Tahini is the paste of ground up sesame seeds. These cookies use almonds as the base, inspired by the traditional almond cakes of Spain. Think of these as an elegant, Mediterranean version of peanut butter cookies.
3/4 cup tahini
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups almond meal
An Oldways recipe, courtesy of Kelly Toups
Emcee says: These are great and so easy to make! I love the addition of cardamom.
Tess—Oldways says: So happy you liked them!
Valentina says: I love this recipe. I used maple syrup instead of honey. And I made them smaller, so I got 15 cookies. Also I added pomegranate arils on top. They came out delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe! It’s a perfect dessert!
Catherine Bailey says: I liked this recipe and it turned out well for me. The tahini made a good substitute for butter. I doubled the cinnamon and omitted the cardamom to suit my personal taste, and used maple syrup instead of honey since that’s what I had on hand. This would be good with pumpkin pie spices, too, I think: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. With so much fat in the recipe, it’s definitely a good idea to watch the cookies as they bake, since they can go from brown to over-done quickly.
Trish Farano says: I baked one cookie exactly as directed to give me a base, (although I needed to pull it 2 minutes early, as it was getting too brown.) Then I changed up the directions and used a 1 tablespoon scoop, rolled/flattened and baked about 9 minutes. Allowed to sit on the sheet 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. I actually got 32 cookies, which drops the calories quite a bit for those who are concerned. I also melted 2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips with 1/4 teaspoon olive oil and spattered the tops of the cookies. I only used about 1 tablespoon of the mixture, but it is hard to melt less chocolate without burning it.
As written, with the bigger cookie, they could serve as breakfast with yogurt and fruit, as they contain 7 grams of protein (an egg has 6 grams). I think the chocolate splatter turns them into a fun dessert that would be good with a mezze platter.
Minda says: I followed the directions except accidentally used twice as much cinnamon and almond flour instead of almond meal. After the 16 minutes recommended cook time in the cookbook, the cookies came out very dark and unedible. I would like some help troubleshooting this because I was really looking forward to them!
Katherine-Oldways says: Hi Minda, it could have been the ingredient accident! If you try them again, I would suggest setting the timer for a few less minutes, and keeping an eye on the color.
Marti J says: 240 calories per cookie? That’s not what I consider part of a healthy diet!
Hannah-Oldways says: Sweets and treats are at the top of our Heritage Diet Pyramids, meant to be enjoyed rarely on special occasions! These cookies, while certainly a treat, also have ingredients that bring some nutrition to the table, such as almond meal.
Casey says: I wouldn’t call this a cookie. This to me seemed more like a baked bar that I would take on a long hike. I think it needed more spice as well. It was super easy to throw together though and my gluten free friends will appreciate it!
Nancy Law says: Sound wonderful!
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