16 Squares of Chewy Tahini Blondies

By COLlive reporter

Acclaimed food writer and author Adeena Sussman, a California native who co-authored three-hit cookbooks, moved to Tel Aviv a few years ago and now lives steps away from the Carmel Market.

It is this experience, combined with her deep love of food and writing, as well as her California roots and Israeli home that inspired her beautiful — and fully kosher — bestseller, Sababa.

Sussman recently headlined a food event at Sage Kitchen in New York, hosted by Shlomo Klein and Shifra Klein, publisher and editor-in-chief of Fleishigs Magazine, respectively.

Sussman shared tips and tricks on some of Sababa’s recipes, including making the perfect tahini in a live demonstration and shared some of the inspiration for the stunning multi-colored tahini options in her book: pink from beets, green from fresh herbs, charcoal from charred eggplant, and yellow from turmeric.

She also shared this recipe for Chewy Tahini Blondies exclusively with COLlive.com.

Chewy Tahini Blondies

Makes 16 squares
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, or ½ cup olive oil or vege-table oil, plus more for buttering the pan
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cardamom (or more to taste if you really like this flavor)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons lightly toasted black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons lightly toasted white sesame seeds
1¼ cups lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup pure tahini paste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, then line the pan with 2 crisscrossing strips of parchment paper, buttering between each layer and leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Butter the top and sides of the parchment.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cardamom, salt, pepper, and the black and white sesame seeds.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, ½ cup melted butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated, then fold in the tahini until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden on the outside and the center doesn’t jiggle but is still soft, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven, cool in the pan, and cut into 16 equal squares.