I hadn’t intended to create another version of tahini chocolate chip cookies, but after doing a bit of Israeli cooking recently and finding myself with extra tahini, I revisited the idea. I used a jar of well-stirred tahini and paired it with butter this time—previously I’d tried tahini as a butter substitute, but this variation combines both for a richer result.
A Few More Notes — Flavor and Texture
This recipe is adapted from Danielle Oron’s Modern Israeli Cooking. It calls for equal parts butter and tahini—½ cup of each—along with slightly less flour and sugar than a classic Toll House cookie. The combination of butter and tahini produces cookies with a gentle tahini note and a tender, sandy texture reminiscent of a delicate peanut butter or shortening-based cookie. Expect soft centers with pleasantly crisp edges.
Small Changes
Oron’s original uses a cup of granulated sugar and a blend of baking soda and baking powder. I followed David Lebovitz’s adaptation, switching to half brown sugar and half granulated sugar and using baking soda alone. For a finishing touch, I sometimes top the warm cookies with a shard of chocolate-tahini bark for added texture and flavor.
Below is the full recipe. It’s one I plan to make again.
Recipe
Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies
10 mins
12 mins
1 hr
Dessert
American
22
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 114 grams
- ½ cup tahini well stirred (about 120 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar 90 grams
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 grams all-purpose flour about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
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Beat the butter, tahini, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla; beat until combined.
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Mix in the baking soda and salt, then stir in the flour until just incorporated. You can sift and combine the dry ingredients first if you prefer, but mixing in one bowl works well.
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Fold in the chocolate chips.
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Portion the dough into balls using a medium cookie scoop. Chill the portioned dough for about an hour, or until ready to bake.
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Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Arrange cookies on the baking sheet and bake one sheet at a time for about 14 minutes.
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For a slightly crisper cookie, bake at 375°F (190°C) for about 12 minutes. Oven temperatures vary; I preferred the slightly higher temperature for a bit more crunch.
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Remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle a little flaky sea salt over each, and let them cool on the baking sheet.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!