Oatmeal cookies with molasses,tahini and chocolate chunks
The reason I am not afraid of molasses and tahini is simple: us Lebanese grew up eating molasses and tahini, mixed in, on a piece of bread as a simple, traditional, but immensely satisfying dessert (or snack).
So, when I saw that our Danish cousins had left a bag of Danish oats they had brought with them for their four kids, I saw an opportunity.
I had some leftover apple molasses and of course tahini is always in the pantry; why not make oatmeal cookies with a Lebanese twist?
RESULT: Cookies that are very oaty (reminding me of the oat cakes I had in Derbyshire, in England); with a faint taste of tahini; moistness and sweetness due to the molasses; in short: wonderful!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (4 ounces)
- 1/3 cup of tahini (measure in a measuring cup by volume)
- 1/2 cup of apple or carob or grape molasses
- 1/2 cup of white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 3 cups of old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup of extra-dark chocolate chunks
- pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, pinch of ground cinnamon
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 350F and get 3 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Soften the butter in the microwave till melted and mix with the tahini, sugar and molasses.
- Add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Add to the tahini and molasses mixture. Mix well.
- Add the oats and the chocolate chunks.
- Form into balls and place on the sheets; flatten a bit quickly with a fork, if desired. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes until the cookies are puffy and feel somewhat firm.
- Remove from the oven, cool on the stovetop. Enjoy.
The template for this recipe was provided by joyofbaking.com; recipe is adapted of course. I would also suggest using dried fruits instead of the chocolate.
Comments
28 Comments • Comments Feed
Mo says:
What a delicious and interesting cookie! I might have to try something similar, as I’ve had some grape molasses in my pantry for ages now and I had no idea what to do with it. 🙂
Thank you for sharing!
On August 16, 2010 at 10:18 am
Jamie says:
Intriguing flavor combo but it looks delicious! I love tahini and should use it more often in sweets. Great cookie recipe.
On August 16, 2010 at 10:54 am
Rosa says:
Fabulous cookies! Anything with chocolate and tahini will make me drool…
Cheers,
Rosa
On August 16, 2010 at 10:56 am
Katie says:
How about regular, old-fashioned black-strap molasses? I’ve never heard of the other options…. but I can’t even get cane molasses here in France, I have to buy it in
Andorra – in the foreign food section….
Love the cookies…. and the tahini. I buy it and always have a bit left that I don’t have a use for.
On August 16, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Joumana says:
Katie: I would try it with whatever molasses you have got laying around in your pantry.
On August 16, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Angie's Recipes says:
Love treacle cookies! These cookies sound really yummy with tahini and chocolate.
On August 16, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Eve@CheapEthnicEatz says:
Decadent in taste I am sure, they look so good. Will have to explore tahini use more.
On August 16, 2010 at 12:51 pm
MaryMoh says:
Love these cookies. Would be very lovely for tea time. Thanks very much for sharing.
On August 16, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Dimah says:
These look super delicious and so nice!
On August 16, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Krista says:
How wonderfully clever, Joumana! 🙂 These look so good – like the oatmeal date bars my Mums used to make. 🙂
On August 16, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Faith says:
This looks like a really delicious twist on oatmeal cookies (which are one of my all-time favorite cookies!). I love the tahini in them!
On August 16, 2010 at 4:54 pm
john@heneedsfood says:
Apple molasses sounds wonderful, I’ve never really heard of it. Unless it’s just the same as the apple syrup we get here. Such a great combination of flavours you have here!
On August 16, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Stacey Snacks says:
These tahini cookies w/ chocolate look amazing, I have never had that combination before. Love it!
On August 16, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Cara says:
I am not afraid – they sound wonderful to me!
On August 16, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Pauline says:
Like Katie, I’m in France and can’t get molasses. Perhaps it could be replaced with a date purée, sweetened with some cane sugar if need be.
On August 17, 2010 at 4:32 am
Joumana says:
@ Pauline & Katie: one can find molasses in France in stores specializing in “bio” food (organic) and also middle-eastern grocers.
On August 17, 2010 at 4:55 am
Joanne says:
These do sound seriously lovely. It’s almost like the tahini replaces peanut butter…I will definitely be trying these.
On August 17, 2010 at 5:49 am
Susan says:
Now that I have a wonderful recipe for something other than hummus for my jar of Tahini, I will happily try these! Love the addition of the big chocolate chunks!
On August 17, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Doc says:
Genius! As I was reading through I was thinking-I wonder about dates or raisins-then I saw the dried fruit note! I love the idea of tahini. In Japan there are sweets with sesame seed flavoring that are quite yummy.
On August 17, 2010 at 2:43 pm
grace says:
i love seeing tahini is recipes like this–i’m game for any and every use for the stuff!
On August 17, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Mimi says:
Great recipe. I love tahini and have never baked with it.
Mimi
On August 17, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Pauline says:
Thanks, Joumana. I must have been looking in the wrong section of my biocoop – will ask next time I go.
On August 18, 2010 at 7:04 am
anthony says:
Very interesting recipe. I think I will have to give this a try.
On August 19, 2010 at 1:56 am
bia says:
Merci pour les cookies, au debout j”etais réticente quant au melange beurre et tahine mais une fois cuit c’est vraiment delicieux… c’est a refaire maintes fois…
On October 20, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Alice says:
These sound so good right now!
On February 4, 2011 at 8:22 pm
domi says:
Ces petites gourmandises se dégusteront sans modération….
On May 11, 2011 at 9:17 am
Gourmet Cupcake says:
A real delight. Love this post and some points you are focusing on. Gorgeous and super tasty! It looks wonderful in it’s pure simplicity.
On October 14, 2011 at 1:09 pm