With all the baking this time of year, any dessert recipe with a hit of healthy is what we’re after. (Actually, any and all nutritious cooking is much needed.) Enter The Goodful Cookbook. It’s full of simple, intentional steps to eat and live well, with more than 125 recipes that make everyday meals a nourishing, mindful experience. Start with the one below…
You’ll get both your yin and your yang in this Middle Eastern–influenced, nutty take on New York City’s signature cake-y cookie. This version is hearty and not too sweet. It goes seamlessly with a morning mug of hot coffee or a cup of tea. Tahini is ground sesame seeds and is a great source of calcium, iron, magnesium and B1 vitamins.
TAHINI BLACK + WHITE COOKIES
Makes 14 cookies
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp (½ stick) unsalted grass-fed butter, room temperature
1 cup coconut sugar
2 large free-range eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup tahini, mixed thoroughly before measuring
¾ cup superfine almond flour
¾ cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup white sesame seeds
¼ cup black sesame seeds
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with reusable baking mats or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl with a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high until the mixture is the texture of wet sand, about 1 minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until the batter is light and the beaters leave a trail behind them in the batter, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tahini and mix until just combined.
Sift the flours, baking powder, and salt over the wet ingredients and mix with the hand mixer until a smooth batter forms.
Using a 1-ounce scoop, or a scant ¼ cup, portion out the dough and form into balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets. Using a ½-cup dry measuring cup, press down on each cookie until flattened to ¼ inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.
To decorate, cut two 1½-inch-wide and 12-inch- long strips of parchment paper. It’s best to cut from the two sides of the parchment paper so you have two edges that are perfectly straight. Add the sesame seeds to two plates or baking dishes, keeping each color separate. Wrap one parchment sheet around half a cookie and press the cookie top-side down into the black sesame seeds. Press lightly on the exposed part of the cookie to ensure the sesame seeds adhere to the cookie. Place the cookie back on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining cookies so each cookie is covered on one side with black sesame seeds. Next, wrap a new sheet of parchment over the part of the cookie that has the black sesame seeds on it and press the exposed side into the white sesame seeds. Remove the parchment and sprinkle any additional sesame seeds onto any bare parts of the cookie. Place on the baking sheets, leaving ½ inch between each cookie.
Bake until the edges are just starting to brown and the cookies have puffed up slightly, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes before moving.
