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Vegan, Gluten Free, and Oil-Free, these Tahini Sugar Cookies are a healthy dessert– but hardly taste like it! With crispy edges and soft and chewy centers, they’re perfect on their own or with a glass of non-dairy milk.
Sugar Cookies are great in and of themselves, but when you add Tahini to them….this get really good.
Let’s be real here — if you keep up with this blog regularly, you probably know (1) what Tahini is, and (2) that I’m obsessed with it. But if you’re new around here, welcome! And Tahini is a paste that is created from ground Sesame Seeds. It has the consistency of a runny Peanut Butter, is loaded with Calcium and healthy fats, and can be found in the “ethnic foods” section of most grocery stores.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get back to the good stuff — cookies! Not only are these Tahini Sugar Cookies absolutely freakin’ TASTY, but they’re also pretty good for ya too 😉 Made with only 7 healthy ingredients, they’re Gluten-Free, Oil-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free! I used Coconut Sugar instead of regular Cane Sugar, which helps contribute to the overall caramel-y flavor of these gems.
Crispy on the edges and Soft & Chewy on the inside, I love to enjoy these cookies on their own, or with a glass of Non-Dairy Milk!
A Few Final Thoughts:
- If you’re not a fan of Tahini, you can also substitute it for any Nut or Seed Butter of your choice.
- These cookies will be crispy on the edges and soft in the center while still warm, and slowly grow chewier as time goes by. I would recommend storing them at room temperature, not in the fridge.
- If you’d like to make this batter ahead of time, you can keep it in the fridge (or freezer). If you place it in the freezer, allow it to thaw for 15-20 minutes at room temp before baking the cookies.
If you’re looking for more Vegan Cookie recipes, you’ll also love these Cashew Butter Snickerdoodles and these No-Bake Chocolate Turtle Cookies!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintFlourless Tahini Sugar Cookies (Vegan)
Vegan, Gluten Free, and Oil-Free, these Tahini Sugar Cookies are a healthy dessert– but hardly taste like it! With crispy edges and soft and chewy centers, they’re perfect on their own or with a glass of non-dairy milk.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 Cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste)
- 1 cup Coconut Sugar
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 tbsp Apple Sauce
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2/3 cup Oats, ground into Flour*
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Add the Tahini and Coconut Sugar to a medium bowl and use a handheld electric mixer to beat them together on a low speed for 45-60 seconds.
- Next, add the Non-Dairy Milk, Apple Sauce, and Vanilla Extract to the bowl. Beat until well-combined.
- Mix the Oat Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt together in a small bowl, then add this to the wet ingredients. Stir until the dry mix is evenly distributed.
- Place the bowl of Cookie Dough in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the Dough from the freezer, and with wet hands, scoop ~ 2 tbsp of dough out and form it into the cookie. Press each cookie down onto a greased or lined baking sheet; they will not expand very much during baking.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, then let sit on the tray for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- Serve as desired; leftovers will keep well at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Not all Tahini is created equal; a good variety should be runny and not bitter. My two favorite brands are Soom Foods and Pepperwood Organics
- Tahini may be substituted for any other natural Nut or Seed Butter of choice
- Coconut Sugar may be substituted for Brown Sugar or Cane Sugar
- To make Oat Flour, simply add your Oats to a Blender and process for 30-45 seconds until fine and powdery. I have not tested this recipe with any other Flours and thus cannot recommend substitutions.
Want to save these Flourless Tahini Sugar Cookies for later? Pin the recipe to your Pinterest boards:
I made these a few years ago and they were amazing. Can back to the recipe yesterday and followed it to a “t”, the cookies came out gooey and all ran into each other. They still taste amazing but I’m wondering what went wrong.
It’s great to hear that you enjoyed these cookies in the past! As for the issue you experienced, it’s hard to say for sure without more information. A couple of things that could have contributed to the cookies spreading and becoming gooey are:
The dough may have been too warm when placed in the oven. If the dough was not chilled enough, it could have spread too much during baking.
The oven temperature may not have been accurate. It’s possible that the oven was not heated to the correct temperature, or that it fluctuated during baking.
The brand of tahini or coconut sugar used may have been different, which could affect the consistency of the dough.
If you try making these cookies again, you could try chilling the dough for a longer period of time, ensuring that your oven is properly heated, and using the same brand of tahini and coconut sugar that you used when you had success with the recipe in the past.
These are so delicious! Followed the recipe as is but made them half the size to give out in holiday treat tins. I also drizzled melted dark chocolate chips and it balanced/ paired nicely with the sweetness of the cookies! The tahini is such a delicious addition, it gives them this scrumptious nuttiness, and most people who dont eat it often were pleasantly surprised by the new flavor!
★★★★★
Holiday treat tins sound awesome! Thanks for making them cookies!
Delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for making it!
These are absolutely amazing! Easy to make and delicious. Definitely a new favorite for me!
★★★★★
Yay!
Can I leave out the apple sauce
I would not recommend it, you need it for moisture
I cooked mine for 12 minutes and called for 5 but couldn’t get them off the parchment paper they were so gooey – put them back in the oven for 5 additional minutes. I think I made them too big. They were DELICIOUS BY THE WAY. And the ones that were uncooked and “ruined” when I tried to get them to the cooling rack went straight in my mouth ???? yummy!
I’m keen to try this recipe Caitlin! It looks amazing and I’ve got all the ingredients in the pantry. However I have oat flour. Would I still use 2/3 cup or only a half a cup since it’s ground?
Hi Inge! I would still use 2/3 cup 🙂
Would you recommend hulled or un-hulled tahini for this recipe?
That depends on personal taste – unhulled is slightly more bitter, but does have more Calcium! As long as it is runny, you should be fine 🙂
I subbed the apple sauce for some vegan yoghurt and the baking powder for 1/4 tsp of baking soda. They turned out amazing! I’ve been craving cookies for ages and you’re my lifesaver! Kinda funny though they puffed up so big in the oven now they are mega cookies!
★★★★
They do expand a bit! I’m glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Mine didn’t turn out right at all???? I’ll be honest I’ve never had much luck with baking but I was hoping these would turn out well. I ran into the same problem as Vivian, the batter was very runny. The cookies spread out way too thin and most of them didn’t even make it to cookie form ???? Perhaps I was just to impatient. Still a delicious recipe!
I will look into this, thank you for letting me know!
Tahini is a spread that I definitely needed to get myself accustomed to. By itself–DISGUSTING. In salads and hummus–MARVELOUS. In pastries and desserts–EVEN BETTER. These cookies will probably attest to the latter–tahini is such a remarkable ingredient to use in baking! I love that this recipe is far too simple to make. I already have all the ingredients I need!
These were so easy to make & so incredibly delicious!! My skeptical boyfriend loved them! I added vegan chocolate chips to some of them and they were super yummy!! Thank you for this amazing recipe, Caitlin! ❤️
Woo! I bet chocolate made them even more amazing 😉
omg as soon as I saw this I knew I had to make it immediately. My batter came out kinda runny–not sure why?–so all my cookies spread out and stuck together LOL. But anyway, these are amazing! Next time I think I’ll add more flour and less sugar as they were a lil too sweet for me. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Hmm…interesting! The cookies definitely spread out some, but should not be too too runny. I’ll look into this!
I had the same problem. Still delicious though! 🙂