Tahini is a sesame paste most commonly used in hummus, baba ghanoush, and salad dressings, but it can add moisture and nutty goodness to a whole variety of sweets.
Photo by Joy.
I kind of view tahini in sweets the way I view miso in savories; it simply adds depth and dimension to everything it touches. Not only does it enhance caramel-y notes and balance cloying sweetness, but it adds roast-y, toasty flavours that sing in baked goods. Real Simple is a fan of putting the stuff in their blondies, but you can use tahini to jazz up any of the following:
- Caramel Sauce: This is a pretty obvious one. You can follow Bon Appetit’s recipe for salted sesame caramel, or you could try adding a 1/4 cup to your favourite sticky-sweet sauce.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies: The New York Times stirs in half a cup of the sesame paste into their chocolate chip cookies for the ultimate sweet and salty treat.
- Ice Cream: Not only does Butterlust make their ice cream with tahini, vanilla, and a bit of bourbon, but then they take the whole thing one step further by drizzling it with decadent honey caramel.
Those should get you started, but I’m having a hard time thinking of things tahini wouldn’t be good in. Are chocolate-covered tahini cups too far? I don’t think they are.
3 Surprising Ways to Use Tahini [Real Simple]
Comments
One response to “Why You Should Put Tahini In Your Blondies (And Other Sweets)”
Please don’t.
My son and lots of people are allergic to sesame seeds. It is like putting silent killers in normal food.