Sesame Butter Cookies

sesame butter cookies on a marble counter top

Print Recipe

Average rating: 5 stars

Soft, sophisticated sesame butter cookies with a touch of honey. These are addictively good. A cookie for grown-ups.

Prep Time45

Total Time45

Course: Cookies and Squares

Cuisine: Baked Goods

Keyword: honey, sesame seeds, tahini

Servings: cookies

Calories: 174kcal

Author: Trish | The In Fine Balance Food Blog

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup unsalted butter 1-½ sticks, softened, you can use a plant-based butter for baking if desired, I like Becal for baking
¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons honey
¾ cup tahini
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Toast sesame seeds, if necessary:

If your sesame seeds are not yet toasted, you can toast them yourself. Otherwise, skip this step.
In a dry skillet on low heat, add sesame seeds and stir gently for a few minutes. Remove from heat and into a small dish or bowl as soon as the seeds begin to toast and are fragrant. It will only take a few minutes. Be careful as they will go from toasted to burnt in seconds. Set aside these will be used for the cookie topping.
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

Make cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt together. Whisk gently to mix evenly. Set aside.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
In a large bowl using a stand mixer or a hand-held electric mixer, on medium speed, beat butter, sugar and honey until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes. Beat in tahini. Then add dry ingredients, a little at a time, beating after each addition until fully combined. The dough will be sticky.
¾ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup sugar, 3 tablespoons honey, ¾ cup tahini
Place sesame seeds in a small bowl if you have not already done so. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough (about 1 oz.) and roll into balls. I used my kitchen scale to weigh the dough for evenly sized cookies. Press the tops of the cookie balls in sesame seeds. Place cookie balls sesame side up on the prepared baking sheets, about 2" apart. Bake cookies 13-15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets 15-20 minutes. Cookies will firm up as they cool. Then transfer to a wire rack. These are delicate cookies. Handle gently.

Notes

Sesame seeds are most often found untoasted, I've included instructions above for toasting your own sesame seeds. Be careful here though, sesame seeds will burn very quickly.

You can use a plant-based butter if you like. I like the varieties that are made specifically for baking best, and look for a product that is "unsalted, for baking." These are usually found in the refrigerator case next to the butter.

There really is no substitute for honey in this recipe. If you have a rare or local honey available, this is the time to use it.

Nutrition