These jam-bellied cookies don’t rely on tahini alone for their nuttiness—they also have a subtle touch of almond extract that boosts the natural sesame flavor along with bursts of toasty seeds. Use any flavor jam you like and feel free to choose one hue of sesame seeds (though the combination of black and white makes for the most stunning appearance). To keep these as chewy and tender as possible, pull them from the oven while they’re still soft—they’ll firm up as they cool on the baking sheets.
What you’ll need
Stand Mixer
$400 $380 At Amazon
Ateco Bowl Scraper
$8 At Amazon
Scale
$27 $25 At Amazon
Medium #40 Cookie Scoop
$20 $19 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 30
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375°. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to combine. Beat egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, and almond extract (if using) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add tahini and beat, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until combined. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing until completely combined after each addition. (Dough will be soft at this point.) Cover bowl and chill dough 30 minutes.
Step 2
Mix black and white sesame seeds in a shallow bowl or dish. Working one at a time, scoop out dough by the tablespoonful and roll into balls. Roll each ball in sesame seeds to coat and divide between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart.
Step 3
Bake cookies until slightly puffed and spread, 6–8 minutes. Remove from oven and press handle of a whisk or wooden spoon about halfway down into the center of each cookie to create a small well (the cookies will be too hot to use your thumb). Dollop about ½ tsp. jam into indentation in each cookie. Return cookies to oven, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back, and bake until golden around edges and jam is beginning to set, 6–8 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets before eating. (They will be soft right out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.)
Do ahead: Cookies can baked 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
