Tahini Pistachio Cranberry Cookies

I’ve made these cookies multiple times over the last few weeks and I’m pretty sure everyone has gotten sick of looking at them. Constant instagram stories of these sweet treats teasing you to reach through the screen to dig into them and now they are finally here on this blog.

I’ve honestly got an obsession with these cookies. A hint of savouriness from the tahini and pistachios with sweetness from the white chocolate and acidity from the cranberries. It’s crisp, chewy, soft, crunchy, and has all the textures that I love with a nice thickness to it. And finally, it’s rolled in sesame seeds prior to baking to provide that extra punch and crunch.

There are many layers to this cookies with a few tricks applied to it but it’s none the less still simple to make.

Everyone who’s tried it has loved it and even those who were skeptical about the savouriness of it ended up exclaiming it was their favourite after their first bite. And so here I am, nudging you on to try makings these cookies.

With its green red and white festive colours, I honest think that this is my go to cookies for the festive season of 2018.

Things to note:

• This cookie is packed full of add-ins and you might find it too much for your liking. I personally like my cookies chunky so this amount of ingredients is perfect for me. But feel free to decrease the amount of add-ins (pistachio, white choc and cranberries) by 20% if you wish
• I toast my pistachios on a frying pan over low heat to release some of its flavour, but I’ve done both toasted and untoasted pistachios as add-ins over the process of testing this recipe. So if you are short on time, untoasted pistachios will work just fine.
• It’s important to roll your cookies in the sesame seeds. It adds not only a textural crunch but a lovely savoury scent to it that lasts for days. Please do not skip this step.
• Freeze your dough balls after you’ve portioned them. This is non-negotiable for the ideal texture. On the upside, you can have cookies ready to go at any time as these will last ages in your freezer
• The step of gently compressing your cookies at the end is important for the right texture, so please do not skip it. This has create a nice fudgey center and flat top. I know, I have many non-negotiable rules to this recipe, but they are simple and so worth it.
• I use natural tahini which doesn’t include any sugar or additives in it, and it’s important to stir the jar well to get the right consistency as the bottom of the jar tends to settle and harden with the oil floating towards the top. When in doubt, use a new bottle of tahini where possible.
• You can easily choose to double the recipe for more cookies if you are sending them as gifts, I know I do.
• Use good quality chocolate chips if possible for the best result. A lot of the white chocolate out there have a waxy quality to them which I personally really do not like and detracts from the deliciousness of the cookie.
• I wear gloves when handling/shaping the dough as it helps ensure it doesn’t stick to my hands. You can choose to do so or use your bare hands. There’s no hard rule here.

Makes 15 cookies

What you’ll need:

• 185g AP flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon sea salt

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 75g unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 100g natural tahini

• 100g white sugar

• 160g light brown sugar

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 180g white chocolate chips

• 80 grams toasted pistachio, roughly chopped

• 150g dried cranberries

• Flake salt, such as Maldon, for sprinkling
• Approximately 50g – 70g of white sesame seeds to coat cookies

Making it

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter, sugars, salt and tahini together at medium-high speed until well mixed. (Don’t worry if it’s starts to turn into a big dough looking lump. It’ll work itself out once you’ve add the eggs.)

Scrape your mixing bowl and add the vanilla extract and egg and beat at medium-high until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.

Scrape the bowl and add the flour mixture. Mix on low until 80% combined and add the cranberries, chocolate and pistachios.

Mix on low until evenly distributed.

Cover and refrigerate for 1hr until slightly hardened.

Divide dough into 15 balls (72grams approximately) and gently press/roll into a nice round ball. Roll in sesame seeds and place on a tray lined with a baking paper.

Freeze overnight or until solid.

When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 200C

Place each ball 2 inches apart on your lined baking sheet and bake for 13 minutes or until nice and golden brown on the outside. The middle will still look puffy and slightly pale but that’s fine.

Remove from the oven and immediately, using the bottom of a glass or a spatula, flatten the dough gently to compress the puffy middle. If your dough ends up being too rough around the edges for your liking, just use your fingers to gently nudge it back into a circular shape.

Sprinkle with some flaked salt and cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool fully.

Enjoy for days to come!

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