These Amazing Salted Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Have a Healthy Twist

These are some of the best cookies… rich and decadent, but slightly healthier too. They're made with almond flour and honey and lightly sweetened. Every bite is slightly crisp on the edges, but soft and chewy in the center. So DELICIOUS. Absolutely nothing not to love about these salty, sweet tahini cookies (originally published on The Half Baked Harvest blog). Bonus? These cookies are easy to make, use simple ingredients, and are gluten-free too.

Photo by Half Baked Harvest

The process for baking up the perfect tahini cookie…

Honestly, these cookies are almost too good to be true. They're healthy AND they're the easiest to make.

First up, I like to use quality butter in my cookies. I think the butter, along with the tahini and honey, are the elements that really make these cookies GOOD! I use a lightly salted stick of organic European style butter and it makes all the difference.

You'll cream the butter with the smallest amount of brown sugar and honey to sweeten these cookies. Next, add the tahini. For anyone who is unfamiliar, tahini is simply ground sesame seeds. I know that using tahini to bake with might sound weird, but it's actually so delicious when baked up in a sweet way. It's used in a lot of Middle Eastern food, in both savory and sweet recipes.

Now add in a mix of almond flour and coconut flour. The mix of the two flours creates the perfect crispy edge, but soft in the center cookie. However, if you only have almond flour on hand, that can be used to replace the coconut flour in a pinch.

I usually buy Bob's Red Mill Almond and Coconut flour. You can find both in most major grocery stores, Whole Foods, and I believe Trader Joe's as well.

Now stir in lots of chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks) and bake away. No chilling required! Simple. Simple.

Photo by Half Baked Harvest

A couple of notes:

As with a lot of my cookie recipes, this one requires tapping that baking sheet on the counter midway through baking, then continue finish baking. When the cookies have completely finished baking, remove them from the oven, and tap the baking sheet once more. You guys, this step is KEY. It will ensure you have the least cakey tahini cookie. Instead, you'll get a cookie with crisp edges and a soft, chewy center. Tapping the baking pan on the counter deflates the center of the cookie, pushing the edges out.

I pretty much do this whenever I bake any cookies…because it works.

For the flours, I know some of you love to bake with almond flour, and I know some of you love to bake with good ole' all-purpose flour. These cookies are actually best with a mix of almond and coconut flour. But if you only bake with all-purpose flour, that will work just fine too. You'll get a slightly thicker, sturdier cookie and it will be delicious. So use what you love/have on hand.

What I love about these cookies is that they're easy to make, require no chilling, and take less than thirty minutes. And yes, they are even pretty healthy too! They also don't get hard once cooled.

My best advice? Bake these tonight…because everyone has thirty minutes to bake up cookies. Then eat a few warm, and welcome in the weekend…couldn't think of a better way to really welcome in the New Year!

Photo by Half Baked Harvest

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup dark or light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond flour (see note for alternative)
• 1/3 cup coconut flour (or additional almond flour)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or chunks
• flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, honey, and tahini until combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla, beating until creamy. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon (if using), and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips/chunks.
3. Scoop the dough out into rounded 1 tablespoon size balls, the dough will be a little wet. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. The cookies will have brown edges at this point, that is OK. Return to the oven and bake another 2-3 minutes, the cookies will be browning, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and gently tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again.
5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They're going to look weird, but as they cool, they'll set nicely. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

RECIPE NOTES

Alternate flour: if you prefer, you can bake these cookies using a total of 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour. The cookies will come out a little thicker, but be just as delicious!

Honey Replacement: you can use an equal amount of brown sugar or granulated sugar in place of the honey.

Freezing: the cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw, then bake as directed.

Want more food inspo? Check out Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest on Teach Me Something New with Brit Morin!