Chocolate chip cookies are a classic treat, perfect for essentially any occasion. And while we love chocolate chip cookies just the way they are, everyone (and every cookie) has room to improve, right? And there’s one easy way to take your chocolate chip cookies from good to amazing.
All you need is one simple ingredient to really up your chocolate chip cookie game: salt. And no, we don’t mean the pinch you add to your dough, we mean a sprinkle on top.
It seems a little counter-intuitive, adding salt to something that’s meant to be sweet, but the cutting flavor of the salt actually intensifies the sweet flavor of the chocolate chips. This is perfectly exemplified through these salted tahini chocolate chip cookies, brought to us by Food52.
These over-the-top cookies are made like your traditional chocolate chip cookies; combine your butter with your sugar, add in eggs, stir in the dry ingredients, the chocolate bits, then bake. We’re all so used to this traditional recipe that we can whip it up in a flash, no problem.
The one change to this classic recipe is that you’ll be adding a half cup of tahini in with your butter and sugar. This nutty, goopy sesame seed paste —which you’ll see in recipes like hummus and baba ganoush — can lean into sweet as easily as savory.
Tahini is essentially peanut butter’s slightly smokier, more mysterious cousin; faintly like a nuttier Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The trick is just knowing how to use this ingredient to elevate your baked goods.
The geniuses at Food52 love to swirl it into brownies, whip it into this mousse pie, or essentially substitute it for any peanut butter baked good. Tahini in some classic peanut butter cookies? Please and thank you.
In these upgraded chocolate chip cookies, the tahini offers extra savory, nutty notes, as well as a crunch that ordinary chocolate chip cookies won’t have. Top off your cookies with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt to bring out the many layers of flavor going on in this extra-special goodies.
These are the perfect cookies to show it off at parties, for party hosts, and for on your list who stumps you every year. They’re going to think you purchased these drops of heaven at some gourmet bakery, rather than made them yourself in your kitchen the night before.
And if you don’t want to share your next-level chocolate chips with anyone else — we honestly wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t — these keep very well in the fridge. You can even freeze these for weeks at a time, if you feel like dragging out this treat out for as long as possible.
(Pro Tip: Drag this treat out for as long as possible.)
What do you think of this twist on chocolate chip cookies? Share your thoughts on this upgraded recipe in the comments section below.
Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp./1 stick of room temperature, unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 3/4 cups chocolate chips or chunks
- Flaky salt, like Maldon or fleur de sel
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, tahini, and sugar together on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and continue mixing on medium speed for another 5 minutes.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl and combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until just combined.
- Add the chocolate and mix it in by hand with a rubber spatula.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 2 ounce (60ml)-capacity ice cream disher (scoop with release), scoop out 12 dough balls and place them on the baking sheet. Wrap the baking sheet with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 12 hours. This will allow the glutens in the flour to relax and will give you a tender soft cookie (Editor’s note: I liked them baked straightaway, too!)
- At this point you can bake 1 or bake all 12. Keep the cookie dough balls in zip-top bags in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- When ready to bake, heat the oven to 325° F and line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat. Space the cookie dough balls at least 3 inches apart to allow for them to spread. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes until just golden brown around the edges. They will still look fairly unbaked in the middle, which is perfect. Sprinkle each with Maldon salt when they come out of the oven.
- Allow to cool 20 minutes on baking sheet or cooling rack.