Irresistible – Salted Sesame Chocolate Cookies Recipe with Tahini and Dark Chocolate

I’ve got quite a few chocolate chip cookie recipes on this website, and each one of those recipes in some way aspires to greatness so I’m a bit reluctant to add yet another chocolate chip cookie into the canons of cookie greatness … but these cookies!!! I recently made a double batch of these to take a friend’s 50th birthday party and watched from the dance floor as people tasted them for the first time. The looks of ‘OMG how good are these cookies‘ that came over people’s faces. What more can I say, I had the same look when I first tried this cookie. Make them for people you love, share them without any drum roll or build up and wait for people’s reactions.

This is quite a sturdy biscuit, great for taking on picnics or bush walks. I’ve always made them as a double batch and kept the balls of dough in the fridge or freezer until ready to bake off. The cookies keep really well in the tin for a week or two, so I encourage you to make a double batch. The balls of dough also keep well in airtight container (Layered between baking paper) in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for months (at least) in the freezer. I recently unearthed some Swedish Ginger Thins dough from my freezer that must have been well over a year old. I thought, I can’t waste this dough, and so sliced up the block, baked it off and they were perfect. Crisp ginger thin biscuits with minimal effort.

Make a double batch of these cookies, throw half of them in your freezer and forget about them until you need a dose of deliciousness in your life.

Salted Sesame and Dark Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Julia Ostro’s In My Kitchen Substack

Makes 20

• 250 grams (0.5 lb) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons of lightly roasted sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon of flaky seas salt plus extra for sprinkling
• 125 grams (4.5 ounces) of unsalted butter (softened)
• 150 grams (5 ounces) brown sugar
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) castor sugar
• 2 teaspoons teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (80 grams) of tahini
• 1 egg
• 125 grams (4.5 ounces) 70% dark chocolate (chopped)
• 4 tablespoons of Demerara sugar for coating

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder half of the roasted sesame seeds ( 1 tablespoon) and salt.
2. In a stand mixer beat together butter, sugars, vanilla and tahini until light and fluffy. Reduce speed and add egg. Reduce speed and add flour mixture until just combined. Take bowl out of mixer and gently fold in chocolate chunks. Rest dough in fridge for about 30 minutes.
3. Combine remaining sesame seeds and Demerara sugar into a bowl. Using an icecream scoop or spoon shape dough into balls and drop one side into sesame seeds and demarara sugar. Then place dough balls on a tray. Place dough balls onto tray in fridge and cool for at least 30 minutes in fridge before baking. You can shape all of the cookies before baking and keep in the fridge overnight or for a few days before baking. You can also freeze balls of dough. and bake off as you desire.
4. Preheat oven to 180C Fan forced. Place balls of dough spaced on cookie trays and cook for 10 minutes. Bring out cookies place on bench and bang on bench to deflate cookies a little. (this may seem like a bit of a palaver but it helps create gooey centres and crispy edges) Return to oven and cook for a further 5 minutes until golden brown around the edges. remove from oven bang on bench again to deflate cookies and sprinkle with extra flaky salt. cool on trays then remove from trays onto racks to cool completely.

*If baking these cookies from frozen add another 3 to 5 minutes to the baking time.