If You Haven’t Tried Baking With Tahini Yet, These Gluten-Free Blondies Are a Must
Tahini is the star ingredient of these decadent gluten-free blondies with dark chocolate and sweet cherries.
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You’ve likely tried tahini, the Middle-Eastern staple with a claim to fame as one of the main ingredients in hummus, but if you have yet to try tahini in baked goods, you’re missing out. Made from ground sesame seeds, tahini brings a savory, earthy quality to your recipes. So you might be thinking, does it belong in sweets? Our indulgent gluten-free tahini blondies will prove that is does.
Tahini in sweets isn’t a new idea. It’s the basis of halva, a Middle-Eastern style fudge. But only recently has the sweet tahini trend become a thing in North America. Last year, tahini cookies were everywhere (our version with oats and dark chocolate is amazing and worth making).
Now, we’re taking the sweet tahini trend a step further with these gluten-free tahini blondies with rich dark chocolate and sweet cherries created by our very own culinary nutritionist Beth Lipton. We’ve combined tahini with almond flour to form the base, sweetened it with a combination of coconut sugar and maple syrup for a complex, molasses-like flavor and then piled in dark chocolate and cherries. The recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free and Paleo (although you wouldn’t know it by the delicious chew these blondies have).
When working with tahini, we prefer using the thinner, more liquid varieties, as opposed to the ones that are more paste-like. Look for them in Middle Eastern stores or online.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Tahini Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup tahini
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 oz dark chocolate (at least 70%), chopped
- ½ cup unsweetened dried cherries, chopped
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine almond and coconut flours, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg, tahini, maple syrup, coconut sugar, coconut oil and vanilla until combined. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine. Fold in chocolate and cherries.
- Transfer batter to prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until light golden and center is just firm. Let cool in pan, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Recipe courtesy of Paleo Magazine