Tahini cookies?

So I was leafing through my latest Cooking Light magazine to see what they had, and I had the TV going in the background, and the Brain was going on about something, and I was a little distracted that I haven't started my holiday baking yet and I normally start with a bang right after Thanksgiving and what was wrong with me and so on and so forth. Suddenly these cookies hopped right off the page at me. They sound unassuming just plain old Crunchy Sesame Cookies, the picture is not terribly exciting. Just a crunchy looking cookie. But as I scanned the ingredients I noticed they are made with Tahini! Leaping off the couch I gasped, "I have to make these!" Umm OK, maybe that didn't happen, but the Brain, noticed I wasn't even pretending to pay attention anymore.

I may have mentioned my love of Tahini in my first post here. Tahini isn't really all that low calorie, so I was stunned to find it in Cooking Light of all places. Cooking Light also has some really good dinner recipes, but I find they try so hard to cut the fat on cookies that they typically aren't very good. So to sum up, I had to bake these, but I wasn't expecting much. BOY was I wrong! These were delicious. They weren't all that crunchy. They were soft and chewy even the next day. And they had just the slightest touch of sesame to them, not overpowering at all.

The Brain, who typically categorizes things as, It's good, or It's OK, or Can I have some more, didn't say a lot. I'm not worried though. Those are his fingers in the photo.

Crunchy Sesame Cookies

Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup tahini

2 Tbsp dark sesame oil

1 Tbsp light-colored corn syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk; set mixture aside.

Place brown sugar, tahini, and oil in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup, vanilla, and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until combined.

Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Shape dough into 36 balls (about 1 inch each). Place granulated sugar in shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten balls with the bottom of a glass. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.