These pine nut tahini cookies have a delicate, flaky shortbread texture and a sweet sesame flavor.
Have you ever tried halva? It’s a sweet, sesame-based confection that can often be found at local candy shops or Jewish delis. Sometimes I see pre-packaged versions but you really want to find the homemade stuff. It’s rich, dense and wonderful. I love it.
And when I first tasted these tahini cookies, halva immediately came to mind.
These cookies have a tender, flaky texture similar to shortbread. The tahini is prominent and pine nuts add a light crunch and complementary flavor.
You can use regular honey in this recipe but I recommend orange blossom honey if it’s available to you. Orange blossom honey is lightly floral and blends perfectly with the other flavors.
I gave one of these cookies to my grandmother to try and her response was “These are so good; these taste like halva!” If Zelda gave these cookies her seal of approval, that means you need to try them.
Looking for more cookie recipes?
Head over to the Cookies & Bars section of my recipe index to see all of my cookie recipes in one place! If you want specific suggestions, I recommend checking out my Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Chocolate as well as my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies.
Pine Nut Tahini Cookies
These pine nut tahini cookies have a delicate, flaky shortbread texture and a sweet sesame flavor.
- 6 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour ((approximately 1 1/4 cups))
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, (room temperature)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup well-stirred tahini
- ½ tablespoon honey ((I used orange blossom))
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pine nuts
- In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with on medium-high for several minutes until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add the tahini, honey and vanilla.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until a dough has just formed.
- Transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten. Chill in the refrigerator until the dough has firmed up, at least 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using your hands or a small cookie scoop, roll dough into approximately 1-inch balls. Line them up on the cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. Top each cookie with 5 pine nuts.
- Bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Adapted from Epicurious
I spent years in Greece where halva is very popular indeed, so I’m sure I’d love these cookies … I love that you’ve included pine nuts!
Oh my word, do these look like perfection. Just love the thickness!
These cookies sound delicious! I love anything tahini, and I must say this is the first dessert recipe I’ve seen that uses it. Sounds so, so good! : )
These cookies look incredible, I love desserts with tahini!
I love the sound of these. The tahini sounds so interesting.
My first halva experience was life changing – and I bet these cookies are no doubt the same!!
These look awesome! Are there substitutions if I don’t use white flour and white sugar – i.e. would brown rice flour and cane sugar work? or maple syrup? or brown rice syrup? just trying to see if there is a healthier alternative because I love halva and I love using tahini in recipes
I can never guarantee the recipe will work when there are substitutions I didn’t personally test. Those are some pretty major substitutions and will definitely change the structure of the cookie. But if you give it a try, please let me know how it turns out!
I have never tried it, but it sounds magical!
I’ve never tried halva, but these cookies look so good. And with a grandmother’s approval, obviously I need to try these.
Oh yum. They are nutty and buttery and salty which is the perfect combo of flavor to me! They look wonderful
I will be making these today with my son. I am so exciting….tahini is one of those things we just happen to be able to easily get in China…and we can even find pine nuts in a fruit vendor’s shop! Yay!
What a unique cookie!