Here we have it folks. The cookies of your dreams. The cookies that have been missing from your lives. Cookies that will make you go a little crazy. Cookies with a secret ingredient that you already know about because it's in the title of this post 😛 .
May I present: Chewy vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies. Well, I say chocolate chip, but really we're talking dark chocolate chunks. A bar of good quality dark chocolate, chopped up and mixed into the cookie dough for pools of rich, melty chocolate.
The tahini-laced cookies have a delicious nutty and caramel-y flavor which pairs perfectly with slightly bitter dark chocolate. Topped with flakes of sea salt, each bite of cookie is like a morsel from heaven.
I first started craving tahini chocolate chip cookies when I ordered a cookie at a local plant based Israeli restaurant (for anyone in or visiting DC, I'm talking about Shouk). It was just labeled as a chocolate chip cookie, but it tasted a little something extra and I wondered if there was tahini in the cookie.
Whatever those cookies were, I couldn't get the idea of a tahini chocolate chip cookie out of my head. So I did a little internet search, and discovered tahini chocolate chip cookies were kind of a big deal, like, a year or two ago, thanks to Danielle Oron and her book Modern Israeli Cooking.
Her recipe reminded me a little of the base for my vegan chocolate chip marshmallow cookies, minus the tahini of course. Possibly just in the sense that all cookie recipes are a bit similar, but nevertheless, I was pretty sure that combining the two recipes would create something magical.
I wanted a chewy cookie with deep caramel notes, so the first thing I did was to use a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Brown sugar creates a chewier cookie, and thanks to the molasses added back into the processed sugar, it has a much richer flavor. Brown sugar also spreads less than white sugar in a cookie, which is something that vegan cookies can struggle with as there is no egg protein to set and hold them in.
To replace the butter I substituted refined coconut oil. I'll admit that coconut oil can be rather finicky in baking as it's very temperature sensitive. It's melting point is about 76 ºF which is room temperature. For me, that means in the winter I will have solid coconut oil and in the summer it's typically liquid. And occasionally it's at that perfect state: solid yet soft and scoop-able.
When coconut oil is in this desirable creamy state, it's perfect for making cookie dough. But with a few tweaks in this recipe, even ultra soft solid or liquid coconut oil works. While vegan butter, such as Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, would have worked well in this recipe, not everyone has access to or likes to buy vegan butter, so I wanted to make a coconut oil cookie even if this meant extra recipe testing!
I used refined coconut oil because it is de-odorized and does not taste coconutty and compete with the tahini. But, unrefined coconut oil would work fine too if that's what you prefer!
Eggs are easy to replace in cookies, compared to cakes or other baked goods. Often just adding a couple tablespoons of plant milk per egg is enough to compensate for the liquid. With these cookies they needed a little extra help, so I added some corn starch (tapioca starch, arrowroot powder, or potato starch should also work).
Starch helps the cookies bind, so they don't spread too much. This is important with coconut oil-based cookies, as they are prone to spreading a lot in the oven, as coconut oil liquidizes quickly in the hot oven. Cornstarch also makes for a chewier cookie, which was what I envisioned for these tahini chocolate chip cookies.
As an aside for the food geeks: I did test a version of the cookies with a flax egg (this is simply ground flax mixed with the liquid and left to sit until it forms a gloopy egg-like texture). That batch created a thinner cookie, but the cookies varied a lot within the batch, with some of them spreading a lot more than others and getting lacy edges. They were also less structurally sound and easily fell apart.
Tahini is an important part of this recipe, with a 1:1 ratio of coconut oil and tahini. It does more than add flavor to the cookie base, but also softens the cookies and helps keep a nice chewy texture. Now, those of you who like to cook with tahini (me too) are aware that the consistency of tahini varies a lot between brands. Sometimes it is very thin, and sometimes it's thicker and more comparable to a runny nut butter.
Your cookies will spread a little more or less depending on how thick your tahini is. I tested the recipe with both Soom tahini which is on the thinner side and Woodstock tahini which was on the thicker side and I enjoyed the cookies both ways.
That being said, if you make a batch of these cookies and find it spreads more than you'd like, add a tablespoon of flour to the next batch (and trust me, there will be a next batch). Or if you find the cookies don't spread enough, remove a tablespoon of flour next time. Or just be happy and eat your delicious cookies already!
The last thing to consider with these cookies is what chocolate to use. And while you can use chocolate chips, I chose to use bars of dark chocolate. I love the uneven pieces and sizes of chocolate you get in your dough from chopping up chocolate: from small shavings that just melt into the cookie to large chunks which create beautiful dark puddles.
Unlike chocolate chips, which hold their shape during baking, dark chocolate melts in the oven and remains soft and melty until fully cooled and even chilled a bit. Choose a dark chocolate between 60 and 70% that you enjoy eating. If you love super dark and more bitter chocolate go for a higher percentage, while if you like milder and sweeter chocolate go for a lower percentage. I'm happiest somewhere in the middle, about 65% dark.
A little flaked salt finishes these cookies to perfection. I think we all know by now how perfect salted chocolate is, and salted chocolate and tahini is an even better combination. Plus, it's so pretty and makes for a lovely presentation!
I baked about 6 dozen of these cookies while testing this recipe, which means I shared a ton of cookies, both with friends and with Omar's co-workers. And you guys, people went crazy for them! And I really can't blame them. I mean.. just wait until you try them!
Let me know if you try making these chewy vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies! Seriously, what are you waiting for? Make these easy cookies, pour yourself a glass of your favorite plant milk, and enjoy! I mean, talk about your wild night 😉 !
Don’t forget to tag your recreations @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea on Instagram! I love seeing photos!
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Notes:
- How much your cookies spread during baking in part depends on the consistency of your tahini. Thinner tahini results in a thinner cookie while thicker tahini will result in the medium thick cookie you see here. If your first batch is too thin, try adding an extra 1-2 tablespoon of flour to the next batch to thicken, or if the cookies are thicker than you'd like, add 1-2 tablespoon less of flour.
- I love the ease of using my stand mixer to make these cookies (yay hands free!), but also have made these cookies by hand using nothing fancier than a wooden spoon. It works well, just requires a little more physical effort that way!
- If not weighing your ingredients, when measuring the flour first whisk it, then scoop and level to measure.
Chewy Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
These chewy vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies are laced with chunks of dark chocolate that melt into dreamy puddles in the oven. Sesame paste adds a nice nuttiness, and deepens the bittersweet flavors of the dark chocolate. They're bound to become your new favorite cookie!
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) refined coconut oil at room temperature, creamy and soft and scoopable texture
- ½ cup (122g) tahini (see note)
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (60g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (55g) plant milk
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup (165g) all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon (18g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking soda
- 1 ¾ cups (200g) chopped dark chocolate, 60-70% dark
- flaked sea salt, such as Maldon
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, beat the coconut oil, tahini, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium for about 3 minutes until a smooth and creamy mixture is formed. Add the plant milk and the vanilla extract and mix another minute to combine. This can also be done with a wooden spoon, but will take more effort to cream.
- In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed oil and sugar mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate.
- Put the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes while you preheat the oven, or leave in the fridge to bake the next day. Transfer to the freezer for longer storage of the cookie dough (pre-scoop the dough into balls and bake straight from frozen, and may need to add a couple of minutes onto the baking time).
- Preheat the oven to 350 ºF with one rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking trays with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
- Scoop the cookie dough into 2 tablespoon (1oz) portions, a cookie scoop makes quick work of this. Place the cookie dough balls on the baking trays 3" apart.
- Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges are just barely golden and the center is a shade lighter.
- Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle some flaked salt on top of the cookies. Let cool on the baking tray. Bake the remaining cookies the same way.
Notes
*prep time includes 30 minutes to chill the cookie dough.
Adapted from Danielle Oron
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These are delicious and are lovable to both vegans and non-vegans. I've adapted this for my vegan/gluten-free friends (used coconut flour) and they're still amazing. I'm so glad I found this recipe!
these are delectable, I love how the tahini gives it a shortbread-like crumbly texture.
in my go-to choc chip recipe that that uses coconut oil as a base the cookies don't spread, so out of habit I flattened the first batch of these out and they turned out crunchy and brittle. i almost lost faith in the recipe! after i left the dough in balls, though, they spread to a delightfully thick and chewy cookie. a wonderful lesson in trusting the dough to do its job 🙂
I'm so glad you enjoyed them! ?
Would I be able to replace half the sugar with maple syrup or honey?
Hi, I was so looking forward to trying this vegan version of one of my favorite cookie recipe, chocolate and tahini! I dodn't have any more vegan butter in hand so I went for....crisco, I know, I know. The cookies did not spread at all after 15 minutes, so I baked them way longer, without any success, they are crumbly and feel like the sugar never disolved at all! So I'll remake them with vegan butter or coconut oil because I need these in my life! 😉
Definitely keeping this recipe! It's funny because I actually went to DC for the first time this year and discovered Shouk after googling vegan restaurants and went back several times. I've been searching for a recipe comparable to their cardamom chocolate chip cookies and found this - then I read where you referenced them in your post! Thank you again!
That's awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies! You could always add a bit of ground cardamom to your next batch ?
These are delicious! I made them with Crisco instead of coconut oil, Krinos brand tahini, and Elmhurst hazelnut milk.
Hi, i live in a tropical climate and unfortunately will not be able to have coconut oil in scoopable texture - it's either liquid or solid (after chilling in fridge). I would really love to try your recipe, what do you suggest I do about the coconut oil?
You can try chilling it in the fridge right before baking, checking and giving it a stir every 15 minutes until it's starting to solidify. This could be a bit fussy however, so if you're able you could also substitute vegan butter. You may want to use slightly less salt if you do so.
Do you use a vegan chocolate bar? If so where can I get it?
Hi Laura, most dark chocolate is vegan, just check the ingredients. I like to use 65-70% dark for these cookies. You can also use chocolate chips if that's easier, but again check the ingredients for sneaky dairy ingredients.
Love these! They turned out great the last few times I’ve made them. I want to experiment with a different nut/seed butter to replace the tahini. Do you think they would still turn out?
Hi Victoria, I'm so glad you love the cookies! I do believe they would come out with another nut butter, the only thing is the other nut butter is likely to be thicker than tahinin so the cookies might spread less. But sometimes the tahini can make these cookies a bit on the delicate side so I don't see a thicker nut butter as a problem! Also watch the added sugar in nut butters, as it could make the cookies sweeter.
Hi any idea a sub for corn starch in this particular recipe since don’t have tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch. I am out of starches.
These cookies are aptly named! I discovered Tahini chocolate chip cookies through a recipe from a pretty popular American recipe blogger in Paris. I had my doubts but was quickly a member of team tahini cookies! When I became a vegan 11 months ago, I never dreamt I could have such a decadent treat again! You put me on the path of dreams come true! I did manage to throw in some oats, after which I added a splash more of almond milk. May I suggest people play around with the type of chocolate bars they choose for the recipe? I had a coffee flavored one and one with nibs and the coffee was just the right amount, though I didn't fancy it as a candy bar, though it was from a gift pack of vegan chocolate bars. Finally, I'm in dreamland again! Thank you!
Since quarantine I’ve made these 4 times- 3 times with the intent of mailing them as care packages except my S.O. (who is a chef btw) and I keep eating them lol!! Last night I made them again with oat milk (instead of almond), coconut milk that had begun to liquify a bit, and a different non-organic tahini and one of those 3 things (or perhaps all) made them a little oilier than normal but still extremely delicious. So happy to have stumbled across your blog! Making my way through your Indian recipes, too, and they are great!
i love these soooo much i just wish they weren’t so oily and fragile!
how to accomplish this? less coconut oil?
I made these with some modifications; I used Himalayan Pink Salt instead of sea salt and extra dark chocolate chips instead of baking chocolate. It was far more delicious than regular chocolate chip cookies.
There turned out absolutely Devine. I usually get them at a local bakery, but now I can make them and they taste identical!
Just made these and they turned out amazing! Awesome recipe! Didn’t have granulated sugar, so used all brown sugar. Also, I used a flavored chocolate coconut tahini which worked surprisingly well. I also substituted flour for the cornstarch, but didn’t seem to make a difference. Loved the chopped dark chocolate bits, we will definitely be making again! Texture turned out great too!!
i made these but gluten free; i used rice flour and some tapioca and a bit more corn starch ! i also used maple syrup so i upped the flour content a little.
they turned out really good !!!! i made my gluten eating bf ur pb choc oat cookies which also turned out very well and the reason i made these
that's awesome! Thanks for reporting back, I know this will be really helpful to anyone wanting to make these gluten free as well.
mine turned out too soft and cakey...
I like a heavier chewy cookie.
Made these today AND I CANNOT STOP EATING THEM!! Followed the recipe to the T and they were perfect.
Love the flavor, but mine turned out quite hard and crumbly. Hard to bite into after storing for several days. I'm hoping this was just as simple as baking them too long. Going to try again this weekend and keep a closer eye on the bake time!