Baklava Cookies

If you're looking for a new dessert to make this weekend, this recipe for Baklava Cookies includes a few of my favorite baklava ingredients: chopped pistachios, chocolate chips, and honey from Sesame King Honey Tahini. Scroll to the end of this post for the cookie recipe and a tahini giveaway!

This post is sponsored by Sesame King, who provided the giveaway. {Note: The giveaway has ended.}

Sesame King Tahini recently offered to send me a few flavors of tahini to try and giveaway to readers. I chose olive oil and honey. I love Mediterranean-inspired food but I've never tried cooking with tahini at home before. I was most excited to make a dessert recipe with honey tahini!

If you're not familiar with tahini, it's a sesame seed paste that has the familiar texture of peanut butter. Sesame King Tahini is all-natural and includes 100% pure ground sesame seeds without additives or preservatives, is peanut and trans-far free, gluten free, kosher certified, and non-GMO. The first sweet recipe that came to mind was to create cookies in a new flavor combination - baklava!

Baklava is a special Greek / Mediterranean dessert made with thin layers of phyllo dough, honey, and various nuts. My favorite flavors of baklava are pistachio followed by chocolate, so my Baklava Cookies include both - chopped pistachios, chocolate chips, and Sesame King Honey Tahini to incorporate Mediterranean and honey flavors.

The most labor intensive part of this recipe was shelling the pistachios one by one. I measured out one cup of shelled nuts, removed the shells, and lightly chopped them with my food processor.

This recipe contains typical cookie ingredients, including whole wheat flour for extra nutrition. The last step is to mix in chopped pistachios and chocolate chips. The cookies will turn out best if you chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Peanut butter cookies generally require a light press before baking, so I did the same for this recipe - don't forget to gently press each cookie with a fork before the pan goes into the oven.

These Baklava Cookies are delicious! I love the unique flavor from honey tahini, the salty bite from pistachios, and sweet taste from chocolate chips.

Scroll below the recipe for a great giveaway from Sesame King Tahini - one lucky reader will win their choice of two tahini flavors. Flavor options include: garlic, olive oil, cajun, honey, light roast, and roasted. Click on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter the giveaway. For more on Sesame King Tahini, follow the company on Twitter and Facebook.

Baklava Cookies
Yields: 30 cookies

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 24 minutes {12 minutes per sheet of cookies}
Total time: ~44 minutes

Ingredients~
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract  
4 tablespoons {1/2 stick} unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pistachios {shelled and chopped}
1/3 cup Sesame King Honey Tahini
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar

How to~
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
*Cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla, eggs, and tahini.
*Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl - flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
*Slowly add dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Mix until combined.
*Stir in chocolate chips and chopped pistachios.
*Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. 
*Flatten each cookie lightly with a fork prior to baking.
*Bake for 12 minutes. 

{Adapted from the Kitchn's recipe for Tahini Cookies} 

Time for a giveaway! What flavors of Sesame King Tahini would you choose? 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 {Disclosure: As I mentioned above, I received a free container of olive oil and honey Sesame King Tahini to review and giveaway to readers. All opinions / text are my own.}