Tahini Cookies

Some items should really be sold in much smaller containers. For example, chicken bullion cubes, fancy vinegar and cornmeal. Generally, you need just a tablespoon for the recipe and are left with a near-full container of the ingredient. Tahini is another ingredient that always languishes in my pantry until it reaches its expiration date.

Thanks to Cooking Light Magazine, my tahini now has more purpose! I recently noticed a new section in the magazine called the "Use it Up Challenge." The May 2015 (I'm a little behind in reading magazines!) ingredient was tahini! While all of the recipes sounded fantastic, I'm making the orange-tahini vinaigrette next, these tahini cookies fit the bill for my Sunday plans.

They come together a lot like a peanut butter cookie recipe, but the flavor is completely different. If you like tahini (which if you have it in your house, I'm assuming you do), you'll love these cookies. The whole recipe comes together in about an hour - from ingredients to baked cookies.

The recipe also makes a completely realistic number of cookies - 24. Even though this recipe comes from Cooking Light, I wouldn't consider it to be healthy or low fat. The recipe includes refined sugar and butter. Enjoy them for the flavor and try not to eat all of them in one sitting!

What ingredients sits in your pantry month after month? I'd love to start my own version of CL - Us it Up Challenge and help everyone use up those weird ingredients!

One Year Ago: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bars
Two Years Ago: Vanilla Ice Cream with Roasted Cherry Swirl
Three Years Ago: Simple Arugula Salad
Four Years Ago: Oatmeal Pancakes
Four Years Ago: Chocolate Buttercream & Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Tahini Cookies

From Cooking Light Magazine

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

In a large bowl, beat sugars, tahini and butter until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add flour, baking soda and salt, mix on low until combined. Add white chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.

Scoop out heaping tablespoons and roll into balls. You should make 24 cookie dough balls and place 12 each on the prepared cookie sheets. Place cookie sheets in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. Transfer cookie sheets from the fridge directly to the oven. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool on the cookie sheets on a wire rack.