Tahini Yin-Yang Cookies that Will Rock Your World

I love halvah, the honey and sesame sweet from the Middle East, especially when combined with chocolate. Sometimes the true halvah is a little too sweet for me, but add chocolate and it hits all the sweet and savory buttons. So when a can of Joyva tahini had been hanging around in the dairy fridge at Cleonice for a week, I just had to try putting together a cookie that tasted like the halvah I love.

yinyanghead
These are shortbread or refrigerator style cookies. When I started baking as a kid I hated refrigerator cookies, cookies needed to be faster than that, that’s the magic of cookies. Mix it up in a bowl, drop it on a sheet pan, bake 10 minutes and instant (well almost) gratification.

But there is a place for refrigerator cookies, truly. The great thing about these cookies is that you can make a batch, slice off as many as you want to eat and bake just those (even in your toaster oven) re-wrap the rest of the cookie dough and put it back in the fridge. Next time you’re hankering for cookies or someone drops by and you want to offer them something, cut a few slices off, bake, and impress.

yiningred

Gather your ingredients:
4 oz Unsalted Butter (one stick)
1 1/2 cup AP Flour
1 cup Tahini
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp Salt
3 Tb Cocoa

yinbutsugCombine sugar and butter in the bowl of a mixer.

yinbeatbutAnd beat well until creamy (you need not go all the way to fluffy).905

Add the Tahini and beat well again.

yinbeatendryAdd flour and salt and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

yinsepadcoRemove half of the dough from the mixer. Add the cocoa powder to the mixing bowl.

twodoughsMix well and you have a chocolate flavored dough and a straight up sesame dough.

yintwolog

Form each dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes so it’s easier to work with. My cookies are a little larger than a half-dollar, you can make your logs as large as 3″ in diameter to keep them easy to handle, they just might take a couple more minutes in the oven.

yincutlog

Remove from fridge and cut the logs in half lengthwise. Now you probably want to start your oven to preheat at 350.

yinshape

Form each half into the tadpole shape of the Yin Yang, squishing one corner into a point and rounding out the other. I’m using parchment paper here as a working surface. The dough won’t stick to it and keeps things clean.

yinyan

When you cut it, it will look like this.

yinyang

Combine the sesame half with the chocolate half and roll together to make
a new half and half log. Do the same with the second log. If you don’t want all 32 (or so) cookies at once, re-wrap one log and put it in the refrigerator to cook off later.
Or even freeze it if you don’t think you’ll use it within a week.

yincut

Slice into half-inch thicknesses and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet with a little room a part from each other. Cutting the slices might make your cookies have a flat side, you can easily correct this pressing in slightly around the edges.

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Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to get toasty. Enjoy now (they might be crumbly) or let cool on a rack for as many minutes as you can stand. They’ll keep in an air tight container for up to a week.

Tahini Yin-Yang Cookies that Will Rock Your World
Author: 
Recipe type: Cookies
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Serves: 15
 
Cookies that taste like Chocolate covered halvah. Recipe makes about 32 cookies depending on the size.
Ingredients
  • 4 oz Unsalted Butter (one stick)
  • ¾ cup Sugar
  • 1 cup Tahini (stir well before measuring)
  • 1½ cup AP Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 3 Tb Cocoa
Instructions
  1. Combine sugar and butter in the bowl of a mixer. Beat well until creamy (you need not go all the way to fluffy).
  2. Add the Tahini and beat until incorporated
  3. Add flour and salt and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Remove half of the dough from the mixer. Add the cocoa powder to the mixing bowl. Incorporated the cocoa in well and now you have a chocolate flavored dough and a straight up sesame dough.
  4. Form each dough into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes so it's easier to work with.
  5. Remove from fridge and cut the logs in half lengthwise. Pre-heat your oven to 350.
  6. Form each half into the tadpole shape of the Yin Yang, squishing one corner into a point and rounding out the other. I'm using parchment paper here as a working surface. The dough won't stick to it and keeps things clean.
  7. Combine the sesame half with the chocolate half and roll together to make a new half and half log.
  8. Slice into half-inch thicknesses and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet with a little room a part from each other. You may want to reform the cookies a bit so they don't have a flat side.
  9. Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to get toasty. Enjoy now (they might be crumbly) or let cool on a rack for as many minutes as you can stand. They'll keep in an air tight container for up to a week.
Cary Hanson

About Cary Hanson

My husband and I didn't have children, we had a restaurant. For twelve and a half years we poured body and soul into Cleonice Mediterranean Bistro. We worked closely with local farmers, fishermen, and food artisans, doing our best to support our local community. We made great friends, beautiful food, and had a lot of fun. As Rich and I rediscover ourselves as our own beings outside of the all-consuming restaurant we have time to share our recipes and reminisce about Cleonice.