Two or three years ago, I found this recipe to use up a pot of tahini (toasted sesame paste) I'd initially bought for another recipe that called for just a little of the stuff. The biscuits turned out fantastic, with a distinctive, deep nutty flavour. This year, I carried a pot of tahini all the way from Europe to Africa during my Christmas break from university, specially to make these biscuits again for New Year's Day.

The recipe I used can be found here: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/239826/fast-and-easy-israeli-tahini-cookies/. I love it because it requires only a handful of readily-available ingredients and produces a large batch. I plan to make an adaptation of the recipe sometime soon, so stick around!

Supplies

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour (c. 390 g)

1 cup white sugar (200 g)

2 teaspoons baking powder (8 g)

14 tablespoons unsalted butter (200 g)

1 cup tahini (c. 250 g)

No specialist equipment is required for this recipe. All you need is a measuring cup, a couple of bowls, some cutlery, baking paper and an oven with a baking tray.

Step 1: Prepare

Preheat your oven to 180 °C (355 °F).

Stir the tahini well. Measure all your ingredients. Melt the butter by cutting it up into a bowl and microwaving for a couple of minutes in short (30-second) bursts until just melted and creamy. Line a baking tray with baking paper, waxy side up.

Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients

Tip the flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl and mix.

Step 3: Mix in the Wet Ingredients

Add the butter and tahini to the bowl and stir to form a crumbly dough (it doesn't have to be very dry). Do not overwork the dough or the gluten in the flour may cause the biscuits to become tough.

Step 4: Make the Biscuits

Roll the dough into small balls, about 3 cm (just over an inch) in diameter and place in a baking tray with space between them. Use a fork or your hands to flatten the balls into circles. They may crack at the edges; try to squish together and smoothen the edges a bit.

According to the original recipe, these quantities of ingredients gives 24 servings. I ended up with 37 biscuits that were neither particularly small nor thin - I'm happy with that!

Step 5: Bake the Biscuits

Bake them in the 180 °C (355 °F) oven for at least 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown. I left mine in for almost 20 minutes, so they could become darker and dryer. I like my biscuits dry and crunchy rather than moist or chewy.

Step 6: Finish!

Let the delicate biscuits cool for a few minutes on the tray once it's been removed from the oven, then transfer them carefully to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up - I was surprised by how well they held together even when dropped.

Savour the light crunch and satisfying flavour!