Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies
This post may include affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
These chocolate chip tahini cookies pack a nutritional punch with fiber, healthy fats and protein, plus they’re vegan & gluten-free!
I’m going to come out and say it. This is one of the best cookie recipes I’ve ever created! They are ridiculously good.
When it comes to baked goods I’m all about the crunch factor. I like a little crunch to my cookies and I absolutely LOVE it when muffins have crunchy muffin top edges. It’s the best. These cookies have the best of both worlds – a bit crunchy around the edges and chewy in the center. Perfection.
They’re made with all wholesome ingredients (maple syrup, unsweetened coconut, dark chocolate) and they’re a great option for folks with special dietary needs because they’re gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free and vegan. I’ve pretty much got all your bases covered.
Tahini in Desserts
If you’ve never heard of (or baked with) tahini, let me introduce you to one my favorite ingredients! Tahini is ground sesame seeds. That’s it! As expected, it has the consistency of other nut and seed butters. It’s packed with protein, fiber and many necessary vitamins and minerals (source). Tahini is used in Middle-Eastern dishes and savory recipes like my zesty tahini dressing and this roasted butternut squash pasta with tahini sauce, but it adds an amazing flavor and texture to baked goods too. If you’ve ever tried halva you’ll know how good tahini can taste in sweet recipes. And it is the secret ingredient to making these cookies aka the best cookies ever…
Here’s What You Need:
- tahini – My favorite tahini is the organic Whole Foods brand, but I also regularly buy the Trader Joe’s brand tahini. You can also make homemade tahini! Tahini is rich, creamy and nutty while also being a great source of iron, calcium, fiber as well as healthy fats and amino acids (source). It also makes these cookies nut-free so they’re school-friendly!
- maple syrup – I love using maple syrup as a natural sweetener in recipes. Make sure you’re using pure maple syrup.
- cinnamon and sea salt – for some added flavor.
- ground flaxseed – flaxseed has a ton of health benefits — like healthy fats and fiber (source). Whip up a quick flaxseed egg for this recipe.
- baking soda – to help these cookies rise.
- vanilla extract – the perfect flavor enhancer.
- unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
- dark chocolate chips – I love Lily’s chocolate chips for a low-sugar option and Enjoy Life chocolate chips for a dairy-free/soy-free option
- coconut flour – I love using the Bob’s Red Mill brand. I don’t recommend subbing for another flour because coconut flour soaks up a lot of liquid so you can’t sub 1:1.
How to Make Tahini Cookies
The best part of these tahini cookies? They’re a cinch to whip up and you only need one mixing bowl a.k.a. less dishes to wash. Score!
Mix ingredients: First you will need to prepare your flaxseed by combining with water in a bowl and set side for 5-10 minutes or until thick and gelatinous. Once the flaxseed mixture has setup, combine tahini, maple syrup, flaxseed mixture, cinnamon, sea salt, baking soda and vanilla. Stir together until everything is incorporated.
Toast coconut: If you’re adding coconut flakes in the recipe preheat a sauté pan to medium heat. Add the coconut flakes and stir constantly until they turn a golden color (this will take about 1-3 minutes). Remove them from the pan and allow to cool. This step is optional, but I highly recommend!
Add coconut + chocolate chips: Fold in coconut flour, toasted shredded coconut (if using) and dark chocolate chips.
Bake: Bake the cookies at 350° degrees for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan and then transfer to a wire rack for additional cooling. Once completely cool, it’s time to enjoy!
For storage: Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes to Try
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Monster Cookies
- Coconut Flour Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Healthy Homemade Tagalongs
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Lemon Ricotta Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Oatmeal Scotchies
- Almond Cookies
More Tahini Recipes You’ll Love
- Tahini Chocolate Chip Protein Balls
- The BEST Healthy Tahini Recipes
- Tahini Fig Bars
- Tahini Baked Oatmeal
- Oil-Free Zesty Tahini Dressing
If you make these tahini chocolate chip cookies, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how they turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup tahini
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 flax egg, or 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 Tablespoons coconut flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes, optional
- ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips
- flaked sea salt, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray.
- Combine 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons water in a small bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes or until thick and gelatinous.
- If you're adding coconut flakes in the recipe preheat a sauté pan to medium heat. Add the coconut flakes and stir constantly until they turn a golden color (this will take about 1-3 minutes). Remove them from the pan and allow to cool. This step is optional, but highly recommended.
- Once the flaxseed mixture has setup, use a medium size mixing bowl to combine tahini, maple syrup, flaxseed mixture, cinnamon, sea salt, baking soda and vanilla. Stir together until everything is incorporated.
- Fold in coconut flour, toasted shredded coconut (if using) and dark chocolate chips.
- Scoop out the cookie batter using a small/medium cooking scoop or Tablespoon and place on baking sheet giving about 1½ inches between each cookie. Sprinkle a few sea salt flakes on cookies, if using.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven to cool on the pan at least 15 minutes before touching or removing. Enjoy right away or store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- Flax egg: to make a flax egg, combine 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons water.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Love these cookies! Made them with cacao nibs. My only challenge is that they came out like puffballs–do they need to be flattened before baking? Thank you!
They shouldn’t need to be, but you can if they’re turning out to be more ball shape than cookie shape for you!
I basically ate the whole batch LOL whoops! They are so amazing ❤ I didnt have chocolate chips on hand so I used a tablespoon of cocoa powder and it was SO GOOD! Thank you for the recipe
So glad you loved these cookies, Ariana!! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it. 🙂
Oh my goodness, these were AMAZING!! Texture, flavor, everything was SPOT ON. We absolutely loved these!!
Woo!! So glad you loved these cookies, Jessica. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Hi there,
The recipe mentions seeds but I don’t see seeds listed in the ingredients list. Can you specify which seeds, please? Also, just wanted to say that I’ve made many, many, many of your recipes are they are all fantastic 🙂
Sorry about the confusion, Ana! The previous version had an option for chia and sesame seeds, but I changed the recipe to not include the seeds and must have forgot to delete that part from the instructions. Thanks for catching that. I just updated the post! 🙂
These cookies are so delightful! I followed the ingredients exactly (including the coconut flakes) and they came out perfectly. Batter was pretty sticky and annoying to work with, but that is the only negative. My only suggestion to differ from the recipe is that they don’t seem to need 15 minutes to cool after coming out of the oven. I ate mine after about 10 minutes and they were already almost too cool.Love that they have so much protein and fiber, but you wouldn’t know it by taste!
So glad you loved these cookies, Kenna! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
I never leave comments… but these are heavenly. I may never make another cookie recipe again!
Ahh yay! That makes me so happy to hear. I’m so glad you’re loving these cookies, Haley. 🙂 Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it!
These are so tasty!! So nice to have such wholesome ingredients that taste amazing as well. Bonus! I seem to mange to burn the bottoms though even though I put them on the top rack in the oven. So I flipped them over to finish them off and they were perfect. Thanks for the recipe
I’m glad you enjoyed these cookies, Lisa! Your oven could always just be hotter so maybe you need to cook them for less time to avoid burning the bottoms? Did they seem dry to you?
Tried this recipe last night with whole wheat flour and was very happy with the result. The cookies are on the crispier side. Thank you so much for sharing a wonderful recipe!
I’m glad they turned out with whole wheat flour! Thanks for coming back to share – it’s super helpful for future readers. 🙂
Can I use oat flour or almond flour instead?
Hey Maria – I haven’t tried it, so not entirely sure how the cookies will turn out as coconut flour tends to soak up much more liquid than other flours. You don’t need a ton of flour, it’s mainly to be used if your tahini sauce is runny. I would add 1 Tablespoon of oat/almond flour at a time if the batter seems a bit runny until you reach a good consistency. But if your tahini sauce is thicker you might not even need to add in flour. Let me know how the cookies turn out for you!
These were so yummy! My new favorite cookie!