Marbled Tahini Cookies

Gluten free, nondairy, low sugar! 

If you love tahini like me, these cookies are for you. My love for tahini flourished when I lived in France - I used to eat tahini out of the jar with a spoon! I say used to, but I still do. Dip the spoon into the tahini and then dip it into some jam or some honey... MmMm. But, that's not what we're here for... We are here for cookie recipes and plastic-free lifestyle tips. 

I saw this beautiful cookie recipe on the New York Times Cooking site and was determined to create a *healthier* version. These definitely satisfy! Plus, how beautiful are they?! I have never attempted anything marbled in my life... if you read my last post, you'd know chocolate is a relatively new member of my pantry. So, a marbled cake? Gross. How could I pick the chocolate out in order to get to the sweet vanilla crumb? Impossible. What a disappointment it always was when my friends' parents would cut into their birthday cake and it would be chocolate, or marbled... or worse - the dreaded fruit filling. Or at school when the pound cake would be marbled, or lemon (have I mentioned my disdain for citrus yet?). But I digress. These aren't even marbled with chocolate... but instead with black sesame tahini!

Check out the crumb! It's like a shortbread texture.

As always, I source as many ingredients as I can from bulk bins at the store, or buy 5-10lb bags online and store in glass jars. Life must be lived and enjoyed; but, be kind to yourself and the planet, too! If you're not into making your own nut butters, I highly suggest Artisana Organics for your nut butter needs. In general, though, try to purchase nut butters that are in glass jars, because the chemicals within plastic containers will leach into the fatty nut butters inside. 

Recipe:

• 1 cup oat flour (I blend oats in dry grain blender or food processor)
• 1 cup cassava flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup ghee 
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (I blend coconut sugar into a powder)
• 1/4 cup powdered monk fruit 
• 5-10 drops liquid stevia
• 1 egg 
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) 
• 1/4 cup plain tahini
• 3 tbsp black tahini 
• 1/4 cup black sugar (I combined regular sugar with 1 tsp of activated charcoal for color) 

Method: 

• Preheat oven to 325F and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
• Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. 
• Cream together ghee and sugars in a mixer for 3 minutes, until fluffy. 
• Add egg and vanilla and mix another minute. 
• Add dry ingredients to wet and beat to combine. 
• Remove 1/3 of the dough, set aside, and add plain tahini to the remaining 2/3 and mix. 
• Remove plain dough, set aside, and add the 1/3 back to the mixer with the black tahini and combine. 

• Form both doughs into 2 separate bricks (4 bricks total) and stack, alternating colors

• Cut in half crosswise, and knead to marble.

            

• Stack the two separate pieces and knead once or twice to combine

• Form into a brick, refrigerate for 10-20 minutes. 
• Pour sugar into a small baking sheet and spread out. 
• Place dough brick onto sugar and coat the four side 

• Slice into 1/4 inch pieces and place on prepared sheet.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely before handling, as they are delicate when warm but firm up once cooled. Enjoy! 

Notes: 

• You can use all sugar if you prefer, but I do not recommend using all monk fruit, as the flavor just isn't as good.
• You can use butter or ghee, I haven't tried coconut oil (but let me know if you try!)
• Making almond flour is easy in the food processor! Just add almonds and process. If they have skins, the cookies might be a little darker but will still be tasty.