Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies?!
Cookies made with tahini? What is this about?? Well, we stumbled across the concept of tahini cookies going through David Lebovitz’ recipes. The version we have down below is our adaptation from his recipe. Similar to David’s, we used thick chunks of Ghirardelli dark chocolate and sprinkled the top with sea salt. However, we ended up substituting olive oil for butter, so theoretically they have healthier fat!
What is Tahini?
Have you ever had sesame oil or sesame seeds? If so, you’ve had a cousin of tahini. Tahini itself is made with toasted ground hulled sesame. This condiment is quite popular around the world, utilized in many Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African recipes. It’s origin goes way back, with mention of it back in Mesopotamia. You’ve probably tried tahini without even realizing it, since it’s one of the main ingredients in hummus (check out our Turmeric & Roasted Pepper Hummus Recipe here) and baba ghanoush! It’s also pretty healthy for you, providing calcium, manganese, potassium, and phosphorus.
How do these Gooey Chocolate Tahini Cookies Taste?
These cookies are an amazing way to switch up your classic chocolate chip cookie routine. They are warm and soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and filled with gooey dark chocolate throughout. The tahini imparts a unique and delicious flavor to the cookies. It’s almost like it tastes like chocolate peanut butter cookies but not quite. It’s a bit hard to describe but the only way to know for yourself is to try cooking them yourself!!!
Tips to make these Tahini Cookies
Here are a few tips to make sure that each back of your tahini cookies come out perfectly:
- Add chocolate in two batches: some add directly into the batter (these will end up inside the cookies) and some add after you’ve finished making the dough and shaping it into balls (these will end up as chocolate chunks on top of the cookies)
- Should I sift the flour when making chocolate chip cookies? Although this isn’t absolutely necessary, it can help to make your cookies light and airy. It’s always good practice to do so when baking.
- Don’t overbake. These cookies will continue cooking even after you pull them out so make sure not to overbake them.
- An easy way to make equally-sized tahini dough balls is to use an ice cream scoop
- Don’t forget to refrigerate them before baking instead of at room temperature. This lets them keep their form.
- Don’t forget to tap/drop the baking sheet a few times after cooking. This will let them flatten out a bit, giving perfectly-sized cookies.
Feedback
Let us know what you think of these tahini chocolate chip cookies. How do you think they taste? Has this recipe blown your mind and you’ll never go back to regular chocolate chip cookies? Comment below with your thoughts! And if you’re a chocoholic and in the baking mood, also check out our Spiced Iced Chocolate Holiday Cookies recipe.
Gooey Chocolate and Tahini Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1.5 cup all purpose flour
- 5 oz dark chocolate
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp baking soda
- Granulated salt such as sea salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. In another bowl, beat egg and mix in the white/brown sugar, honey, olive oil, tahini, and vanilla extract. With ¾ of the dark chocolate, chop into small pieces and mix into the wet ingredients.
- Fold the dry into wet ingredients, stirring until combined and resembles a wet sand. Now, use an ice cream scoop to scoop out about 10-12 balls, placing on a dish. With remaining chocolate pieces, chop into medium-sized pieces and carefully press about 2-4 pieces into the top of each dough ball.
- Place this dish in the fridge for a couple hours and when ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place dough balls on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets (leaving sufficient room between them) and sprinkle tops with a pinch of granulated salt.
- Bake for ~12 minutes. Remove from oven and drop baking sheet on counter top a few times to flatten out the cookies. Let cool on a cooling rack before serving.
Recommended Amazon Products for this Recipe:
This page may contain Amazon Affiliate links that earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you. We only show products we personally use in our kitchen. See our disclaimer for more information.
