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Healthier, but oh so delicious, Salted Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are some of the best cookies…rich and decadent, but slightly healthier too. Made with almond flour and honey and lightly sweetened for a cookie that’s just a touch healthier. Every bite is slightly crisp on the edges, but soft and chewy in the center. So DELICIOUS. Absolutely nothing not to love about these salty, sweet tahini cookies. Bonus? These cookies are easy to make, use simple ingredients, and are gluten-free too.
Cookies to end the first full week of 2021! As I said on Tuesday, I’m a firm believer that January still needs chocolate. And to be very honest, with a world like the one we live in today, we ALL need a dam cookie. We do!
So, here we are. Cookies on Friday. But these cookies are extra special.
Yes, they’re DELICIOUS. And I really mean delicious, but what’s even better? They’re made on the healthier side with very little added sugars and a mix of almond and coconut flour to create a cookie that’s soft, chewy, and like none you’ve ever had before.
And the tahini? That’s the special ingredient that MAKES these cookies. It’s not that you really even know it’s there. But it adds a richness, butteriness, and nuttiness that’s truly something special. I sound like a cheese ball, I know, but my words ring true.
The quick story
Here’s the deal, I am not a health food recipe developer. And I don’t usually seek out to create desserts that would be considered healthy. BUT, with “healthier” really being my focus this month, I wanted to share a cookie that still tastes delicious. So I decided on a sweet chocolate chip cookie, but if possible, one that would be a healthier option. And maybe even gluten-free. Though I will say that a gluten-free cookie wasn’t a must, since I know how tricky that can be.
With all that in mind, I wanted to create a tahini cookie for two reasons. One, I’ve never shared a cookie baked up with tahini inside. Two, I have a recipe I’m working on for a project that also uses tahini. And oh my gosh, it is a dang good recipe.
And that’s how this cookie came to be. But the even cooler thing? I tested out three versions of this cookie, one with added sugar, another with all-purpose flour, and another with a lower amount of sugar and almond flour. And you know which cookie ended up winning everyone over?
The healthiest, low-sugar, and gluten-free cookie. Trust me I was shocked, but these cookies speak for themselves with the very first bite. As I like to say, they’re roll your eyes back GOOD.
The process for baking up the perfect tahini cookie…
Honestly, these cookies are almost too good to be true. They’re healthy AND they’re the easiest to make.
First up, I like to use quality butter in my cookies. I think the butter, along with the tahini and honey, are the elements that really make these cookies GOOD! I use a lightly salted stick of organic European style butter and it makes all the difference.
You’ll cream the butter with the smallest amount of brown sugar and honey to sweeten these cookies. Next, add the tahini. For anyone who is unfamiliar, tahini is simply ground sesame seeds. I know that using tahini to bake with might sound weird, but it’s actually so delicious when baked up in a sweet way. It’s used in a lot of Middle Eastern food, in both savory and sweet recipes.
Now add in a mix of almond flour and coconut flour. The mix of the two flours creates the perfect crispy edge, but soft in the center cookie. However, if you only have almond flour on hand, that can be used to replace the coconut flour in a pinch.
I usually buy Bob’s Red Mill Almond and Coconut flour. You can find both in most major grocery stores, Whole Foods, and I believe Trader Joe’s as well.
Now stir in lots of chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks) and bake away. No chilling required! Simple. Simple.
A couple of notes:
As with a lot of my cookie recipes, this one requires tapping that baking sheet on the counter midway through baking, then continue finish baking. When the cookies have completely finished baking, remove them from the oven, and tap the baking sheet once more. You guys, this step is KEY. It will ensure you have the least cakey tahini cookie. Instead, you’ll get a cookie with crisp edges and a soft, chewy center. Tapping the baking pan on the counter deflates the center of the cookie, pushing the edges out.
I pretty much do this whenever I bake any cookies…because it works.
For the flours, I know some of you love to bake with almond flour, and I know some of you love to bake with good ole’ all-purpose flour. These cookies are actually best with a mix of almond and coconut flour. But if you only bake with all-purpose flour, that will work just fine too. You’ll get a slightly thicker, sturdier cookie and it will be delicious. So use what you love/have on hand.
What I love about these cookies is that they’re easy to make, require no chilling, and take less than thirty minutes. And yes, they are even pretty healthy too!
But my favorite part? These are just perfectly crisp on the edges, but soft and oh so chewy in the center. The best kind of cookie and they’ll stay that way over time too! These don’t get hard once cooled.
My best advice? Bake these tonight…because everyone has thirty minutes to bake up cookies. Then eat a few warm, and welcome in the weekend…couldn’t think of a better way to really welcome in the New Year!
Looking for other healthier dessert recipes? Here are my favorites:
5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Healthier Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
Healthy…ish Homemade Samoas Cookies
Lastly, if you make these, Salted Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Salted Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 106 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup dark or light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour (see note for alternative)
- 1/3 cup coconut flour (or additional almond flour)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or chunks
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, honey, and tahini until combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla, beating until creamy. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon (if using), and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips/chunks. 3. Scoop the dough out into rounded 1 tablespoon size balls, the dough will be a little wet. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. 4. Bake 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. The cookies will have brown edges at this point, that is OK. Return to the oven and bake another 2-3 minutes, the cookies will be browning, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and gently tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again. 5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They're going to look weird, but as they cool, they'll set nicely. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Alternate flour: if you prefer, you can bake these cookies using a total of 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour. The cookies will come out a little thicker, but be just as delicious!
Honey Replacement: you can use an equal amount of brown sugar or granulated sugar in place of the honey.
Freezing: the cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw, then bake as directed.
This post was originally published on January 8, 2021
Hi there!
Can you leave out the Tahini? Would there be a big difference?
Hey Amanda,
You need to use another nut butter in place of the tahini. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
What can we use for Eggless virson, please?
Hey Pratima,
So sorry, I have not tested this recipe without the eggs. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These are amazing! I used lily’s chocolate chips and cut back the sugar a bit. BTW, eating them frozen is like an ice cream cookie.
Hey Alon,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Amazing cookies! They turned out perfect, I made ice cream sandwiches with them and they were so soft and chewy.
For those looking for a more carb free version, I replaced the brown sugar with coconut sugar (same amount) and they turned out great. Thank you sharing such a great recipe!
Hey Nadia,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
I made these cookies tonight because we have a snow day tomorrow. I baked them according to all the ingredients listed. I wasn’t sure because of the different flours and tahini but they were very good and tapping them on the cabinet truly made all the difference. I will be doing that when I make cookies in the future. I look forward to making more of your recipes in the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple. Thanks Tammy
Hey Tammy,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
The cookies came out sooo delicious but how can I make them more crispy? theyre too soft for my taste
Hey Tatiana,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Sorry these are a softer cookie. Have a great week:) xTieghan
These cookies are delicious! Salty and sweet! Perfect texture- crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. I used all almond flour because I didn’t have the coconut flour. We all tried them still warm. Love that they are lower in refined sugar and use almond flour.
Hey Susan,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
I have made a lot of different gf chocolate chip cookie recipes and this is by-far the best one I’ve ever made. Thanks for the great recipe! These are going to be on regular rotation.
Hey there,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
These were amazing!! I’m such a fan of EVERY recipe of your that I have tried. These soared right to the top. Thank you!
Hey Taylor,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. They’re so tasty! I will definitely bake them again!
Hey Hannah,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Hi!
Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe. I just made these and have had 3 already ?. I am wondering if there is a way to add oats to these and what I would need to do to balance adding them? I love cookies with oats in the them and I think the nuttiness from the tahini and oat would be yummy together. Thank you so much ❤️
Hey Emily,
I haven’t tried adding oats to these cookies, but here are some recipes that you may enjoy:
https://fett-weg.today/cowboy-party-cookies/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/healthy-dark-chocolate-chunk-oatmeal-cookie-bars-idiot-proof/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/peanut-butter-chocolate-chunk-oatmeal-cookies/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Thanks for this recipe! My housemate is Gluten Free so I’m always looking for inclusive ways to indulge. I followed the recipe exactly, but my cookies don’t look like the photo and even with several minutes more on the cook time feel very underdone. Regardless, they were quite tasty! This is a keeper. Next time we’re going to use a higher temperature and see if that helps with the consistency and bake.
Hey Elizabeth,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
I found the baking time to be on the low side. I baked one dozen on my Silpat mat and needed an extra 2 minutes for the first half and an extra 3 minutes for second half in the oven. For the second dozen I used parchment paper and baked for 6 minutes each time. The parchment seemed the better way to go with the increased time. Otherwise, they were just too mushy and pale looking. Gluten-free baking is new to me with a daughter with a gluten allergy & migraines. Will keep trying!
Hey Lisa,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
So yummy and not too sweet at all!!! Yet another delicious hbh dessert!!!
Hey Kat,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
hi
has anyone else had an issue with these sticking together? these are falling apart after being cooled on the baking sheet. My kiddo cannot even hold them in her hand. Any thoughts?
Hey Kat,
So sorry you are having issues with the cookies. Did you adjust the recipe at all? These are a softer cookie:) Let me know how I can help! xTieghan