Move over salted caramel salted tahini has arrived! These gluten-free and vegan salted tahini chocolate chip cookies are stunningly delicious and super easy to make! They’re an absolute must-try!
Tahini is one of my vegan lifelines it makes everything it touches creamy and delicious! I tend to lean very heavily on it for quick salad dressings, easy sauces and, of course, homemade hummus, but very rarely do I use it in baking.
When I came across the NYT Cooking salted tahini chocolate chip cookies, it was the nudge I needed to start diversifying my use of tahini. I had to make a vegan and gluten-free version of these cookies!
I was stunned by how they turned out, just like your favourite chocolate chip cookie had a baby with halva. They are packed with melty chocolate chips, have a subtle toasted sesame edge, and it’s all balanced perfectly with what you would think is too much sea salt for a cookie recipe (it’s not!). These cookies are an absolute must-try, and I dare you not to gobble them down in one sitting.
What do you need to know before you make this recipe?
This is a very straight forward cookie recipe and you should be able to find all the ingredients in your local supermarket except for the tahini, which I highly recommend going to a Middle Eastern Grocery store for (see the note about tahini).
For the best results, let your cookie dough rest in the fridge for 24hrs. This rest time will soften the flour (a good way to avoid gritty gluten-free cookies) and give you a better overall bake! If you absolutely cannot wait that long, let your cookie dough rest for at least 30mins in the fridge, which will prevent excess spreading during baking.
I’ve included all the notes for these salted tahini chocolate chip cookies at the bottom of the page with the hope of improving your experience here at blue border. If you found this useful, I’d love your support on Instagram, click here to follow.
ingredients
- 115g non-dairy butter or margarine
- 120g tahini
- 175g light muscovado sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 185g gluten-free flour, all-purpose
½ tsp. xanthan gum - ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. fine salt
- 175g non-dairy chocolate chips or chunks, bittersweet or semisweet
process
In a large bowl, cream together (with electric beats or a stand mixer) the butter, tahini and muscovado sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix briefly.
Sift in the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the chocolate chips and mix until well combined and a dough forms. Bring the dough together into one large ball, cover the bowl and place in the fridge overnight (or a minimum of 30mins).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 160C/320F and line 2-3 large baking trays with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 14-16 pieces and shape into balls (I weighed the cookie dough balls out to keep them even, each ball was 48-50g for 16 cookies).
Place 5-6 cookies evenly spaced apart on the baking tray and bake one tray at a time for 15minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing them from the tray. Store in an airtight container or freeze to keep them super fresh.
NOTES: Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients Notes
Tahini
Not all tahini is created equally! The best tahini should be pourable, incredibly smooth and has a very neutral, slightly salty taste. Anything that is thick and pasty or tastes liked toasted sesame should be vehemently avoided. The best place to find decent tahini is a Middle Eastern Grocery store. I always look for the Lebanese SH Yaman tahini or the Al Nakhil tahini.
Flour
I use Dove’s Farm gluten-free flour and love the way it performs.
If you’re in the US try Bob’s Red Mill One for One gluten-free flour, King Arthurs all-purpose gluten-free flour or Better Batter.
Xanthan gum
Xanthan gum is a binder made through the process of fermenting simple sugars. In this recipe, xanthan gum helps prevent spreading and holds the cookies together in the absence of natural binders like eggs and gluten.
Recipe Questions & Troubleshooting
Why are these salted tahini chocolate chip cookies baked at 160C?
In general gluten-free bakes are baked at a lower oven temperature for longer. Low and slow baking aids the development of crumb structure in the absence of gluten, prevents crumbling and will stop your cookies from drying out.
Why are my gluten-free cookies falling apart?
You left out the xanthan gum. In this recipe (and many others), xanthan gum is standing in for gluten and eggs as a binder and, without it, GF bakes tend to crumble. If you’re opposed to xanthan gum, you can try a flax egg but note that I haven’t tried the recipe with a binder other than xanthan gum.
OR
You didn’t let them cool completely before removing them from the tray. Gluten-free cookies are more fragile than their gluten-containing counterparts. Allowing them to cool on the baking tray allows them to ‘fully set’. If you skip this step, you may find they completely crumble when moved.
Why are my gluten-free cookies gritty?
Rice flour is to blame for a gritty texture. Try using a different all-purpose GF flour or make your own flour mix, I like this recipe for gluten-free flour by Minimalist Baker. For even better results, make it with superfine brown and white rice flour.
Why did my cookies spread so much in the oven?
You skipped the fridge step. Gluten-free cookie dough should always go in the fridge before baking as GF cookies tend to spread excessively in the oven.
In these small bakes, the butter/marg will melt quickly, and without gluten to hold them back you can end up with one giant cookie instead of one dozen. The overnight fridge step in this recipe helps to solidify the source of fat and temper spreading. This time in the fridge will also soften the flour and help prevent grittiness in cookies.
For more help with gluten-free vegan cookies check out –
The Ultimate Gluten-free and Vegan Cookie Troubleshooting Guide
