Super Easy Tahini Cookies (4 Ingredients & Gluten-Free)

This 4 ingredient tahini cookie is the absolute easiest sesame cookie recipe you’ll find. It’s also naturally gluten-free and dairy-free!

Welcome back to my easy 4-ingredient (or less) cookie recipe series! This week I’ve got an amazing tahini cookie.  Tahini is a middle eastern sesame paste, but I grew up with the Chinese version. Did you know there are lots of sesame candies in Chinese cuisine? Chewy sesame, crunchy sesame brittle, sesame nougat that’s kind of like halva… there’s some fun potential crossovers with Chinese and Middle Eastern food. Nowadays in America I feel like tahini is the more familiar sesame ingredient to the general population, so I went with that instead of a Chinese version for this recipe. Plus, I was excited to make a cookie that had lots of protein and fiber! I’m happy for my kids to gobble these down.

You don’t need a stand mixer or any special equipment or ingredients, just tahini, egg, powdered sugar, and extra sesame seeds for sprinkling. If that’s enough info for you, click the “Jump to Recipe” button or scroll on down below. If you’d like to learn more about potential flavor modifications, ingredient substitutions, and the kind of texture and flavor you can expect from this recipe, read through the blog post below.

Making a Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free Cookie

Sounds impossible, right? A cookie with no butter or flour? Actually, it’s quite easy to do when using nut butters or nut flours. The fat in the oils of the nuts replaces the butter and the ground nuts replace the flour. That’s why peanut butter cookies work so well! In fact, that’s the basis for all my 4 ingredient cookies. In this case, we are simply replacing the peanut butter with a sesame butter a.k.a. tahini.

A Crumbly Texture

That said, because there’s no flour in this recipe, the texture of this cookie gets kind of crumbly rather than chewy. I found that sesame seeds in particular don’t hold together as well as almond flour or another nut butter/flour. They’re very soft and do spread quite a bit on the tray. Make sure you let them cool completely before trying to lift them up! If you make these cookies and want a more dense, chewier texture, you can try adding some almond flour in your next batch.

More Ingredient Substitutions or Additions

For the sake of keeping the 4 ingredient theme, I went with the bare minimum number of ingredients. But you could add some more for a little extra flavor and flair. A sprinkle of salt or a splash of vanilla extract could add some fun pops of flavor.

I don’t recommend adding chocolate chips directly into the dough, due to the crumbly texture of the cookie. However, you could melt chocolate and drizzle it on top of the cookie after it’s done baking.

You can also change up the sesame seed coating. I enjoyed dipping the whole cookie dough ball into sesame seeds for a thorough sesame coverage. However, it does make the cookie rather crunchy, which you may or may not want. If you like a little less crunch, you can dip only the top of the cookie in the sesame. OR, if you’re doing the drizzled chocolate effect you can sprinkle a light dusting or sesame on top the melted chocolate. OR you could also add a sprinkling of sea salt crystals.

A Serving Suggestion

These cookies taste great on their own, but my friend Terrel told me she ate them with a swipe of jam. I thought that was genius. You can make these cookies slightly smaller and turn them into jam sandwich cookies. I think a red raspberry or strawberry jam would contrast nicely with the golden brown cookie color. Plus, the tartness would balance out the sweetness of the cookie. You could also go the scone route and serve with a pat of cream too. The flavor of the cookie is very toasty and almost savory, so it makes a great pairing with soft, sweet spreads. Maybe Nutella would be a great complement as well.

Storing Leftovers

I actually prefer these cookies the day after, as the sesame seeds get a little softer (they are very dry and crunchy straight from the oven). I recommend storing in an airtight container. They’re fine at room temperature but you can also stick them in the fridge, especially if you are in a hot and humid climate.

More Cookie Recipes

Check out my other easy cookie recipes!

• 4 Ingredient Pistachio Matcha Cookies
• 3 Ingredient Black Sesame Cookies
• 3 Ingredient Nutella Cookies