The following recipe goes out to all the tahini lovers. But, it might actually come in handier to all those who dislike tahini. Why? Because when you end up with a jar of tahini in your home and have absolutely no idea how to use it, you can make keto tahini cookies!
Related: Keto Cookies
I know, I know, it’s summertime, and I keep bringing up cookies that we all want to eat in December. I’ll feed you an ice cream recipe soon, I promise. But to my defense, early summer is the time for cleaning up the refrigerator (for those of us who somehow bypassed that obligation in spring). Doing that, I discovered a perfectly fine tahini jar that neither I nor anyone living in the same apartment wanted to consume.
And while tahini is some kind of butter, and most of us are familiar with at least one version of this-or-that-butter keto cookies, the idea for making tahini cookies just couldn’t be ignored.
It is a very simple recipe. And the cookies are even simpler. You can complicate putting chocolate on them, or adding cocoa or matcha green tea powder to the dough, just like I did. Or you can just keep it as simple as possible. Btw, I was too optimistic about bringing out matcha flavor; the tahini flavor is too strong for matcha to override it.
One warning, though: The final result were quite fragile cookies. Not crumbly, though. Just fragile. I’d love to give it another try to make them firmer, but I just don’t want to make or buy any more tahini at the moment. Unless any of you can convince me there’s a delicious keto-friendly way of consuming it.
Ingredients
- 8 oz butter
- 5 oz tahini
- 4 tbsp. erythritol
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. vanilla seeds
- 2 oz coconut flour
Instructions
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a large bowl, mix together tahini, erythritol, and softened butter.
- Add eggs, vanilla extract, and vanilla seeds. Mix until incorporated.
- Add the coconut flour. Mix until well incorporated. The dough should be soft but not too runny. If it is too runny, add in a bit more coconut flour.
The dough in the picture looks greenish because I also added matcha green tea powder to the batch.
- Using a wet spoon, place even amounts of dough onto the parchment paper. You’ll probably have to make two batches.
- Using a wet fork, press onto each cookie.
- If you wish, you can add some chocolate bites to the cookies.
- Or sprinkle them with melted chocolate after they have finished baking.
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes.
Nutrition
I wanted cookies sweeter so doubled amount sweetener (Swerve confectioners), added a 3rd egg to help with binding, added additional ounce coconut flour, pinch of pink salt and 2 Tbsp Lakanto maple syrup. Used 4 tsp vanilla extract since no vanilla beans on hand. After cookies cooled completely, used 1 Tbsp of Lakanto maple syrup to lightly brush tops of cookies. They are soft, or fragile as you described, so storing them in freezer. Mildly sweet cookie that satisfies craving for something sweet. My macros on MyFitnessPal came out to calories 103, fat 8.8, carbs total 3.2, protein 3.2. Thought they might be good with cinnamon in dough and cinnamon “sugar” (maybe cinnamon with granulated monk fruit) sprinkled on top before baking. Maybe next time! Thanks for the recipe!!
Thank you for the recipe upgrade, Suzanne! Sounds great and like something definitely worth trying!
Lovely, super easy recipe. I added a bit of cinnamon and dash of cardamom to the party, as well as cacao powder to half the batch. Great way to use up Tahini, thanks!
Thank you, Lisa! I’m glad you’ve found the recipe useful!
Wow! These are amazing! Really tasy and easy! Really appreciate your efforts! Thank you! Greeting from Bulgaria!
Thank you, TK, I am so glad you like these!
Keto on!
I saw you message at the top for keto friendly ways to consume tahini, since you didn’t want to buy it again just for these cookies. Here is a Tahini Salad Dressing that I love. Similar to what they serve over Falafel & Shawerma Sandwhiches. Here is a general recipe…you can play with the ratios to your liking. This is just a small batch, once you add the water to the tahini it gets pasty, just work it for a few minutes and you will get a creamy delicious healthy, nutty/zesty dressing.
1/3 cup well-stirred tahini
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1-2 garlic cloves minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
Would I be able to do this recipe without eggs? Are they to moisten/bind/rise? Thank you
I’m quite afraid nothing else will hold the cookies together. They are tender as they are. If you don’t mind IMO syrup, try heating a couple of Tbsps to make it runny and use it in place of eggs.
Are the vanilla seeds important? Can you just substitute more extract?
With this recipe, vanilla extract should do the job well enough.