Sweet Tahini Pies (Tahinopittes)

I decided to highlight this post from 2013 as it’s one of my favourites. It’s all about how to make tahinopittes, which I think a lot of people are interested in. Any questions, please just ask! Christina Two years. It has taken me 2 years to find a good “tahinopita” recipe. In Cyprus, nowadays, you are not very likely to come across someone making “tahinopittes” at home.  They are time consuming, and with everyone leading busy lives and bakeries on every corner, I suppose people (me included) think “why bother”? In Cyprus, shops traditionally shut for lunch breaks, on Sundays, and Wednesday afternoons. But the bakeries? The bakeries are open. Some remain open 24 hours a day. This goes to show you how seriously Cypriots take their baked goods. Do you want a “tahinopita” in the middle of the night? Yes. No problem. Do you want to grocery shopping on a Wednesday afternoon? Nope. Not possible. (Actually since a new law was passed, it is now possible, but this is a different discussion.) So why didn’t I follow a “tahinopita” recipe? Well, it just isn’t the same as learning from someone who used to make them … a lot. For one, there seems to be one “tahinopita” recipe that is in circulation on the internet and in cookbooks. I tried it and I can’t say that it really “did the trick” for me. Most likely because it was my first time making “tahinopittes” and/or because I just didn’t know how to properly handle the dough. They turned out OK. But what I wanted  – and have been searching for – is a “tahinopita” recipe that would remind me of the “tahinopittes” we used to buy from a man on the back of his bike twenty years ago.  (This is one way that you used to be able to buy them.)I wanted a recipe that would describe HOW to make sure that my “tahinopita” would turn out well. In other words, I needed a “tahinopita” recipe for dummies. Having spent an hour with an expert “tahinopita” maker, I feel very lucky to have now learned how to make “tahinopittes”. A few things you need to know right from the start: you need the right kind of filling for starters and there is a difference between “white” tahini and “brown” tahini.  The difference is that white sesame seeds are hulled, and unhulled sesame seeds (unless they are of the black variety) are brown. If you make a tahini butter from white seeds it is smooth, while a tahini from unhulled seeds it is rough and brown, but it has more fiber. You know the dip you have when eating meze or savoury food at a Cypriot or Greek restaurant – that’s the tahini made from white seeds. In addition, you need to make sure you are using the right dough – otherwise your “tahinopittes” may become hard and frisbee-like. Also the first time I made “tahinopittes”, I was really disappointed at how much tahini was squeezing out in between the dough – it was like my “tahinopittes” exlpoded. I put this down to me adding too much tahini. Which I think is probably the case, since I love tahini. But what I learned this time is that you actually WANT the tahini to mingle with the dough. So the fact that it was squeezing through was OK – I just need to work on my “folding” skills.