These tahini cookies make look fancy, but they are easy to make and require no chilling. Bonus: they are also gluten and egg free. 

As if we really needed more gluttony post-Thanksgiving, it’s holiday cookie season! And today is the timely food holiday of National Cookie Day so I gathered up a dozen other bloggers to give you a baker’s dozen of cookies to celebrate. Whether you need new ideas for a holiday cookie tray or are just craving cookies for yourself, I am certain there is something for everything on the line up today!

When I hear the words “Christmas cookies” I immediately think of cut-out cookies, but I already shared those so I decided to make something different. I’ve had tahini cookies on my list of recipe ideas for awhile after making tahini brownies. Originally I planned on making them just like a peanut butter cookie with tahini instead of peanut butter (as in these tahini chocolate chip cookies) but then I saw an image of one coated in sesame seeds and I just had to try it. They may not be as sweet as other cookies but they make up for it in flavor.

Celebrate #NationalCookieDay with all my fellow cookie fanatics! Below is a list of great cookies to make this holiday:

• Cake Mix Cinnamon Oatmeal Reindeer Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies by Kate’s Recipe Box
• Chocolate Cinnamon Crinkle Cookies by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Dipped Butter Cookies by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Christmas Lights Cookies by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Classic Old Fashioned Snickerdoodles by Big Bear’s Wife
• Coconut S’Mores Bars by The Foodette
• Gingerbread Snickerdoodles by The Redhead Baker
• Peanut Brownie Sablés by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Pistachio Cardamom Cresent Cookies by Savory Moments
• Quince and Almond Filled Cookies by Palatable Pastime
• Rosettes by That Recipe
• Gluten-Free Tahini Cookies by The Spiffy Cookie

Two years ago: Lemon Gooey Butter Cookies

Three years ago: Weekly Meal Plan #41

Four years ago: Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

Six years ago: Sausage and Cheese Wonton Cups

Seven years ago: White Chocolate Peppermint Covered Pretzels

TAHINI COOKIES

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup tahini

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp white sesame seeds

1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. In a large bowl, whisk the honey, tahini, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until evenly distributed and a dough formd.
3. Mix sesame seeds in a shallow bowl.
4. Using a medium (1-1/2 inch) cookie scoop, shape the dough into balls. Roll in sesame seeds, place on prepared baking sheet 2-inches apart, and flatten to 1/4-inch-thick rounds.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until bottoms are golden. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Adapted slightly from Food & Wine.

The fusion of sushi and burgers is here! This soy sauce seasoned burger is even served sandwiched between a sticky rice bun.

May is such a great month. It’s my birth month, National BBQ month, and also National Burger month! It’s time to cook all the things on the grill and I’m beyond excited that they weather has finally given up on the icy winter mix it has been spewing all the way through April. But this summer it won’t just be grilling because we are the proud owners of a new smoker that Bob seasoned this weekend so expect to see some smoked recipes making an appearance soon. But for now we stick to the grill for Burger Month brought to you by our faithful leader, Kita at Girl Carnivore!

I give you the sushi burger! Complete with sticky rice bun and a perfectly seasoned burger with a soy-reduction sauce. I originally bought some seaweed crisps to use instead of regular salad greens for the assembly – awesome idea right!? But you’ll notice from my photos that when it came to assembly, in true spastic fashion I forgot until after I had eaten the last burger a couple days later. Fail. I will say, I considered remaking them just to get the right photo because they were good enough to eat multiple times in a week, but then life got in the way and I ran out of time. So just imagine these with crispy seaweed instead of spinach.

Make sure you scroll to the bottom of this post to enter the sweet grill giveaway! There’s one winner every week throughout #BurgerMonth and then one grand prize winner at the end of it all! So stay tuned and make sure you follow the #BurgerMonth hashtag on social media to catch all the other burgers. There is usually at least one posted every day all month long!

Take a look a other creations I’ve made for #BurgerMonth including: The Pepper Burger (2021), Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Turkey Burgers (2020), Chimichurri Burgers (2019), Patacon Burgers (2017), Hard Root Beer Burgers with Blue Cheese and Crispy Onions (2016), and Spicy Mustard & Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers (2014).

Three years ago: Grape Mojitos

Four years ago: Corn Fritter Shortcakes with Maple Whipped Cream

Five years ago: Brown Sugar Baked Fries

Six years ago: Pineapple Burgers

SUSHI BURGERS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

RICE BUNS

2 cups white sushi rice (DO NOT RINSE)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp black sesame seeds (I just used toasted)

Sesame oil

BURGERS

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp water

1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/8 tsp minced garlic

1/8 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp water mixed with 1 tsp cornstarch

1-1/4 lb. ground beef

2 scallions, diced

1/2 tsp salt

ASSEMBLY

Sriracha mayo

Favorite greens or crispy seaweed

Thinly sliced avocado

Directions:

1. Bring rice, salt, vinegar, and 3 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until water has evaporated and rice is cooked, about 20 minutes. Keep covered and let cool until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Stir sesame seeds.
   Fill a small bowl with room-temperature water. Scoop about 1/2 cup rice mixture with wet hands and form into a ball. Pat rice, dipping your hands in water to keep them wet, into a firm patty about 4″ round and 1/2″ thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then repeat with remaining rice mixture until you have 8 patties. If making in advance, chill until ready to cook.
2. Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Brush 1 side of each patty lightly with sesame oil. Working in batches if needed, cook patties oil side down until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Brush tops with oil, then flip and cook until other side is lightly browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
3. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, and oil. Bring it to a boil for 10-20 seconds. Add the water-cornstarch mixture and stir well until the sauce is thickened. Pour the sauce into a large bowl. Add the ground beef, scallions, and salt, and mix until evenly distributed. Form four patties.
4. Heat a greased grill (or grill pan or skillet) over medium-high heat. Grill burgers (or pan fry) about 4-5 minutes per side or until desired doneness. Remove to a plate. Assemble burgers with your favorite greens, sliced avocado, and a drizzle of sriracha mayo, all sandwiched between two rice buns.

Source: Buns adapted from Epicurious, Burgers adapted from My Korean Kitchen.

A huge thank you and shout out to the #BurgerMonth sponsors,  American Lamb Board, Anolon, Cabot Cheese, Crow Canyon Home, Melissa’s Produce, Microplane, New York Beef Council, Red Duck, Spiceologist, Veal Made Easy, and Weber Grills.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s hard to beat a fresh loaf of Homemade Italian Bread. Especially when that same loaf is then used to make garlic bread!

Jump to recipe

Did anyone happen to watch the OSU-Michigan and Alabama-Auburn games this weekend? Talk about intense! Rivalry games are always exciting but those two games kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Not only did we just barely hold off Michigan to win in the last minute, but Auburn took over Alabama with only 1 second!

So guess who’s ranked #2 in the country now!? I’ll give you a hint – I am currently investigating tickets for the National Championship Game. Eeee!!! I am trying not to get ahead of myself as we still have to tackle Michigan State for the Conference Championship this weekend. (Update: We lost both to MSU and then Clemson in the Orange Bowl – alas.)

Lately I’m a human bread machine. Outside of the normal occurrence of pizza dough, in the past few weeks I’ve made gluten-free corn bread muffins, peanut butter cinnamon rolls, Greek yogurt-rosemary rolls, and cranberry-walnut oat bread. Somehow I have yet to make Homemade Wheat Bread from scratch which is shocking since that is the most frequent type of break I eat. But I digress.

Continuing this trend I made a loaf of Italian bread and even braided it so it looked fancy, then took it a step further and made garlic bread out of it. With a little bit of pesto mixed into the garlic mixture, it was as good as it gets. I failed to take a picture of the finished masterpiece, but trust you know what garlic bread looks like!

Post updated 4/20/22, photo above is the original.

One year ago: White Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

Two years ago: Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Three years ago: Homemade Applesauce

HOMEMADE ITALIAN BREAD & GARLIC BREAD

Print

Yield: 16 Servings Prep Time: 20 Hours Cooking Time: 45 Minutes 45 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

OVERNIGHT STARTER

• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1/8 tsp active dry yeast

DOUGH

• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup water
• 2-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 tsp salt

TOPPING

• 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp water
• Sesame seeds

GARLIC BREAD

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tsp pesto
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 loaf Italian bread, cut in half horizontally

Directions

1. For the Italian bread: Mix the starter ingredients in a small bowl, cover, and let rest at room temperature overnight.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the starter and the remainder of the dough ingredients, stirring with the blade until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise for 90 minutes, turning it over and gently deflating it after 45 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface. Roll into a thick 18-inch long rope, flatten slightly and cut lengthwise into three pieces, leaving the last inch at the top uncut. Braid the ropes, tuck the ends under, set the braid on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise it rise for about 60-90 minutes, or till it's very puffy.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
5. Brush the braid with the egg white mixture, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool it on a wire rack.
6. To make the garlic bread: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. In a small microwave-safe bowl, add the olive oil, garlic and pesto. Microwave for 15-30 seconds. Spread olive oil mixture on the cut side of the top layer of bread and the butter on the bottom layer of bread. Sandwich the two pieces back together.
8. Wrap loaf in foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil, slice and serve.

Source: Italian Bread adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour. Garlic bread The Spiffy Cookie original.

Did you make this recipe? I want to see! Tag @THESPIFFYCOOKIE on Instagram and hashtag it #THESPIFFYCOOKIE

You may already know of Cassie of Bake Your Day from her wide array of tasty recipes: Cinnamon Toast Greek Yogurt Dip, Biscoff Banana Grilled Cheese, and Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosted Cake Doughnuts to name a few. And today I am excited to have her guest posting for me!

Cassie and Ali (of Gimme Some Oven) are also currently hosting a Tomato Love Recipe Exchange that you should check out.

One year ago: BBQ Chicken Burgers

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Hi there, Spiffy Cookie readers!  I am thrilled to be posting for Erin today because I have what might be my new favorite snack to share with you!

I love simple snacks with tons of flavor.  But I also love being able to make them at home.  It is really easy to buy great snacks at the grocery store but cooking is half the fun for me.  I love being able to choose my own spices and switch out ingredients, especially for roasted almonds and mixed nuts!

I’ve chosen buffalo flavoring, rosemary and my newest to share with you: Sriracha-soy & sesame almonds! We love Sriracha sauce in our house.  Actually, we love any spicy condiment, this being one at the top of the list.  And these were so simple to make, and a perfect snack for any party!

Sriracha-Soy & Sesame Almonds

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds

2 Tbs. Sriracha sauce

2 Tbs. soy sauce

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. sesame seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir the Sriracha sauce, soy sauce, olive oil and sesame seeds together until blended.

Add the almonds and stir well to coat.  Pour the almonds and the Sriracha mixture onto a 9×13 sheet pan and spread in an even layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, stirring the almonds every 10 minutes.  Place the almonds back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes, watching closely so that the flavoring doesn’t burn.

Sesame grabbed my attention and I first thought of making Sesame Chicken, but I was convinced I had already posted a recipe for that – wrong. Even if I had, it would’ve still totally been worth trying out this recipe because it’s done in a slow cooker, making it so easy to prepare. And healthier too because it’s not fried! Granted that means you lose the crispy action, but I didn’t miss it that much knowing it was better for me.

Want to join us in celebrating more National and International holidays? Check out the HRS’s contact page. Also be sure to check out the end of this post for the rest of the HRC line up.

One year ago: Fried Mac and Cheese

SLOW COOKER HONEY SESAME CHICKEN

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1.25 lbs)

1/2 cup honey

2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1/2 onion, diced

2-1/2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp sesame seed oil or extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced, pressed or grated

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 cup dry brown rice

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb broccoli florets

Directions:

1. Put chicken into crock pot.
2. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.
4. Cook rice according to package directions.
5. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet until hot. Add broccoli and saute 5-6 minutes or until cooked but tender.
6. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Whisk cornstarch into liquid in the crock pot. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened.
7. Shred chicken or cut into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve chicken over rice with broccoli, garnish with sesame seeds.

Source: Adapted from Prevention RD.