Spiced Walnut Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
This cookie is a far cry from the usual gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan cookie of my dreams. And it uses a lot more ingredients than I’d normally care to mess with…
But I’ve been obsessing over this combo ever since I found out it was a thing.
Tahini and dark chocolate? In cookie form? Sign me up!
And in the spirit of searching for levity and delight this year, I decided it was time to make these cookies already. There are several variations on this recipe out there, but I used the Tahini, Rye & Chocolate cookies from Green Kitchen Stories (one of the OG food blogs) as inspiration.
Why I love this recipe…
It uses:
- Whole-grain flours: Stone-ground rye gives it depth and nuttiness while the addition of gluten-free teff (you can use buckwheat instead) makes it lighter.
- Healthy fats: Tahini (sesame seed paste), walnuts, sesame seeds and eggs provide satiety and blood sugar balancing properties.
- Wholesome sweeteners: Dates lend extra fiber, iron and magnesium, and coconut sugar adds extra minerals.
- Spices: Grated ginger and black pepper give it a subtle warmth and makes these cookies more interesting. You could add ground cinnamon, cardamom or even chili flakes for an added kick – but I didn’t this time around.
- Dark chocolate: Need I say more?
Plus it’s so versatile! You can swap out most of the ingredients (check out the notes below) and make this your own special create-your-own-cookie adventure.
If you’re skeptical about baking with whole-grain flours and unrefined sweeteners, let this cookie be the one that converts you.
Try this recipe, and let me know if you love it! xo
Spiced Walnut Tahini Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
These spiced cookies bring warmth to a cold wintry day. Rye flour, tahini and walnuts add a nuttiness and ginger adds an extra layer of spice to this classic cookie. Plus they're subtly sweetened with mineral-rich dates and coconut sugar.
Servings: 20 cookies (30 smaller ones)
Equipment
- 1 Food processor or hand-chopper (helpful - an electric mixer would work too).
Ingredients
- 1 cup rye flour I used stone-ground, medium rye
- 3/4 cup teff or buckwheat flour
- 2 eggs
- 100 ml tahini sesame paste
- 3.5 oz unsalted butter at room temp
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar or raw cane sugar
- 6 pitted dates
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or more if you like!
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tbsp grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper (optional)
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds or more, to coat.
Instructions
- Start by combining the rye flour, teff/buckwheat flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- In a food processor or hand-chopper or separate bowl, mix butter, tahini, sugar and pitted dates for a few minutes on high speed until properly combined.
- At this point, add your spices or other flavorings. I added the grated ginger and crushed black pepper, but see notes below for other options.
- Add the eggs to the processor and mix until combined.
- Now, add the flour mix to the food processor, one cup at a time and mix completely. You don't want to overmix this.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the chopped chocolate and walnuts and mix to combine.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours until firm or freeze for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 380 degrees F and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- While the oven is pre-heating, use a tablespoon measure to make small-ish balls and coat them in sesame seeds. Then place them on the baking trays an inch apart.
- Bake for about 7 minutes, then remove the trays and bang/smack them down on your kitchen counter a couple times to let them flatten and crack.
- Put the trays back into the oven for another 6-8 minutes until they get slightly golden/browned.
- Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the baking tray for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Seal in an airtight container for up to 5 days, and enjoy!
Notes
Potential swaps that could work (I have not tried these):
- Flours: If you don't have rye, unbleached whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour could work. Buckwheat or any other gluten-free flour should work in place of teff.
- Butter: If you want to make it vegan, replace the butter with coconut oil. It will have a different flavor, but will still taste good.
- Eggs: If you want to skip the eggs, you could use "flax or chia eggs." For every 1 chicken egg, you'd use 1 tbsp ground flax or chia seed + 3 tbsp water. Allow it to thicken for 5 minutes, then use.
- Tahini: You can try almond butter or peanut butter in its place. This will change the flavor of the cookie, but should still work!
- Coconut sugar: You can use raw cane sugar as a replacement, although the latter might make it sweeter.
- Spices: I've used ground black pepper and grated ginger, but you could use ground cinnamon, cardamom or even chili flakes!
- Walnuts: Use other nuts or skip!
