Tahini, oat and date breakfast cookies

Units

Temperature

Servings

Ingredients

180 g rolled oats, use oats labelled gluten-free when required
120 g oat flour, or blend the same weight of oats to a fine meal
180 g soft pitted dates, chop 60 g finely and reserve; process the remaining 120 g
150 g well-stirred tahini
55 g maple syrup
50 ml orange juice
1 unwaxed orange, finely grate the zest; use the juice above
30 g sesame seeds
4 g ground cinnamon
4 g baking powder
2 g fine salt

Heat the oven to 175°C. Line a large sheet pan with baking parchment.
Put 120 g of the dates, tahini, maple syrup, orange juice and zest in a food processor. Process for 45 to 60 seconds, scraping once, until the dates form a thick, mostly smooth paste.
Stir the oats, oat flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the date and tahini paste and mix firmly until no dry pockets remain. Fold in the reserved 60 g chopped dates and 20 g of the sesame seeds. The mixture should hold when squeezed; if it is powdery, work in 5 ml water at a time, only until cohesive.
Divide into 12 portions of about 65 g. Compress each portion into a ball, set it on the sheet pan and flatten to 1.5 cm thick. Sprinkle with the remaining sesame and press it in.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes. Remove when the edges are lightly browned, the tops look dry and the centres still feel soft but spring back slowly.
Cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool for at least another 10 minutes. Packing them warm traps steam and makes the surface sticky.

Allergens: sesame. Oats can pick up wheat, rye or barley during growing and processing. Use oats specifically labelled gluten-free when serving someone who must avoid gluten, and check every other packaged ingredient.
These are soft breakfast cookies, not crisp biscuits and not a meal replacement. The dates and maple syrup still contribute sugar, so no lower-sugar claim is made.
Store fully cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to 7 days. Freeze separated by parchment for up to 2 months and thaw in the closed container.
For travel the same day, wrap cookies individually or separate them with parchment in a rigid box. They can travel without an ice pack for the day, but keep them out of direct sun and a hot car.
Tahini separates in storage. Stir it from the bottom until completely uniform before weighing or the dough may be oily in one batch and dry in the next.