Almond, tahini, and honey cookies

The fall is upon us, and while the fall may be synonymous with everything pumpkin spice for most, to me it means that the Jewish holidays are coming.  Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) starts on Wednesday, September 20th this year, and so I've started in on my holiday baking today.

First up were these almond, tehini, and honey cookies.  Honey is used in a lot of Rosh Hasahanah treats since it symbolizes a sweet new year.  Apples and honey, to be exact.  And while these cookies lack apples, they're full of sweet honey.  Another thing they're missing?  Gluten (so if you're looking for a gluten-free recipe on this blog, this may just be the first one -- or at least the first one labeled gluten-free). 

This dough comes together in literally a manner of seconds.  Whisk together the dry ingredients in own bowl, the wet in another.  Then, add the dry to the wet and mix together -- I did this with a whisk and some upper arm strength (thanks to my barre workout this morning).  Seriously, it took seconds!  They also bake up in no time!

Honey Almond Tahini Cookies
By The Gush Gourmet
Makes about 28 cookies

1.5 cups almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp tapioca starch OR 1 Tbsp corn starch (I used corn starch)
1/2 cup well-mixed tahini
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup sliced almonds (The recipe called for slivered almonds but I think she actually meant sliced almonds, but I bought slivered.  I actually went out and bought sliced almonds since I thought they looked pretty on her cookies.  Go with sliced almonds.)

Directions:

Whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and starch in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: tahini, honey, egg, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.  I added mine in 3 additions.

Place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place small scoops of the cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Make sure there is plenty of space between each one (they spread a lot!).
Sprinkle a little bit of sliced almonds over each cookie, pressing down slightly so they adhere.  Don't be shy with the sliced almonds -- since the cookies spread, they too will spread out as the cookies bake.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven.
Cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.

Tahini chocolate chunk cookies

You know when something on the surface sounds weird, but it just calls to you?  That's totally the case with these cookies!  Tahini to me, at least in my mind, has always been associated with savory foods.  In fact, I had tahini in the apartment from when I made hummus (which I need to make again REALLY soon!).  But something about this cookie just called to me.  I can't explain it to you, but it did.  And it was sad, but it sat on the back burner through all of Passover, and then another two weeks after.

Today, however, I rectified that.  B thought I was a little crazy (I'm sure he's not the only one, like I said, I get that they sound a little weird, at best), but just one bite and he was convinced.  These cookies are goooood!  The tahini gives them a nuttiness that is more muted and subtle than peanut butter or almond butter.  And the little bit of cinnamon?  It just rounds out the deliciousness!

Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies
From The Little Epicurean

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar (I had planned to use light brown sugar but mine was dried out and hard, so I used dark instead)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup tahini
10 oz (2 cups) dark chocolate chunks (I only had 6 oz so supplemented with some extra dark chocolate chips)
White sesame seeds, to top dough as needed

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Set aside.

Cream butter.
Add sugars.
Mix until smooth.
Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
Add eggs and mix until incorporated.
Add in tahini and mix until combined.

Add flour mixture.
Mix until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour.
Fold in chocolate chunks until evenly distributed.

Cover cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
Allow dough to chill for an hour (until it is slightly cool to the touch) -- I went out for a long walk and dinner, so I let mine warm up a little before baking them.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Use a #24 cookie scoop to portion out the dough.
Place dough on a parchment-lined tray at least 2 inches apart from each other.
Sprinkle sesame seeds over the dough.
Bake for 14-18 minutes, until the edges are crisp and the middle is still a bit soft.
Allow to cool on pan until cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack to cool.