I have never really been a cookie person except for these shortbread cookies. I find most cookies too sweet. This is my grandmother’s recipe and whenever she made these cookies, I would eat a whole batch in a couple of days. These cookies are still one of the two desserts I always request from her. Last year, I finally asked her for the recipe..

The keys to these cookies are clarified butter and lots of flour. I have no idea how these two main ingredients plus sugar can create such magic. The center of the cookie has a little bit of a snap but the moment it comes in contact with your tongue, it starts melting.

With the holidays approaching, everyone is baking cookies as gifts. I selfishly baked the whole batch for myself and ate it too. No regrets. These cookies do however, make great gifts mainly because they keep really well. And if you want to jazz them up, you can even dip one corner in melted chocolate before serving.

Yields: 24 cookies Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 1/2 - 4 cups all purpose flour

Preparation

1. To make clarified butter, place the butter in a saucepan and melt over very low heat. We don’t want the butter to boil and burn so low heat is key. The goal is to separate the butter from all the milk solids.

2. Once all the butter is melted, you will see white milk solids coming to the top. Let the butter cool for 10-15 minutes, this will help settle the milk solids to the bottom of the pot.

3. Without pouring the milk solids, slowly pour the cooled down, melted butter into a mixing bowl. With a spoon, skim any leftover clarified butter from the top of the pot and transfer to the mixing bowl. You should now have clarified butter in your mixing bowl and all the white milk solids in the pot. You can discard the milk solids or keep them to add into eggs, pancakes, biscuits, etc.

4. Let the clarified butter solidify in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. We want the clarified butter to be pretty soft for kneading. If you forget the butter in the fridge for too long, take it out and bring it back to room temperature.

5. Once the butter is solid yet soft, take it out of the fridge. Add powdered sugar and vegetable oil into the mixing bowl. Mix using your hands or a mixer until the sugar is fully incorporated and the mixture has a paste-like texture.

6. Add in the flour, 1 cup at a time. Incorporate the flour completely before adding the next cup. Depending on how much clarified butter you have, you might need a little more or less flour. We are aiming for a dough that is soft and that does not stick to your fingers. It should hold shape without crumbling. If the dough gets too crumbly, add a tablespoon vegetable oil to soften.

7. I find this dough easier to shape after chilling in the fridge for 15 minutes. If you are in a rush, you can skip this step and continue with shaping.

8. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Preheat the oven to 340 F.

9. Working in batches, roll the dough into a 1 inch thick log. Using a sharp knife, cut 3 inches long cookies with angled edges as shown in the picture below.

10. To give cookies their S shape, hold from the top left and the bottom right corners and push the dough inwards as shown in the pictures below. (I prefer the S shape but these cookies can be shaped in any way you like.)

11. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the cookies turn white on the top, for 15 minutes.

12. Let cool completely before transferring to a plate. The dough needs to set for at least an hour before you can handle the cookies. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature. These cookies are even more delicious the next day.

Argh, I can’t believe summer is coming to an end soon (at least for me). I have had the most glorious summer 50% working on Mint and Sumac, 25% exploring Seattle, 10% exercising, 10% playing Stardew Valley, and 5% socializing. Also fit “reading to hit my goodreads challenge” somewhere in this breakdown. But soon (as in 2 weeks soon) I am going to go back to being a real adult and start working full-time again. So in the last few weeks, I have been trying to maximize my socializing time and catch up with all my friends before I disappear into long commutes and book-me-4-weeks-in-advance schedules.

With that spirit, last week, I had two friends over for Turkish coffee at 1:30pm on a Thursday (soon unimaginable scheduling) and made these tahini cookies and boy, they were delicious. Turkish coffee is generally served with a sweet bite like a cookie or Turkish delight. This helps balance the strong flavor of coffee and cleanses your palate. My goal was to find a tahini cookie recipe that melts in your mouth because I think it pairs perfectly with the texture of Turkish coffee. When I saw this recipe from Mamaleh’s on Bon Appetit, I knew I had to try it. These cookies have a texture very similar to shortbread cookies and they are also a little soft and chewy inside thanks to the tahini (I think I drooled a little just thinking about it).

Tahini is one of the staple ingredients in my pantry. For those of you who might not be familiar with it, tahini is basically sesame paste. I use it for dressings, sweet spreads, baked goods, mezes, smoothies, so basically everything. Its creamy texture and versatile taste that works in both sweet and savory dishes makes it a popular ingredient in my kitchen. Nowadays, you can find tahini at almost all grocery stores. Look for it in the baking or nut butters/spreads aisle.

Tips:

I highly recommend dipping these cookies into sesame seeds as the recipe suggests. You can even mix in some black sesame seeds. But, if you want to try something different you can also dip them in crushed walnuts or pistachios.

Do not overcook these tahini cookies. When you take them out of the oven, they might look a little undercooked but they harden as they cool.

Yields: 18-24 cookies Time: 40 minutes

Recipe from Bon Appétit by Mamaleh’s in Cambridge, MA

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup tahini

3 tablespoons honey

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Beat the butter, sugar and honey in a bowl, until creamy. Add in the tahini and mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

3. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.

4. Add the flour mix into the wet ingredients, slowly, in 2-3 batches, mixing after adding every batch. I mix the dough with my hands to make sure all the ingredients are combined well.

5. Pour the sesame seeds in a small bowl.

6. Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball in your hands. Press gently with your palm to flatten the dough a little. Dip one side of the dough into sesame seeds. Place the dough, sesame side up, on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

7. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Let the cookies cool before serving. Serve with a cup of coffee or black tea. Enjoy!