Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know.... I know....... tahini belongs in hummus and only in hummus - right??  Well that is what I thought up until recently.  I have been seeing recipes scattered over the internet and favorite food blogs utilizing tahini in a variety of ways and I just didn't have the courage to try any of them.  But this one just spoke out to me - I mean tahini is just sesame seed paste so  how could a slightly nutty  ingredient be bad in a chocolate chip cookie??  So I gave it a try and let me tell you - there is no turning back now!  I have 2 jars of tahini on regular delivery from Amazon to make my favorite hummus from Molly Yeh (recipe share soon) and now these cookies and anything else I can find. These are my new favorite cookie and of my neighbors who have tried them have raved about them - there has not been one naysayer in the group.  These are a MUST bake as soon as you are feeling like venturing out of your comfort zone. They are a little more work - chopping the dark chocolate and chilling the dough - but trust me.  These cookies are worth every bit of effort.

And I have every intention of trying new recipes with tahini because it is just delicious to save for only hummus and cookies - so stay tuned!!

SALTED TAHINI DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP/CHUNK COOKIES

adapted from Simply Scratch

4 c. all purpose flour, unbleached
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. tahini (I like Soom Premium Tahini)
1 c. raw cane sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 t. Mexican vanilla (preferred, but regular is fine)
10 oz. dark chocolate bar, cut into chunks (I used Trader Joe's 72%)
flaked sea salt (Maldon is excellent)

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the softened butter, tahini and sugars on low until well combined.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  Add one egg at a time and beat on low just until well mixed.  The vanilla can be added in with the last egg.

Gradually add the flour mixture in and beat on low just until combined. Do a little at a time or it will fly everywhere!
Mix in the chopped dark chocolate.

Use a one tablespoon scoop and make cookie dough balls.  Place on a rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment is optional but makes cleaning easier)  and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Prepare another baking sheet with parchment and place 12 chilled cookie dough balls on the sheet.  With the bottom of a small glass, slightly flatten the cookies.  Return the unused dough balls to the refrigerator in between batches.

Bake for 9-10 minutes.  The cookie edges should be barely browned.  Remove from the oven and lightly sprinkle with sea salt flakes and allow to cool on the baking sheet before placing on a wire rack to finish cooling.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  This makes about 5 dozen medium sized cookies.

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