VANILLA + LEMON COOKIE SANDWICHES W/TAHINI CREAM
As you might have been able to tell, I took a brief hiatus from Brick + Baking, during which time I traveled through (what felt like) the entirety of Northern Italy, and ate so much pasta (gluten-free!) and drank so much wine. I needed a couple of weeks to regroup (and recover) in New York... and now here I am! With a recipe for these delicious vanilla + lemon cookie sandwiches with tahini cream. Yum.
There is nothing quite like biting into a cookie. And when there are two cookies involved, separated by a sweet creamy layer, it's even better.
When I think of tahini, I think of falafel. So basically the opposite of cookies. And definitely not as sweet.
In my attempt to see what I could do with (what I considered) a savory food item, I incorporated the tahini into what is essentially a buttercream base, which sweetened up the tahini while still allowing the nuttiness to shine through.
The light and brightly flavored vanilla + lemon cookies work wonderfully with the tahini cream, but the cookies would also be great with ice cream in between. I'll definitely be trying that next!
There is nothing quite like biting into a cookie. And when there are two cookies involved, separated by a sweet creamy layer, it's even better.
When I think of tahini, I think of falafel. So basically the opposite of cookies. And definitely not as sweet.
In my attempt to see what I could do with (what I considered) a savory food item, I incorporated the tahini into what is essentially a buttercream base, which sweetened up the tahini while still allowing the nuttiness to shine through.
The light and brightly flavored vanilla + lemon cookies work wonderfully with the tahini cream, but the cookies would also be great with ice cream in between. I'll definitely be trying that next!
Ingredients:
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For the Cookies:
2 cups flour* 1 ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 1 tsp ground vanilla 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened ½ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for coating the cookies ½ cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract Zest of 1 lemon · For the Tahini Cream: 12 tbsp unsalted butter 1 ½ cups powdered sugar ¼ cup tahini *note* I make my own gluten-free flour mix rather than buying the pre-packaged variety (although pre-packaged mixes should work just fine, too). I found my go-to mix on the blog Gluten-Free Goddess. It is a combination of 1 cup sorghum flour, 1 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup almond meal and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. I keep a container of the mix handy at all times, so that I can just scoop out however much I need, when I need it! |
Directions:
In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ground vanilla and salt.
In another large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture slowly to the butter-egg-sugar mixture, beating in between additions, until just combined.
Finally, add the lemon zest and mix until evenly distributed.
Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes – this will make the dough easier to roll into balls.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Scoop 1 tbsp-size amounts of the dough and roll into balls. Coat the cookie balls in granulated sugar and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes at 350°F. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
While the cookies are cooling, make the tahini cream.
In a medium-size bowl, mix the butter, powdered sugar and tahini together by hand until combined. The cream should reach a spreadable consistency. Set aside.
Once the cookies are fully cooled, spread the tahini cream on the bottom of half the cookies. Complete the sandwiches by topping the creamed halves with the remainder of the cookies.
This recipe makes 14 cookie sandwiches.
In another large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture slowly to the butter-egg-sugar mixture, beating in between additions, until just combined.
Finally, add the lemon zest and mix until evenly distributed.
Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes – this will make the dough easier to roll into balls.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Scoop 1 tbsp-size amounts of the dough and roll into balls. Coat the cookie balls in granulated sugar and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes at 350°F. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
While the cookies are cooling, make the tahini cream.
In a medium-size bowl, mix the butter, powdered sugar and tahini together by hand until combined. The cream should reach a spreadable consistency. Set aside.
Once the cookies are fully cooled, spread the tahini cream on the bottom of half the cookies. Complete the sandwiches by topping the creamed halves with the remainder of the cookies.
This recipe makes 14 cookie sandwiches.