Sesame Cookies (with Orange Blossom)

These flavorful and crisp sesame cookies are made with some of my favorite ingredients: toasted sesame seeds, tahini, and some orange blossom water for a touch of a more exotic flavor. Really simple to make, and the flavor is really unique. A love at first bite for me! :)

Orange Blossom Water

Tahini & orange blossom are a flavor pairing I love very much. It's traditional in Middle Eastern cuisine, and I think the first time I fell in love with it was trying Harriseh (a lovely Lebanese dessert flavored with tahini and orange blossom or rose water) many years back.

These two flavors just work so well together I've been using them in a myriad of ways over the years. I love it especially in this oldie tahini and orange blossom vegan cheesecake recipe.

And if you're looking for more recipes to use up some of that orange blossom water in besides these sesame and orange blossom cookies, this pistachio avocado cake is always a favorite as well. And if you have Unconventional Treats, you'll find more recipes using orange blossom water there (the macaroons being my favorite!).

Quick Tip: I find that I can get the Cortas brand of orange blossom water way cheaper in person in Middle Eastern grocery stores than online.

One of my favorite things about these cookies is that they have just the right amount of crispness to them. For a gluten-free, vegan, oil-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free cookie, that's not always an easy thing to achieve (softer cookies are more the norm in this realm...).

Of course they were snappiest on their first day, and I totally expected them to soften up by day 2, but was surprised that they mostly retained their crispness even in storage. Snappy sesame cookies for the win! :)

Sesame Cookies (with Orange Blossom)

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★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Audrey @ Unconeventional Baker
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Total Time: 37 minutes
• Yield: 8 cookies
• Category: cookies
• Method: baked
• Cuisine: vegan, dessert, gluten-free

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Description

Deliciously flavorful and crispy sesame cookies, made with tahini and orange blossom water. This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, oil-free, and nut-free.

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Ingredients

Cookies

• 6 tbsp white rice flour
• 2 tbsp hulled tahini (the runnier, the better)*
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp orange blossom water
• ⅛ tsp salt

Topping

• 3 tbsp sesame seeds

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Place the sesame seeds used for topping in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Process all cookie ingredients in a food processor (I used the small bowl of mine) until the mixture sticks together and is at the beginning stages of forming a ball.** Gather all this dough up (I used a spoon to scoop it out of the processor) and form into a ball with your hands. Divide into 8 equal pieces of dough.

3. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Roll it around in the bowl of sesame seeds to coat, then gently flatten into a disk with your hands. Place on the cookie sheet and press down on the cookie with your hands to flatten it further (the flatter, the crispier the cookie will be). Repeat with the remaining cookies (keeping the cookies spaced about an inch apart on the tray).

4. Bake the cookies for approximately 12 minutes until nicely golden. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Notes

*Tahini generally comes hulled or unhulled. Hulled is the more common white kind (unhulled is usually darker and can have flecks of sesame seeds in it. It also has a stronger and more bitter flavor, which is why you want to use a hulled variety for this recipe instead). The tahini should ideally be quite runny -- I find that authentic Middle Eastern brands usually have creamier and runnier tahini. You can use whatever you find though, but if using a regular thicker grocery store variety, I recommend using a freshly opened jar and stirring the contents really well to get it to be more on the runny side.

**The texture of the dough can be different depending on the tahini used. Some batches are runnier than others + brands vary, etc. The dough should be soft and pliable, as soft as possible without being too sticky to handle. If the mixture feels too sticky at this point, add a bit more flour (1 teaspoon at a time) and process again to incorporate; if too dry, add a bit more maple syrup.