Imagine your perfect chewy cookies – they are deliciously sweet, soft and have a rich chocolate crunch. They don’t ask for a big hassle in the kitchen. Only 15 minutes and they’re done – freshly baked and sitting on your kitchen’s table. And a big side benefit? They’re vegan, gluten-free and are made from wholesome ingredients. So today I’m sharing one of my favorite cookie recipes so far – almond tahini cookies.
I used to consider cookies as one of the biggest junk foods. After all, if you check any of the cookie nutrition labels at your local supermarket, it’s usually filled with refined flour & sugar (like high fructose corn syrup), vegetable shortening, palm oil, and preservatives. I’m not saying that conventional store bought cookies are bad, but I bet you can agree – it’s best to not enjoy them on a daily basis.
Alternatively, these almond tahini cookies are a healthy treat that you can enjoy every day. They’re made from almond flour, tahini (for a creamy richness) and sweetened with a date paste. No refined sugar and oil – these cookies are a wholesome snack for your midday pick-me-up (and your little ones will enjoy them too!).
Tahini is a game-changer in this recipe and it acts as a wholesome oil replacer and a binder. At first, it might feel strange to add tahini to a cookie dough but trust me on this. The final result will be indulgent and mouth-watering. Plus, tahini adds a good amount of calcium and iron.
If you haven’t used date paste as a sweetener in baked goods, I highly suggest you try it! My favorite is Datules.lt date paste – it’s high quality, without any added sugar or preservatives and is made from crushed & mashed dates. It’s sweet, delicious, thick and is a great refined sugar alternative.
Ok, enough talking. Shall we bake some almond tahini cookies?
Easy Almond Tahini Cookies (Gluten-Free & Vegan)
Makes about 12 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup Datules.lt date paste*
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tbsp. cacao nibs (optional but so delicious!)
- 1 tbsp. water (only if necessary for the consistency)
- ¼ tsp pure vanilla powder
- A pinch of Himalayan or sea salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180C. In a bowl, place the dry ingredients – almond flour, cacao nibs, vanilla powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl (or in a blender), mix the date paste and tahini. Then add the date-tahini mixture to the dry ingredients and using your hands combine them until a rough dough forms (see in the photos above). If it feels too dry and doesn’t come together, add 1 tbsp of water.
- Using your hands, take about 1 tbsp of the dough and shape it into a disk and place on a baking sheet lined with a baking paper. The cookies won’t spread much so you don’t have to leave a lot of space between them. Flatten with a fork one way to create a pattern.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly golden. Let them cool in room temperature and enjoy with a cup of warm tea or macaccino.
P.S. If you’re a cookie fan, you’ll also love this and this recipe.
*Alternatively, you can easily make your own date paste from the delicious Datules.lt Sukari dates. Follow the instructions on this page. The date paste that I used was quite thick so keep that in mind when making your own paste (you might not need to add extra water to the cookie dough if you use a softer date paste).
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