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A friend of mine recently asked me if I had a recipe for healthy, flourless tahini cookies, after falling in love with ones that she had bought from a health food store at an exorbitant price. Now, I’ve never actually eaten tahini cookies, but since she raved about them I decided to give them a shot because I’m always looking for healthy snacks for my son. And if they are gluten-free as well as vegan, then all the better, since in my family I also have several people who need to keep a gluten-free diet.

Tahini (tahina), a sesame seed paste popular in Israeli dishes, can be a great source of calcium, iron and several other important minerals (be sure to look for tahini made from whole sesame seeds). Sounds good, right? Just be sure to buy whole tahini and not one flavoured with herbs or garlic.

After taking a look at the ingredients of the package of cookies that my friend had bought, doing a couple of comparisons to recipes online, and making adjustments for food allergens, I finally felt ready to give these flourless tahini cookies a try. It doesn’t hurt that these are an easy one-bowl recipe that take just two minutes to prepare.

What do you need? Oats (I used thick oats), tahini (sesame paste), maple syrup, (you could also use unsweetened silan (date syrup, or date honey)), ground or shredded coconut (I used unsweetened), dried cranberries, your choice of seed (I like to use hemp seeds, but sesame or chia would also be a good choice), crushed or slivered nuts (I used slivered almonds, but walnuts or pistachios would be great. Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds would be a great nut-free substitute, and chocolate chips.

Remember, if you want to make these gluten-free, you’ll need to be sure to use certified gluten-free oats and also be careful with the dried fruits and nuts you add since many sources will dust these items with flour to keep the fruit/nuts dry.

First combine the tahini and maple syrup and then add in all of your dry ingredients. Combine well and scoop 1 or 2tbsp mounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. These cookies will spread a tiny bit but not too much, so you can cram them on the baking sheet and just leave a generous cm between each cookie.

Bake them at 180 C for about 10 minutes (test them at around 8 minutes if you like really soft cookies), let cool and enjoy these deliciously healthy treats.

Didn’t make it to the baking phase? I don’t blame you. This batter is GOOD, though a little sweet. The sweetness lessens with baking, so keep that in mind if you sneak a bite.

Hope you enjoy!

Looking for more gluten-free desserts? These vegan blondies and black bean chocolate brownies will not disappoint!

