these vanilla-flavoured almond flour cookies are uniquely covered in both black and white sesame seeds for a cool cookie effect (and still delicious).

These cookies were a labour of love. It all started the other month or two, when I made these lemon tahini sesame seed cookies. At the time, i just wanted to do some sort of sesame seed-coated cookie because I love the look, and the taste (!) As I began to test that particular recipe, I had a vision of a black and white cookie, coated in sesame seeds still, but just thought that might look really cool. I tested it right away using half black poppyseeds and half white sesame seeds because I didn’t have any black sesame seeds at the time. I loved the way it looked, just as I imagined, however the taste was definitely off because of the poppyseeds.

So eventually, I purchased the black sesame seeds to make this recipe proper, and as I got to testing it again, I had a sudden vision of taking it a step further and creating a black and white yin yang using the sesame seeds, for not only a decorative cookie, but for a mosaic-esque cookie. I wasn’t sure how tricky this would be to pull off, but obviously it worked and I could not be more pleased with the final result. Oh, they also taste yummy! I wanted to keep the cookie itself simple, so these are a sort of classic vanilla almond flour cookie, simple and delicious, and thus the sesame seeds are truly the star of the show.

Now, obviously to make these cookies with yin yangs on them will require a bit of patience and a bit of time – it is not a fast process, and it does require you to get your hands dirty (or at least, covered in sesame seeds, it’s honestly unavoidable to have excess seeds all over the place). Also worth noting, as far as the process for these cookies go – I did not put a yin Yang on both sides – that might very well be impossible or at least, extremely difficult. Instead, the back of the cookies (the back being whichever side you say is the back of the cookie lol) is a more simple half-black and half-white sesame seeds, which you dip first, before flipping your cookie over and dipping the sides and top of the cookie, while leaving some empty room on the cookie for you to complete your yin Yang.

In order to finish off the yin Yang itself, you want the majority of the top of the cookie to be without seeds so you can first, dip your finger into the white sesame seed plate and using your finger, place the seeds into a small circle at the top of the black sesame seed side, and repeat this process for the white sesame side of your cookie, this time using the black sesame seeds. From there you simply want to fill in your cookie gaps around the black and white circles, creating a sort of S shape with your sesame seeds as you go. For this portion again, using your finger is the best tool and most effective way of placing your sesame seeds – pick them up with the tip of your finger and place them on the cookie. They will inevitably get stuck to your hands, so either keep a small bowl of water to dip your fingers in intermittently or work by your sink, as you will need to rinse seeds off your hands frequently in order to avoid mixing up seed colours etc. So yeah, it’s a process, but it’s cool af!!

Alternately, these are STILL cool af if you follow my original idea, which was a more simple half black and half white-dipped sesame seed cookies, so there is an easy way out if you don’t have a few hours to spend dipping your fingers in sesame seeds and placing them delicately into a yin Yang formation on a cookie – it’s totally understandable. I will say it’s a fun and meditative baking project though, but also NOT one I would recommend doing with small children, that would be a mess lol. This may be an adult activity and an adult cookie!

Find the full recipe and detailed instructions below. If anything is unclear or you have extra questions about this cookie/the process, don’t hesitate to drop me a comment below or else shoot me a DM on instagram @grainfreee. Definitely follow me there for more daily grain free ish!!

A few more recipes if you’re looking for some yummy cookie ideas:

yin yang sesame seed cookies: ingredients

2 cups almond flour
1 + 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tbsp white sesame seeds
5 tbsp black sesame seeds

egg wash

1 egg white
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey

yin yang sesame seed cookies: how to

start by mixing your dry ingredients; the almond flour and baking soda in a large bowl.
in a separate bowl, mix your wet ingredients. proceed to combine with dry, mix well and set aside.
in two small, shallow plates place your black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds respectively.
in another small, shallow bowl prepare your egg wash for the cookies. whisk the egg white, water and honey together until well combined.
once the egg wash is prepared, you can begin making your cookies. you may want to either be right near the sink or prepare a bowl with water, as the sesame seeds can get messy, and you will need to dip your fingers to clean them in between colours/cookies. make a space for yourself with the baking tray, lined with parchment paper. if you do not work directly on the baking tray then it’s good to place another piece of parchment paper atop a cutting board to avoid the cookies sticking to any surface.
using 2 tbsp of batter per cookie, form a ball with the cookie dough and then flatten the cookie with the palm of your hand, creating a circular cookie. dip the cookie in the egg wash and remove any extra egg, or else simply use your fingers to coat the cookie lightly in the egg wash.
in order to create the yin yang sesame seed effect, you’ll begin with the back of the cookie – carefully dip half of the back of the cookie into the black sesame seeds, allowing it to creep along the edges towards the front of the cookie, without fully covering the front of the cookie, as this is where we will create the yin yang effect. do the same with the white sesame seeds on the other half of the back of the cookie, again, dipping the cookie around its edges/side and slightly onto the top.
now, your cookie should be half black, and half white on the back with the seeds from either colour edging towards the front, but not covering it completely. from this point, you will be relying on your nimble fingers to create the ‘S’ curve of the yin yang and the appropriate colour circles on either side.
your fingers will need to be cleaned multiple times through out this process (labour of love!!) in order to avoid mixing up the two colours of sesame seeds, so each time you switch colours, ensure you dip your fingers in water to get rid of any seeds.
with clean hands, start by creating your white circle that would go in the corner of the black section of the yin yang, by allowing the white sesame seeds to stick to the tip of your index finger, and then quickly dotting your finger on the cookie to create a small circle. do the same for the black sesame seeds in the white section of the yin yang, placing a circle of black sesame seeds in the reverse corner of the white sesame seeds. once you have your circles, you can fill in any remaining seeds of either colour, creating an S-like curve in order to complete the yin yang shape to the best of your ability, and again, the most effective way to do this is simply with an index finger, dipping it in the seeds and then dotting it atop the cookie.
place the cookie on your prepared baking tray, and repeat the process for the remaining batter.
once all the cookies are ready, bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 12 minutes. remove from oven and allow to cool completely before moving.
store in a glass container in the fridge or freezer.

yin yang black & white sesame seed cookies (grain free, scd diet)

Print Recipe

yin yang sesame seed cookies (grain free, refined sugar free, scd diet)

these vanilla-flavoured almond flour cookies are uniquely covered in both black and white sesame seeds for a cool cookie effect (and still delicious).

Course: Dessert, Snack

Servings: 11 -12 cookies

Author: rose of grainfreee.com

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour
1 + 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tbsp white sesame seeds
5 tbsp black sesame seeds

egg wash

1 egg white
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey

Instructions

start by mixing your dry ingredients; the almond flour and baking soda in a large bowl.
in a separate bowl, mix your wet ingredients. proceed to combine with dry, mix well and set aside.
in two small, shallow plates place your black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds respectively.
in another small, shallow bowl prepare your egg wash for the cookies. whisk the egg white, water and honey together until well combined.
once the egg wash is prepared, you can begin making your cookies. you may want to either be right near the sink or prepare a bowl with water, as the sesame seeds can get messy, and you will need to dip your fingers to clean them in between colours/cookies. make a space for yourself with the baking tray, lined with parchment paper. if you do not work directly on the baking tray then it's good to place another piece of parchment paper atop a cutting board to avoid the cookies sticking to any surface.
using 2 tbsp of batter per cookie, form a ball with the cookie dough and then flatten the cookie with the palm of your hand, creating a circular cookie. dip the cookie in the egg wash and remove any extra egg, or else simply use your fingers to coat the cookie lightly in the egg wash.
in order to create the yin yang sesame seed effect, you'll begin with the back of the cookie – carefully dip half of the back of the cookie into the black sesame seeds, you may allow it to creep along the edges towards the front of the cookie, without fully covering the front of the cookie, as this is where we will create the yin yang effect. do the same with the white sesame seeds on the other half of the back of the cookie, again, dipping the cookie around its edges/side and slightly onto the top.
now, your cookie should be half black, and half white on the back with the seeds from either colour creating a slight edge on the front, but not covering it completely. place the cookie flat on the parchment paper. from this point, you will be relying on your nimble fingers to create the 'S' curve of the yin yang and the appropriate colour circles on either side.
your fingers will need to be cleaned multiple times through out this process (labour of love!!) in order to avoid mixing up the two colours of sesame seeds, so each time you switch colours, ensure you dip your fingers in water to get rid of any seeds.
with clean hands, start by creating your white circle that would go in the corner of the black section of the yin yang, by allowing the white sesame seeds to stick to the tip of your index finger, and then quickly dotting your finger on the cookie to create a small circle. do the same for the black sesame seeds in the white section of the yin yang, placing a circle of black sesame seeds in the reverse corner of the white sesame seeds. once you have your circles, you can fill in any remaining seeds of either colour, creating an S-like curve in order to complete the yin yang shape to the best of your ability, and again, the most effective way to do this is simply with an index finger, dipping it in the seeds and then dotting it atop the cookie.
place the cookie on your prepared baking tray, and repeat the process for the remaining batter.
once all the cookies are ready, bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 12 minutes. remove from oven and allow to cool completely before moving.
store in a glass container in the fridge or freezer.