CHOCOLATE SESAME TAHINI COOKIES

Nice and moist on the inside.

Cookies cooling on the rack.

I have a recipe for chocolate sesame tahini cookies that I have made several times. It is paleo and you could make it vegan by substituting the egg for a flax egg. I found the recipe on a blog site by PaleOMG. I do like to read Juli Bauer and subscribe (its free) to receive her posts into my email inbox. Her blogs cover a variety of topics - from food to exercises to travel to fashion.

I did make a few changes to the original cookie recipe from paleOMG and provide them here. It is a satisfying cookie, you don't need to eat many to get full. The majority of the ingredients by volume is tahini and maple syrup. It reminds me of a peanut butter cookie as that kind of cookie consists mainly of peanut butter and sugar. 

This cookie is so good that it is one cookie that the DH will request and he even found where I stashed a few in the freezer in case I wanted to serve them to friends over the past holiday season.

Cooking Time: 15 to 17 minutes
Makes 16 to 18 cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup tahini
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 tbsp tapioca flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa 
pinch of salt (1/8 tsp of salt)
3 tbsp sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

I use a food processor with a mixing blade to make these cookies. You could make them in a bowl by hand but I think you get a better blend using a food processor as you have to combine well the tahini and maple syrup to get a nice paste. 

Into a food processor using a mixing blade, add the tahini and maple syrup. Combine until it is well mixed. Add the egg and combine for about 20 to 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine for less than a minute until you have a smooth paste.  

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie dough scooper, scoop out about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of dough. I like to use the medium size cookie dough scooper (it is a 40 size marked on the inside of the scooper) as the cookies are not too large. Spread out the raw scoop cookie dough so that you have a little bit of space between the cookies. I don't flatten the scooped balls. 

Chill the uncooked cookies on the cookie sheet in your freezer or outside if it is cold enough, for about 12 minutes. Chilling the cookie dough before you bake it makes them spread out less and they are thicker. You can read more about some time trails that King Arthur flour did on comparing chill time for cookie dough. 

Place into a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 17 minutes. I used regular heat and did not use convection heat. After they are finished baking, let them sit on the pan for 10 plus minutes before transferring them to a baking rack to continue cooking. You don't want to transfer them too quickly to the baking rack as they need time to harden before handling.