Tahini Cookies

Easy enough to make after a few glasses of sparkling wine while day-drinking with a friend who's ADD and constantly sticking her hands in the shot. ;) Virtually fool-proof. 

Tahini Cookies

Mamaleh's, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
¾ cup tahini
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350°. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, sugar, and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in tahini, then add dry ingredients in 2 batches, beating after each addition until fully combined. Dough will be slightly sticky.

Place sesame seeds in a small bowl. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough (about 1 oz.) and roll into balls. Dip tops of balls in sesame seeds, pressing to adhere, and place, sesame side up, on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart. Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 13–15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets (cookies will firm as they cool).

*I used black sesame seeds on a few of mine. At first, they tasted burnt. But by the next day, they tasted just like the others.

*For a vegan-friendly option, substitute vegan margarine for butter and maple syrup for honey.