In an inspired gift-giving move, Mike's parents presented us with an L.L. Bean tote bag filled with food for Christmas. Fancy tortilla chips and salsa that became the base for sheet pan nachos. Mixed nuts that we added to our annual New Year's Eve cheese board. A couple of blocks of cheese and bars of dark chocolate, which are staple foods around here. Chocolate-covered pretzels that were honestly much better than the homemade version I make with almond bark. And finally, a jar of tahini, which I decided to turn into a batch of cookies.
Tahini desserts have been on my radar for awhile—probably due to the tahini brownie craze that made the rounds on food websites and recipe blogs several years ago. I considered brownies, but opted instead for this tahini chocolate chip cookie recipe from Food52 mostly since it called for an entire cup of tahini and would use up most of the jar, and also because I like eating cookie dough. Plus, cookies freeze well, which is a crucial consideration when you have a household of two and no in-person coworkers to share treats with.
Since tahini is liquid at room temperature, these cookies have a thicker, fluffier texture than standard chocolate chip cookies, which include solid fats like butter, shortening, or margarine. The tahini also lends a subtle sesame flavor, which I think gives the cookies an interesting nuance. Mike found them to be less sweet than my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I didn't detect a difference in the sweetness of the cookie itself, but the bittersweet chocolate chips (versus the standard semisweet) provide a more chocolate-forward flavor that pairs well with the tahini.
Would I make these again? Probably only if I'm gifted another jar of tahini—I prefer a more traditional cookie texture. But they were a tasty experiment.
Adapted from Food52
Yield: about 40 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 scant cup tahini
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 10-ounce package bittersweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine tahini, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Mix until well-combined; the mixture will be crumbly. Add the eggs, water, and vanilla. Mix until well-combined; the mixture will be smooth and glossy. Add the baking soda and salt and mix just until combined. Add the flour and mix until almost combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Using a tablespoon-sized cookie dough scoop or two spoons, drop rounded balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets. With damp fingers, flatten each ball of dough until 1/2-inch thick.
Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, and then remove cookies from the baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store tightly covered at room temperature.
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