Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

I don't even know where to start talking about these cookies.  We had some leftover tahini from a recent recipe and didn't have any sweets in the house, so I thought to myself - don't people make tahini cookies?  I found a few recipes online, but a lot of them used a ton of specialty ingredients that we didn't have on hand.  Then I found a simple recipe with ingredients most of us have on hand in the pantry and I decided to try it out.  

These cookies are vegan & gluten free and have Whole Foods chocolate chia & flax seed mix in them, so in terms of delicious cookies, they are fairly healthy.  Yes, they do have 1/2 cup of sugar and chocolate chips in them, so I wouldn't exactly call them "healthy," but they are a healthier version of a typical chocolate chip cookie.  And they are absolutely delicious.  I would recommend doubling the recipe since it only makes 8 cookies.  I'll be honest, we ate 1/2 of them the first night we made them because they were that good!

We usually make thin, crispy cookies, but by putting this dough in the freezer for a little bit before baking them, you're able to keep them from spreading and you get a great, thick cookie.  It's a totally different experience eating a thick vs. a thin, crispy cookie.  I honestly can't decide which I like better, but these cookies turned out perfectly and I don't think they would have been the same if they were thin and crispy.

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 8 small cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup tahini

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Optional: 3 tbs chocolate chia & flax seed mix

Instructions:

1. Combine tahini, sugar, egg, vanilla, chia mix and salt in a medium bowl.  Once thoroughly combined, mix in the chocolate chips.
2. Freeze dough for 10 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 F.
3. Shape dough into 8 even balls and press down lightly to create your cookie shape.  
4. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes until crisp on the outside and still gooey in the center.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.

Just look at that bite and tell me you're not already making your way to the kitchen to make these.  I was so excited to eat them that I forgot I was going to sprinkle some sea salt over the top to get a perfect salty-sweet bite.

If you're looking for a quick, easy, delicious and less-guilty version of a cookie, this is going to be your next go-to.  And if you're someone who can't be trusted around a lot of sweets (like me), this recipe is great because it only makes 8 cookies!  For me, having too many sweets on hand can be dangerous, so a small batch recipe like this is perfect.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 146

Protein: 3g

Carbs: 22g

Fat: 7g

*Nutrition information based off 1 cookie.