Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nutty, savoury-sweet and a little grown-up, with flaky salt on top.

Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time12 mins
Total Time57 mins
Yield18 cookies
Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Before You Start

Tahini does for cookies what peanut butter does, but drier and more savoury, so the chocolate tastes darker and the sugar tastes less sweet. Give the jar a proper stir before you measure, since the oil separates and the paste at the bottom is far too thick.

Instructions

0 of 6 done

  1. Whisk the melted butter, tahini and both sugars together until smooth and glossy. Add the egg and vanilla and whisk for another minute.

  2. Fold in the flour, baking soda and fine salt until no dry patches remain, then fold in the chopped chocolate.

  3. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Tahini doughs are looser than butter doughs, so this stops them spreading into lace.

  4. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and line two trays. Scoop 2 tablespoon balls, spacing them well apart, and press a pinch of sesame seeds onto each top.

  5. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges are set and the centres still look soft. Finish each one with a pinch of flaky salt while hot.

  6. Cool on the tray for 10 minutes. They firm up a lot as they cool, so do not judge them straight out of the oven.

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💡 Baker's tips

  • Buy a runny tahini, the kind that pours. Stiff, claggy tahini makes a dry cookie.
  • The flaky salt is not optional here. It is what turns the tahini from odd to addictive.

🔀 Make it your own

  • Swap tahini for smooth almond butter or peanut butter, gram for gram.
  • Add ½ tsp ground cardamom to the dry ingredients for a Middle Eastern lean.

📦 Storing & freezing

Airtight at room temperature for 4 days; the tahini flavour deepens on day two. Freeze scooped dough balls for 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes.

❓ Frequently asked

How many grams is a cup of tahini?

About 240 g per US cup, so the ½ cup here is roughly 120 g. Stir the jar thoroughly first, or you will measure mostly oil or mostly paste.

Do these taste like sesame?

They taste nutty and slightly savoury rather than strongly of sesame. Most people guess halva or peanut butter before they guess tahini.

Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.

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