Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

September 20, 2016 0 Comments

Who doesn’t love a chocolate chip cookie? My kids and I surely do, but from time to time I like to tinker with the classic Toll House recipe in search of a little variety. Sometimes, my experiments work. Other times, not so much. When I read a recipe in The New York Times recently, which calls for using tahini in the dough and sprinkling a bit of flaky salt onto the cookies after they’ve baked, I had to try it. I’m happy to report the results were scrumptious. The tahini—a sesame seed paste with Middle Eastern origins—adds a delicious depth and nuttiness to the cookies while the salt compliments the chocolate chunks deliciously. Give it a try!

Ingredients

• 4 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
• ½ cup tahini
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¾ cups grams chocolate chips or chunks
• Flaky salt, like Maldon or fleur de sel

Earlywood Ingredients

1 l flat sauté – such a useful tool for mixing cookie dough

1 tera scraper – great for removing cookies from the pan

1 tasting spoon – great for (can you guess?) tasting the dough!

Instructions

1. In an electric mixer, cream butter, tahini and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and continue mixing at medium speed for another 5 minutes.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt into a large bowl and mix with a fork. Add flour mixture to butter mixture at low speed until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in chocolate chips. Dough will be soft, not stiff. Refrigerate at least 12 hours; this ensures tender cookies.
3. When ready to bake, heat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat. Form dough into 12 to 18 balls.  

Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Bake 13 to 16 minutes until just golden brown around the edges. As cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle lightly with salt. Let cool at least 10 minutes on a cooling rack before devouring viciously.

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