Tahini Shortbread Cookies
- Total Time
- 40 minutes, plus at least 4 hours' chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup/75 grams sesame seeds
- 10tablespoons/142 grams (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾cup/94 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 1cup/224 grams tahini (stir well before measuring)
- 1¾cups/219 grams all-purpose flour, more for work surface
- 2teaspoons kosher salt
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
164 calories; 11 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 73 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Toast sesame seeds: Put them in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat and stir every 30 seconds until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Pour onto a large plate to cool.
- Step 2
Combine butter, confectioners’ sugar and tahini in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape bowl. Add flour and salt, and mix on low speed until dough is smooth.
- Step 3
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide it in half and knead until smooth. Roll each piece of dough into a log about 1 inch in diameter.
- Step 4
Roll each log in sesame seeds, coating logs completely. They may be difficult to maneuver, but they patch up easily. Wrap them tightly in parchment paper, twisting at each end. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
- Step 5
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 6
Slice logs into ¼-inch-thick coins and place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake until firm around edges and not colored, 14 to 16 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheet. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Private Notes
Comments
I absolutely love these cookies and they are the most frequently requested cookie that I make. They have the flavor of halvah but with a much nicer texture! I follow the recipe closely, but end up with twice as many thinly sliced cookies. I find it easier to use an electric hand mixer. I cook them at 300 degrees for 23 minutes. Thank you, Melissa Clark
A Sudanese neighbour makes small short bread cookies almost identical to these but she adds little sugar to the cookie mixture but when they are baked she coats the warm cookies in sugar powder (confectioners sugar) which coats the buttery surface to form the most delicate velvety exterior.Simply moorish..
Made half a batch with 1 cup flour, 5tbs butter, 1/2 cup tahini, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt, rolled one log, and they came out great.
These are yummy. One reader commented that they taste a bit like halvah. I agree. Next time I will try another reader's suggestion to add chopped chocolate to the dough so they taste like chocolate halvah. Also agree with a reader who suggested that chilling the dough for about an hour before rolling in the sesame seeds is a good idea.
I’m hoping to turn these into linzer cookies with a bit of jam in between two cookies the top one of which would have a small cut out to reveal the jewel of fruit inside. I’m wondering if anyone has tried this as I’m reading that the texture is quite delicate.
i used the full 2 tsp of kosher salt (diamond) and did not find them to be too salty at all. i would check to make sure your tahini does not have added salt. these are more halva than cookie and are very delicate, you cant really put them out on a cookie platter because they crumble immediately. the flavor was great though.