About 8 years ago, give or take, I bought my first jug of tahini to make my first batch of homemade hummus. I remember searching numerous aisles at the grocery store and scanning each shelf trying to find this mystery ingredient. After making that initial batch of hummus, the tahini sat in the back of my fridge for several years until we moved and it got tossed in the trash. Times have changed, y’all. I currently buy tahini by the 1/2 gallon and I drizzle it on just about everything. Over time I’ve come to love and crave the subtle sesame flavor and I most enjoy it when added to sweets and combined with chocolate. These tahini chocolate chunk cookies are the cookies you bring over to your new neighbor, the ones you share with a friend to celebrate good news, or the cookies you eat straight out of the oven while sitting on the kitchen counter.
My first experience adding tahini to a dessert recipe was when I made tahini and halva brownies from the cookbook Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. When I opened the cookbook to stare at the gorgeous photography and flip through the incredible recipes, the first thing I saw was that brownie recipe. It was meant to be, and after making them I can’t see myself making any other brownie recipe but that one. This is how my love for the combination of tahini and chocolate first got started. Since then, I’ve enjoyed spreading it across squares of dark chocolate or spooning it into dates as a nightly treat.
When given the choice, I will always choose cookies for dessert. I don’t love frosting and I can’t handle overly sweet things, but nothing in the world can beat a really great cookie. Understandably I have some rules, or I guess we could call them preferences when it comes to cookies.
Cookie rules
- Texture is everything. I enjoy a slight crunch when I first bite into a cookie and immediately after to fall into the soft, sweet center.
- Chunks over chips. Using quality chocolate and chopping it into chunks makes for a far better cookie eating experience. Plus, with every cookie bite, you get a bit of chocolate shrapnel.
- Don’t forget the salt. And then maybe add a pinch more. Cookies with just a bit of added salt are the best kind of cookies.
These tahini chocolate chunk cookies are pillowy soft inside with a crisp outside giving them that perfect cookie texture. Studded with small chunks of melty dark chocolate and a subtle sesame flavor from the tahini, these little ones won’t last long on your counter so gather enough supplies to make a double batch.
Enjoy as is with a cold glass of milk, or go crazy and make ice cream sandwiches with a big scoop of salted caramel ice cream.
Perfectly soft, yet slightly crisp tahini chocolate chunk cookies filled with small chunks of melty chocolate and a subtle sesame tahini flavor. These cookies are a crowd pleaser and they won't last long!
Yields 20-22 cookies
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (122 g) tahini
- 3/4 cup (113 g) light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (78 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/4 cup (151 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 cup (198g) quality dark chocolate, chopped
- fleur de sel salt to garnish
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Preheat your oven to 375 degrees f and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat silicone mats.
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In a large bowl using a mixer, cream together the butter, tahini, and both sugars. Add the egg and the vanilla extract to the bowl and mix until fully combined.
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Add half the flour, the baking powder, and the salt to the bowl and mix until most of the flour has been mixed into the dough. Add the remaining flour and mix again just until combined. Being careful not to overmix the batter.
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Gently fold the dark chocolate chunks into the cookie dough.
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Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop the dough on to the prepared baking sheets. For a less rustic and rounder cookie, shape cookies into balls and slightly flatten each with the palm of your hand.
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Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden. Sprinkle fleur de sel over the top of each cookie and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
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