These nutty chocolate chip tahini cookies are thick, chewy and packed with oodles of chocolate. A brown butter not only enhances the nutty flavor but also means no electric mixers are required for an easy cookie! I like to think this cookie straddles savory and sweet with the umami tahini and pops of flaky salt.
Ingredients
This tahini cookie may have a few ingredients are a slightly different than standard. Let’s look through the details below:
- Tahini. Tahini is ground sesame seeds, probably most commonly used as the base of hummus in the US. The texture can vary to more paste-like or sauce-like. Use a thinner, runny tahini in our recipe to mimic the melted butter in our cookie.
- Chopped chocolate. Instead of traditional chips, I cut my own chocolate out of a chocolate baking bar. This chocolate will melt into little puddles where chips are designed not to melt.
- Bread flour. Instead of all-purpose, swapping for bread flour gives us a sturdier and chewier cookie which stands up well to the heavy tahini. Can you use all-purpose in a pinch? Yes, absolutely.
- Unsalted butter. A better quality butter will yield a better brown butter once toasted on the stove.
- Dark brown sugar. This has more molasses than a light brown sugar which gives two results. It’s a chewier texture but it’s also a deeper, darker flavor that pairs really well with the tahini.
- Granulated sugar. Plain white sugar will not spread as much as brown sugar, so having a combination of the two gives the perfect cookie.
- Baking powder and baking soda. Gives the cookie a little puff and a little spread.
- Egg. For the structure.
- Vanilla extract and salt. Always needed for a rounded flavor for the cookie.
Brown Butter in Cookies
Browning the butter. Browning butter is a process of literally toasting the fat in butter. Think of the difference between a piece of bread and a wonderful piece of toast. It’s the same theory in brown butter. Browning adds a depth of nutty goodness. Plus I love the way a melted butter provides a chewy cookie, so it’s a win-win.
To brown butter, heat pats of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will splatter a bit, so use a slightly larger pan than you think. You will hear it sputtering and frothing as the water cooks out. Trust the process.
Once the butter quiets, keep a close eye, it will begin to brown quickly now. You will notice little flecks of brown in the bottom of the pan (a light colored pan is best for seeing.) Avoid going too far and burning the butter.
Allow the butter to cool down to avoid cooking the eggs when making the dough!
Measuring butter. Because different brands of butter will have a little more or a little less water, to provide consistent results, I recommend browning a bit more butter than needed and measuring after cooking.
Making the Cookie Dough
I love to make these cookies because they have so little hands-on work time. Plus, anytime I don’t have to pull out my mixer and can still bust out a banging dessert, I’m super happy. This recipe is very forgiving, but I still want to talk through some of the steps below!
Two bowl method. In one bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
In the baking world, sugar is considered a wet ingredient because it melts when you heat it. One of those fun facts!
Adding chocolate. Once the dry ingredients are *nearly* mixed in, I add the chopped chocolate. This way I’m not overmixing too much at the end.
Scoop before chilling. I always prefer to scoop cookie dough when it’s still soft. It’s so much easier than scooping chilled, rock hard dough! If you don’t have fridge capacity to hold a full sheet pan, you can place the cookie dough on a plate or pan and transfer before baking.
Chilling the dough. Chilling the dough sets the butter and allows the flavors to meld a bit. The longer you chill, the better the outcome. I prefer to chill overnight or make the dough in the morning and bake in the evening.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the texture will be a little less chewy, but the cookies will still work well.
Technically you could skip this step and use just melted butter, but you will lose the extra nutty flavor.
No! Those browned flecks are the flavor and the fat. Make sure you include those browned bits in the final measuring and stirring into the dough.
A very dark toast is ok, but if the butter burns and turns black it is not salvageable, unfortunately. Protect the rest of the ingredients and make a new batch of brown butter. When it starts to get quiet, keep a very close eye.
Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies
Ingredients
- 85 g unsalted butter cubes
- 120 g bread flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine kosher salt
- 64 g runny tahini*
- 106 g dark brown sugar
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 113 g semi-sweet chocolate bar chopped
- course or flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
- Brown butter. To make the brown butter, heat cubes of butter over medium heat in a small saucepan swirling occasionally. Butter will sputter and froth as it melts and the water cooks out. Once the butter starts to get quiet and begins to darken, stop swirling and allow butter to toast with flecks of brown at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat before butter burns. This will take about 10 minutes.85 g unsalted butter
- Measure out 56g/1/4 cup (being sure to include the brown flecks at the bottom of the pan) and allow to sit and cool for 15-20 minutes. Butter should still be melted but not piping hot.
- Cookie dough. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.120 g bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon fine kosher salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together cooled browned butter, tahini, sugars, egg and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients in using a rubber spatula. Add chocolate at the end. Dough will be fairly soft but still scoop-able.64 g runny tahini*, 106 g dark brown sugar, 50 g granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 113 g semi-sweet chocolate bar
- Divide dough into 8 portions (about 2 standard cookie scoops). Roll into a ball and place evenly on a parchment lined sheet pan. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. The longer the dough chills, the more time the flavors will meld and cookies will spread less.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 10-12 minutes when edges are just set. Immediately sprinkle with course sea salt. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.course or flaky sea salt
Notes
- *This recipe is tested using a runny-style tahini as opposed to a paste tahini. Stir any separated oil into the tahini before measuring using a knife.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
Tips for a Picture Perfect Cookie
- If all the chocolate ends up in the center of your cookie dough ball, break the ball in half and bring the chocolate to the top.
- Reserve some of the chocolate for placing on top of the cookie dough before baking so you have that enticing chocolate front and center.
- When rolling your cookie dough into balls, make them slightly taller than wider. When they melt down in the oven, they will stay a little fatter. A longer chill will also help.
- Immediately after removing from the oven, you can use a large cookie cutter or glass (make sure its larger than the cookie) to perfectly round the cookies. Swirl the cutter around the outside of the piping hot cookies to gently push the edges in.
Watch the video at the top of the post for some visuals to these descriptions.
Other Brown Butter Treats
If you are now in love with brown butter (as you should be), try these other brown butter favorites:
- Browned butter amps up the classic rice krispie treat.
- Brown butter & sage biscuits has the quintessential autumn flavors running through.
- Another cookie favorite, these pistachio and white chocolate cookies doubles down on the nutty flavor with a browned butter.
