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Thumbprint cookies are always in style. Perfect for a light dessert with coffee or tea, although I would be lying if I said I haven’t eaten them for breakfast! Tahini thumbprint cookies are next level in the thumbprint cookie world. I personally love these filled with a lemon jam, making them tahini lemon cookies, but any flavor jam would work well here. I particularly like these cookies with lemon ginger jam.
How to Make Tahini Thumbprint Cookies
These cookies are seriously easy to make.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then add in the egg and yolk. Then you beat in the tahini. The only real advice any baker needs here is to stir the tahini really, really well before weighing or measuring. The oil in the tahini separates when it is stored, so this step is critical. Also, if you store tahini in the refrigerator, allow it to come to room temperature before making the cookie dough.
I like to coat these cookies in sesame seeds because they just look so pretty that way! But you can leave them naked. You do you.
Bake the cookies with the jam in the center. The jam will liquify a bit in the oven but then thicken when the cookies cool. I love that consistency. If you want rounded pops of jam in the middle, add a little more jam to each cookie when they come out of the oven. For really well-rounded pops, pipe the jam using a pastry bag or fill a small ziplock bag with jam, cut the bottom corner, and pipe.
Finally, be sure to bake them thoroughly so that the centers are fully baked.
What Kind of Tahini is Best for Baking?
As with anything, the better quality ingredients you use, the better quality product you will have. I have tried a couple different tahini brands for these cookies that I just picked up at my local grocery store. They were quality brands, and I got quality cookies.
My favorite tahini brand is Soom (which you can also buy from Nuts.com, and I also have had great success with Roland.
As noted above, be sure to stir the tahini really well before adding to dough to make these Tahini Thumbprint Cookies.
Not into tahini? Try my Lemon Crescent Cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Tahini Thumbprint Cookies
What kind of tahini is best for tahini thumbprint cookies?
Any quality, smooth tahini is great. Make sure to stir it really well before weighing or measuring it.
What kind of jam is best for tahini thumbprint cookies?
I love lemon jam in these cookies. The tahini-lemon flavor is wonderful. But you can use your favorite jam flavor. Strawberry, grape, blueberry…fig! They all will taste great.
Tahini Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 300 grams all purpose flour (2½ cups)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 227 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 cups or 14 Tablespoons)
- 150 grams of sugar (¾ cup)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 grams tahini, stirred well before weighing/measuring (¾ cup)
- lemon jam (or any other flavor)
- sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), cream together the butter and the sugar. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, beating until fully combined. Beat in the tahini until fully incorporated.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed butter/tahini mixture, just until the flour is no longer visible.
- Shape balls of dough, each 20 grams or 1 Tablespoon. Coat each in sesame seeds, if desired. Slightly flatten the ball into a thick pancake and use your thumb to create a deep imprint in the middle of each cookie.
- Place between ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon of jam in the center of each cookie.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes. The edges should be lightly browned.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan.
- Once cooled, add an additional small dollop of jam to the center of each cookie.
Notes
- Lemon jam works great in these cookies, but use any jam you like.
- Coating the cookies in sesame seeds adds a pretty look to them, but is completely optional.
7 Comments
I love the tahini twist on a thumbprint cookie. Delish!
Loved these! Great great recipe:)
Love an easy cookie recipe! Perfect for the upcoming holiday.
This tahini thumpprint cookies looks delicious, perfect for holidays. I love to try this.
Oh my gosh these tahini cookies look delicious and simple to make. I haven’t made cookies with tahini before, may have to make them after school, thank you.
I love thumbprint cookies — and really love the idea of using tahini. Wow! Yum!
Oh I have to try these Tahini cookies. They look so beautiful 🙂