Sunday is Father’s Day, a day to celebrate dear old dad. With the dear old dad living in my house, aka hubby, chocolate chip cookies reign supreme. How could I not make his fave dessert for the celebration? Except I didn’t want to make the usual fare so added a twist; tahini, an ingredient that’s been getting lots of press as being a wonderful addition to baking. I’ve been wanting to try tahini in my “sweets” recipes so took this opportunity try a spin on tradition.
It was a bit risky. While hubby likes tahini (sesame seed paste) in savory foods such as baba ganoush and hummus, he absolutely hates halvah, a ground sesame seed-based candy. I was concerned that adding tahini to a sugary dessert would give a halvah-like taste and texture to the cookie. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. They’re absolutely delicious! Spectacular, I might add. The tahini added a nutty, unctuous flavor, similar to peanut butter, but better, which has made these our new favorite version of chocolate chip cookies.
I highly recommend this recipe to celebrate all of the dear old dads in your life, just about every day of the year.
Chef’s Tips:
- I recommend using a tahini with a deep roasted flavor to mimic the flavor of peanut butter. Joyva is fantastic and available at Ralph’s. Make sure to empty the entire can of tahini in a large bowl and whisk up until smooth before measuring. Return the unused portion to the original container. Tahini does not need to be refrigerated once opened.
- Miyokos makes unsalted vegan butter and is usually available at Whole Foods and Lassen’s. If you can only find salted vegan butter than add less salt to the batter as noted in the recipe instructions below.
- I add cornstarch to much of my baking to add structure as Just Egg has a different viscosity than hen eggs. In cookies, it enhances texture and helps prevent too much spreading of the dough when in the oven.
- I used a combination of fresh broken-up chocolate bars (I put the chocolate bars in a Ziplock bag and used my now-defunct meat mallet) and ready made chocolate chips. I liked the different textures of chocolate, including the powdery bits left over from smashing up the chocolate bars.
- Chill the dough at least 12 hours. Take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking to make it easier to scoop.
- I used a large cookie scoop to make balls of dough that I pressed down lightly before baking. I got 18 cookies from the batch. I bake one tray at a time for best results.
- I like a crisper cookie and baked them 18 minutes. For a softer more underbaked cookie cut back to 15-16 minutes bake time. You’ll have to test in your oven.
Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Tahini Twist
18 large cookies
1 cup plus 2 T (150 g) AP flour
1 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt (1/2 tsp if using salted vegan butter)
4 oz. softened unsalted vegan butter
1/2 cup tahini, I prefer Joyva for its rich, toasty flavor
1 cup organic cane sugar
4 T Just Egg, liquid egg replacement
1 1/2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
1 1/4 cups fresh chopped-up semi-sweet chocolate chunks, with powdery shavings
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sift together the dry (the first five) ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream together, on medium speed, the butter, tahini and sugar until light, about 5 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla paste and mix for about another 5 minutes.
Add the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined.
Add the chocolate chunks (see chef’s tips) and chocolate chips and mix on low for about 10 seconds until somewhat incorporated.
Remove the bowl and paddle from the mixer. Clean the paddle into the bowl. Mix the chips more thoroughly by hand. The dough is more sticky than traditional chocolate chip cookie dough.
Refrigerate overnight. (At least 12 hours)
When ready to bake remove the dough from the fridge to warm a bit for easier scooping and set the oven to 325 degrees with the rack in the middle.
Line sheet pans with parchment paper.
Using a large cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop, form balls with the dough. Drop about 3 inches apart. I placed 6 cookies per pan. Lightly press down the cookie with the palm of your hand.
Bake 15-18 minutes, depending on crispness desired. Cookies should be just lightly browning on the edges. We liked them best baked for 18 minutes for a very crisp cookie. Chef’s choice. Remember that all appliances are different so check intermittently for doneness in your oven. Let cool on the pan for about 5-10 minutes then move to a cooling rack. When completely cooled can be stored in a covered container at room temperature. Freeze for longer storage.
