Oatmeal cookies with molasses,tahini and chocolate chunks

August 16, 2010  •  Category: ,

 

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:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and get 3 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  2. Soften the butter in the microwave till melted and mix with the tahini, sugar and molasses.
  3. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix.
  4. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Add to the tahini and molasses mixture. Mix well.
  5. Add the oats and the chocolate chunks.
  6. 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.
  7. 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

  1. 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!

  2. Jamie says:

    Intriguing flavor combo but it looks delicious! I love tahini and should use it more often in sweets. Great cookie recipe.

  3. Rosa says:

    Fabulous cookies! Anything with chocolate and tahini will make me drool…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  4. 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.

  5. Angie's Recipes says:

    Love treacle cookies! These cookies sound really yummy with tahini and chocolate.

  6. Eve@CheapEthnicEatz says:

    Decadent in taste I am sure, they look so good. Will have to explore tahini use more.

  7. MaryMoh says:

    Love these cookies. Would be very lovely for tea time. Thanks very much for sharing.

  8. Dimah says:

    These look super delicious and so nice!

  9. Krista says:

    How wonderfully clever, Joumana! 🙂 These look so good – like the oatmeal date bars my Mums used to make. 🙂

  10. 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!

  11. 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!

  12. Stacey Snacks says:

    These tahini cookies w/ chocolate look amazing, I have never had that combination before. Love it!

  13. Cara says:

    I am not afraid – they sound wonderful to me!

  14. 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.

    • Joumana says:

      @ Pauline & Katie: one can find molasses in France in stores specializing in “bio” food (organic) and also middle-eastern grocers.

  15. Joanne says:

    These do sound seriously lovely. It’s almost like the tahini replaces peanut butter…I will definitely be trying these.

  16. 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!

  17. 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.

  18. grace says:

    i love seeing tahini is recipes like this–i’m game for any and every use for the stuff!

  19. Mimi says:

    Great recipe. I love tahini and have never baked with it.
    Mimi

  20. Pauline says:

    Thanks, Joumana. I must have been looking in the wrong section of my biocoop – will ask next time I go.

  21. anthony says:

    Very interesting recipe. I think I will have to give this a try.

  22. 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…

  23. Alice says:

    These sound so good right now!

  24. domi says:

    Ces petites gourmandises se dégusteront sans modération….

  25. 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.

Add a Comment