delicious, I’m sure you’ll love them.
could you sub regular flour for the almond equally?
It should work with regular flour, but I’m not sure whether it’s a 1:1 substitution. Maybe try on a small amount and then adjust as needed?
These turned out amazing …
Looks delicious! I’ll make tonight and can’t wait to try – love tahini!!
Yay! They’re seriously delicious, I might be a tiny bit obsessed with them. 😉