Source: Based Cooking (community recipes)
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy — this is your foundation for a tender crumb. Use a stand mixer on medium speed for 3–4 minutes. You're incorporating air into the fat via butter-creaming, which traps gas bubbles that expand during baking and give the biscuit its characteristic snap and slight lift. The pale colour tells you the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture has emulsified properly.
Beat the egg in separately, then add the tahini in one go. Mix on medium until homogenous — the tahini should darken the mixture uniformly and lose any streaks. This usually takes 2–3 minutes. The sesame paste adds nuttiness and a slight savoury note that cuts through richness; its fat content also contributes to shortness, so don't skimp on it.
Sift the flour with the baking powder directly into the bowl. Fold gently by hand using a spatula — overmixing develops gluten and toughens the biscuit. You want the dough to come together in loose clumps that just hold when squeezed. Two minutes of gentle folding is enough. The small baking powder addition (only 3 g) is there to lift the dough fractionally without making it cake-like; biscuits live in the gap between cookie and cake, and this ratio respects that.
Chill the dough for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. This firms the butter so it stays dispersed during baking rather than melting into greasy pools. Cold dough also prevents excessive spread. Roll or press the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 5 mm thickness, then cut into shapes. Transfer to a lined baking tray and bake at 180°C for 12–15 minutes, until the edges are pale golden and the surface feels set but still has a whisper of give when you press it — not hard and caramelised right through. The centre should remain slightly soft; carryover cooking firms it as it cools. Watch the first batch closely; every oven is different, and underbaking is forgivable here; overbaking leaves them brittle and bitter.
Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. They'll crisp as they cool.
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