Wholesome Flourless Tahini Cookies
Those white specks you see on the cookies aren't clumps of flour that I forgot to mix properly into my tahini cookies. No, no, don't be silly. They're flecks of flaky salt!!! Also, it would be impossible for the specks to be flour, because these cookies are flourless, duh.
So anyway, these flourless tahini cookies are mind-blowing. It's mind-blowing how good these cookies taste for the short list of wholesome ingredients they contain. To quote my sister, who said after tasting one, "it's a little frightening how good these cookies are. Like, it's actually freaking me out. Are you sure you didn't put anything else in them??"
Yes, I'm sure.
And you know what else I'm sure about? The fact that these tahini cookies are some of the best new cookies I've made and tasted in a while.
And that's a big statement, coming from the huge cookie fanatic slash freak that is me.
I've posted tahini cookies once before on the blog. In fact, I posted a tahini cookie recipe the very first month this blog was in existence. Because those cookies are incredible and I wanted to share them with you all right away.
But these wholesome flourless tahini cookies are incredible too. And I only didn't share them sooner because I just created this recipe recently.
These tahini cookies and the old ones are very different in taste and appearance though. The old cookies use almond meal, which makes the dough firmer and hold its shape better. They also use honey, a lot less tahini, and no eggs.
These tahini cookies use no almond meal. They use no flour whatsoever. But they use a lot of tahini. A full cup. The tahini is the star here. All the other ingredients are added just to enhance the tahini and to transform it into a cookie.
An egg for binding, coconut sugar for sweetening, vanilla and salt for flavoring, baking soda for leavening, and chocolate chunks for chocolate chunks. I don't have to explain the reason for chocolate chunks. Obviously.
These flourless tahini cookies are actually addictive. Like they're chemically and scientifically addictive. You no longer have full control of your faculties after eating one. You automatically reach for another. And another.
There's just this deep, rich flavor these cookies have that you won't find in your average chocolate chip cookie or lemon cookie. You only find this smoky, intense, dark, full-bodied taste in desserts that contain nut/seed butters in them.
I know, it sounds like I'm describing a $300 bottle of wine here. But I'd take a batch of these tahini cookies over a $300 bottle of wine any day. And that's not just because I can't tell the difference between a $10 bottle and a $300 bottle anyway.
Now, you may already know how I like my cookies: thick, rich, dense, puffy, soft, and chewy.
But these tahini cookies aren't thick and puffy and dense. They're on the thinner side with no puffiness to them whatsoever. Since there's no flour, these cookies only have the tahini and sugar and egg to hold them together. So they don't turn out thick and puffy.
But I don't care. Seriously, I don't. Because what these cookies lack in thickness they make up for in chewiness and richness. These are EXTREMELY chewy. Just the way I like them. And they're as soft and flavorful as they need to be.
Just don't over mix the dough, or the batter will get too oily, causing your cookies to spread too much. They'll still taste delicious, but they'll be seriously unattractive. So be careful. Please.
Are you ready for these 1-bowl, 5-minute, 7-ingredient, super chewy, rich, addictive wholesome flourless tahini cookies in your life?
Go get 'em.
wholesome flourless tahini cookies
Yield: about 16-18 cookies
1 cup tahini
1 cup coconut sugar (or 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar)
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Coarse salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet (you may want to use two sheets, the cookies spread quite a bit) with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together the tahini and coconut sugar until mixture is smooth.
Stir in the egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Be careful not to over-mix or oils from tahini will come out and make cookies spread too much. Add in chopped chocolate last.
Round tablespoons of dough between palms and place onto sheets. Don't flatten. Sprinkle a little flaky salt on top of each cookie if desired.
Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let cookies rest on sheet for 10 minutes to firm up before moving them.
