In case you missed it this last year, Fairtrade ambassador Melissa Hemsley baked tahini and chocolate chip cookies with fellow ambassador and cook Rosie Birkett.
‘To celebrate the ‘Choose the world you want’ Fairtrade Festival, my friend, fellow cook and food writer Rosie Birkett and I made chocolate nut butter cookies and turmeric coconut potato gratin. We talked about our roles as Fairtrade ambassadors, why Fairtrade matters more than ever and about just some of the 6,000 Fairtrade products available to buy. When we choose Fairtrade in the shops, we are using our purchasing power and making a vote for the world we want to see.’
Find the cookie recipe below the video.
Cookie Ingredients
- 2 eggs (or one large mashed ripe Fairtrade banana for a vegan version)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp Fairtrade vanilla extract (buy Fairtrade vanilla extract from Co-op, Ocado and Tesco)
- 150g light tahini
- 110g smooth nut butter
- 100g good-quality Fairtrade dark chocolate broken up into squares, or Fairtrade dark chocolate chips (where to buy Fairtrade chocolate)
- 30g black and/or white sesame seeds
- A pinch of sea salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to fan 170°C/gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with reusable baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs then mix in the baking powder, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Add the tahini and nut butter and mix together until very well combined.
- Roughly chop the chocolate (if not using chips) and fold through the batter along with the sesame seeds.
- Measure out 16 balls of the cookie batter, roughly one tablespoon each, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes on the lined baking tray (making sure to leave a little room between each one) until the cookies are just set. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with a little sea salt and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
For a vegan version, replace the two eggs with one large mashed ripe banana. You can also swap the nut butter for the same amount of a seed butter or tahini for a nut-free alternative.