Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

These were based on The Kitchen Magpie's Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. I don't tend to have peanut butter around, but I did have a large jar of tahini (sesame seed paste). I also used coconut oil instead of butter, a little less sugar, and fewer chocolate chips. (Using fewer chips sounds bad, but believe me, there was still plenty of chocolatey goodness. 😃) These were such awesome cookies! I feel certain I'll make them again sometime.

After making enough cookies to fit a baking sheet, I patted the rest into an oven-proof cereal bowl, and baked it in that. It took about the same time to bake as the individual cookies. Just cut up the result however you like. These cookies, in whichever shape, lasted a long time, as long as their container was tightly covered.

The Kitchen Magpie Website, Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste) 

Cookies

These cookies conain tahini (sesame seed paste), sugar, egg, vanilla, salt, rice flour, and baking powder. The recipe is from Lil' Cookie, and calls for cornstarch or a gluten-free flour. I decided to use rice flour, but it would be interesting to make it another time with cornstarch, to see if there's any difference.

I read the recipe thoroughly, but didn't look enough at the photo. I guess that's why these cookies look bigger and thicker than the original. The main problem this caused, was they took longer to bake. I wanted to make sure they didn't get overdone, as I tend to like cookies which are softer. However, luckily for me they came out great!

These reminded me of peanut butter cookies. They actually tasted best when one was eaten just by itself (not after something else), slowly. Yummy!

Lil' Cookie Website, Gluten Free Tahini Cookies

Sesame Udon Noodles,

 with Green Peas

This was based on the Spicy Peanut Seasame Noodles from Peas Love & Carrots. Although I made it a little differently than the recipe, based on what I had around and what I can have, I was so glad to be able to try it. I really like noodles, and these were great. 😄 (I hope it comforts her a little to know how much of a difference she makes in so many lives, with her enthusiasm, good cheer, and recipes. 🌼)

Peas Love & Carrots Website, Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles

Hummus bit-Tahini, or just Hummus 

(Garbanzo Bean Dip), with Spaghetti

The Hummus, found in the freezer, is from the recipe of Madelain Farah in Lebanese Cuisine. (For more information, you can see my post from June.)

I cooked the spaghetti, and when it was ready, I mixed in the Hummus, and cooked it a little more. At that stage, it looks a lot like macaroni & cheese, or the spaghetti & cheese we also used to enjoy as kids. It thickens up fairly quickly. Here it's pictured with a sprinkling of dried Italian herbs for color, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Easy to make (as long as you already have the Hummus), and warm and comforting. Mmmm... 

Toast topped with 

Date Syrup (Silan/Dibs al-Tamar) 

& Tahini

The toast on the left is with the toppings combined, and the toast on the right shows the two before being combined. I was inspired by Cooking for Fun's description a while ago on Instagram, of bread with tahini and date syrup, as similar to a Middle Eastern peanut-butter-and-jelly combination. (I hope I'm remembering that right!) I couldn't try it then, as I had no date syrup available. The tahini has a nutty taste here, and the date syrup makes it taste better, I think.

Cooking for Fun's helpful comments, on how best to enjoy this, were : 1) don't overmix, and 2) just add a little of the syrup, so you can enjoy the taste of both.

Cooking_for_Fun_Page Instagram, Tahini Paste & Date Syrup

Cooking for Fun Facebook 

Cooking for Fun YouTube

Tahini Carrot Appetizer

This is from a recipe of Heghineh's Kitchen. I peeled a 1-lb bag of carrots, cut them into chunks, and mixed them with some olive oil and coarse salt. (Maybe I didn't need the salt? I'm new to roasting veggies like this.) I roasted them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a preheated 425 F oven, for 15 minutes; after stirring around the carrots, I put them back for another 10-15 minutes. I took them out, mixed them with Heghineh's tahini sauce, and then put them back in for another few minutes. After that, they were definitely done, and I tried them. Yummy! I really like all the different flavors that came together with the carrot. 

Heghineh Cooking Show Website, Tahini Carrot Appetizer

Heghineh Cooking Show Facebook

Heghineh's Kitchen Facebook

Ghuraybat Lawz (Almond & Tahini Cookies)

These cookies are from a recipe in Habeeb Salloum's Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa. These are a little different than the usual ghurayba, which are like shortbread. These contain tahini, ground almonds, eggs, and baking powder, in addition to flour and sugar. They also contain coconut oil, as a substitute for butter, and I added in some salt for flavor. As they are never very sweet, I added extra sugar this time, in the form of confectioner's sugar, which was a big help. I really enjoyed the cookies, and it was also fun to make them pretty, this way! 

I took the opportunity to test out one of my new cookie stamps, as I thought these were the right kind of cookie for the test. To prevent the cookie dough from sticking, I dipped the stamp in confectioner's sugar and coated it well, before stamping each cookie on a plate. This worked very well, but stamping directly on the parchment-lined baking sheet, caused the dough to stick to the stamp. I hope that helps with using this kind of cookie stamp!