Chewy Sesame Butter Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Happy New Year (a week and change late…)! I’m not sure about you, but I’m excited for the start of a new year. Not necessarily because 2016 was so awful, but because 2017 has all the potential to be an awesome year. I’m not entirely thrilled to be starting it on a restricted diet, but because I am, I’m trying to make the best of it.

Baking is definitely one of the hardest things about being gluten- and dairy-free. I used to truly love whipping up desserts, and the elation that comes from perfectly executing a basic cake better or cookie dough. If you’ve baked as much as I have, you can tell whether you’ve succeeded or bombed with a recipe simply by the texture and movement of a dough or batter, and I used to completely adore running my spatula through cake batter, watching it fall back on itself in just the right way, knowing my cake would be beautiful, with a tender crumb, and oh so moist. With gluten-free and vegan baking, it’s just not the same. Gluten-free and dairy-free baking is possible, but the transformation, and the finished product especially, is a lot different and requires significantly measured expectations.

That said, it’s not impossible, and I’ve managed to produce a handful of pretty tasty desserts within those guidelines. Even my better half loved these cookies, and he’s in no way restricted by any diet, so I hope that’s saying something.

These cookies have one surprise ingredient – avocado! – and feature an unusual seed butter in place of the more typical peanut or almond butter. Sesame butter, also known as tahini, is something I associate with savory dishes, but I’ve discovered a line of sweetened Sesame butter, and it’s opened my eyes to a whole different side of things!

Simply Sesame makes three different flavors of sesame butter, a vanilla flavor with chunks of almonds, one with chunks of pistachios, and another that is straight up, slightly sweetened sesame butter. For this recipe, I used the vanilla flavor, and it worked perfectly.

The dough for these cookies is definitely a little unusual, and if you handle it too much it’ll get pretty oily (I learned first hand!), so you have to make quick work of your mixing and portioning! I rolled my dough balls in granulated sugar for a really pretty, crunchy exterior, but the best part about these cookies is their ultra chewy interior, even after sitting out for a few days.

You can try these cookies with any nut butter, but I’d definitely suggest trying out Simply Sesame for something totally different and unique. Check them out on social: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and the product is also available on their website and on Amazon.

http://www.sweetlyserendipity.com/