Salted Caramelised Honey and Tahini Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2/3 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1 egg, plus 1 large yolk
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt flakes
- 1 tbsp black & white sesame seeds
Preparation
Heat the honey in a small saucepan over medium heat and slowly bring it to a boil for 5 minutes.
Whisk in the butter and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Allow to cool.
Add the sugar, tahini, and eggs and beat to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and bicarbonate of soda together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix to form a dough. Chill for 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into balls and arrange on the trays spaced about 5cm apart. Press down slightly and sprinkle over the sea salt flakes and sesame seeds.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and gently tap the tray on the counter top to flatten the cookies. Allow to cool and then transfer to a wire rack.
Notes
The pros of baking with honey: Caramelising honey intensifies its taste, producing a richer, more golden honey with a nutty, sweet flavour. Cookies sweetened with honey are more chewy than crisp and it gives cakes and cupcakes a tighter crumb. Honey also has a lower GI than sugar, meaning that it does not raise blood sugar levels as quickly. It is also sweeter (especially when caramelised) so you need less of it.
The cons: The heat required for baking reduces the antioxidant benefits of honey by up to one third. Most traditional medicine practises agree that heated honey has a negative effect on the human body. In Ayurveda, it is believed that honey heated triggers an inflammatory defense mechanism “ama” – which creates sticky mucus that adheres throughout the digestive tract.
My take: For me the cons outweigh the pros from a health perspective, BUT, I will make moderate exceptions for flavour. While I prefer maple syrup, coconut sugar, date syrup and agave nectar as honey substitutes for baking, sometimes a recipe just needs the original thing. You can try this recipe with any of the substitutes I have mentioned, but the flavour will differ a little.
