I am welcoming a new love into my life: tahini!
I believe that I only have ONE recipe on here with tahini in it?! How is that possible?! And it’s from almost 4 years ago!! What. The. Heck. Anyways! This tahini caramel is out of this world. Dare I say that I prefer this to just a regular old caramel? I just might…
This exciting mix of being dairy free, baking with whole ingredients that actually taste good, and doing it all with a 6-month-old while also having been unable to really go anywhere since he was born is truly quite an adventure! I can no longer gain inspiration for things by going places, so it’s been far too much screen time and imagination for me to really get ideas for baking, for life, etc., which I both love and then also sort of dislike. I am constantly making lists in my head about places I want our family to travel to once we actually can, telling Oliver how many incredible things we will do once it’s allowed and safe, how fun airplanes are (I also love airports…), all of the food he’s going to get to try! Even just making these lists and going over them with my baby, yes, I have full on adult conversations with him, excites me as I want to truly spoil him with travel and life experiences!
All of this being said, during one of my weekly as-fast-as-possible grocery trips, I picked up some tahini and welcomed it like a long-lost friend. Is it a super unique ingredient? Not so much. Is it an incredible flavor that Oliver will be trying on his foods soon? Absolutely!! He began to try foods with spices on them this week and, let me tell you, cinnamon roasted carrots were a (messy) hit! So, while I sit here every day, or while I’m chasing our quick little 6-month-old around the house, I think of all of the foods Oliver is going to try when we can get out of our few block radius, jump on a plane, get in the car and drive for a few hours, whatever we can do to up his culture. For now, it’s going to start at home, start with this simple jar of tahini!
Thank you for reading my daydream above while I completely just skip over the fact that there’s a recipe below! As we want Oliver to be as enthusiastic about life as possible, having it start with food should be no surprise! This little dude sat with me as I made these, which also means it is fast AF to throw this together!! The shortbread crust? Takes maybe 4 minutes. The caramel? 5 minutes. While that is all setting up and you melt the chocolate: 10-15 minutes. FAST. AF. Aside from the tahini, which is subtle but has a beautiful aftertaste I might add, the star of this is the chocolate. Heck yes, I am talking about the Almond Milk Taza Chocolate (heart eye emoji). IT’S DAIRY FREE YET TASTES LIKE FULL ON MILK CHOCOLATE. What?! How?! It’s incredible. Also with nothing but 6 common ingredients, so dang satisfactory!! I have no words except go get yourself some!
And there we have it. My daily thoughts for you with a quick recipe for some tahini caramel bars attached! Thank you for humoring me, now go scoop up your baby, your dog, yourself, and treat yo’self to some of these incredibly delicious and perfect and smooth bites of heaven!
shortbread ingredients
Almond Flour—9 oz, or 2 C
Salt—1 tsp
Honey—2 TBL
Coconut Oil—3.75 oz, or ½ C
process
In a large bowl, combine almond flour and salt
Melt the honey and coconut oil together
Add this melted mixture to the dry ingredients
Mix until combined, should hold together when pressed
Press into an 8x8” pan, freeze while making the caramel
tahini caramel ingredients
Tahini—3 oz, or ¼ C + 2 TBL
Coconut Sugar—3 oz, or ½ C
Vanilla Extract—2 tsp
Oat Milk—1 oz, or 2 TBL
Cinnamon—½ tsp
process
In a small saucepot, combine the tahini, coconut sugar, vanilla, milk and cinnamon
Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes
Let cool slightly, and then pour on top of the shortbread
Put back in the freezer for the caramel to firm up
chocolate ingredients
Taza Almond Milk Chocolate—5 oz, or 2 bars
Coconut Oil—1 TBL
process
In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and coconut oil
Melt and mix until homogenous
Pour over the caramel layer, put in the fridge to set
Once set, remove from the pan/dish and cut into desired size and enjoy!
Bon Appétit!