Baking

February 25, 2022

Vegan Tahini Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

If you're a fan of tahini and chocolate together (and who isn't?!) then you're going to LOVE these cookies. After more than a few attempts at these, I finally nailed these vegan tahini cookies and I'm so so proud of them. Everyone that has tried them can't believe they are vegan and gluten-free. One of the best parts about making these healthy-ish chocolate chip tahini cookies is that you end up with a fairly large batch. So there's plenty to keep stored in the fridge or freezer for your next cookie craving.

vegan tahini cookies

Ingredients

Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, and if you're looking for any substitutions, you can check those out near the end of this post.

vegan tahini cookies

How to Make:

I really love how easy these cookies are to make. Once you have all your ingredients measured out, you only need one bowl and 20 minutes for the dough to chill a bit before baking.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

dry ingredients in bowl with whisk

Next, pour in the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined, don't over mix.

cookie dough in bowl

Then fold in your chocolate chunks (I like to use my hands for this).

chocolate chunks added to dough

Preheat your oven while you let your cookie dough chill in the fridge for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop your cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Be sure to leave some space as the cookies will spread (not like this photo, I just liked the way it looked).

cookie dough balls on parchment lined baking sheet

Place in the oven to bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until the edges are just slightly browned.

cookies on baking sheet

Garnish with flaky salt right away. Let them cool for five minutes on the baking tray and then remove with a spatula and set aside on a cooling rack.

vegan tahini cookies

Tips for baking the best cookies

  • Measure your ingredients with a kitchen scale: since everyone will always measure ingredients differently, I do recommend measuring out your ingredients with a scale. If you don't have a scale, the best way to measure flour is to fluff the flour first and then spoon it into your measuring cup and use the back of a knife to level off the flour (aka the spoon and level method). Do not scoop the flour directly into your measuring cup or pack the flour in and/or tap it to get more flour in. This will result in extra flour being used, which will make your cookies dry, puffy and crumbly.
  • Don't over mix: you only want to mix your ingredients until it is just combined, then go ahead and fold in the chocolate chunks (or chips).
  • Perfectly round cookies: as soon as your cookies come out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter (or just use a large glass or mug) to swirl over the cookies to get them all uniformly round. See this post for more info!
vegan tahini cookies

Ingredients & Products I Recommend:

Tahini:

I recommend using a runny or drippy tahini that is well stirred for these vegan tahini cookies. This will result in a softer and tastier cookie. I also would suggest using a good quality and tasty tahini that you love the taste of.

Baking Sheet: I love these large baking sheets and use them all the time

Cookie Scoop: this makes scooping cookies a lot easier (and much more uniform too). For these cookies, I use the medium scoop #40 (2 tbsp).

Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour: this recipe was tested with Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free blend. I have not tested this recipe with any other gluten-free all purpose flour.

vegan tahini cookies

Substitutions

When it comes to baking, I don't suggest a lot of substitutions as the results can vary. Please keep that in mind when altering any part of a baking recipe.

All Purpose Flour: You can substitute with regular all purpose flour if you don't need the tahini cookies to be gluten-free. To do this, use 1 3/4 cups regular All Purpose Flour, spoon and level method for measuring. You can omit the tapioca flour.

White Sugar/Brown Sugar: Altering the sugar will alter the cookie taste and texture. You can use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and omit the white sugar if needed, however, I personally like the taste of these cookies with the mix of both.

Coconut Oil: you can use another oil such as avocado oil, or a vegan butter (melted) in the same quantity. Be sure to use refined coconut oil for this recipe, as it has a much more neutral taste.

Oat Milk: feel free to use any type of plant-based milk (or regular milk) for this recipe.

vegan tahini cookies

Chill the Dough

I know, I know, you want cookies asap, but trust me a little chill time is essential for these vegan tahini cookies to taste their best. When you mix up the dough, you may find the dough oily (thank you coconut oil!) and this is totally normal. It does mean that you want to chill the dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This will make it much easier to scoop.

You don't want to chill the dough for too long though, it will result in dough that is quite hard to scoop. The perfect time will be around 15 to 30 minutes. If it does chill too long, just let it sit out for a bit before scooping. Alternatively, you can also scoop and then chill the dough. You'll still want to let the dough sit out at room temperature for a bit if storing longer in the fridge otherwise they may not spread enough while baking.

Stir the Tahini!

Don't skip the stirring! Seriously, if you just pour straight from the jar into the cookies, you may (likely will) end up with too much oil in the cookie dough. Be sure to give your tahini a good stir before measuring and adding it to the cookie dough.

vegan tahini cookies

Chocolate Chunks vs. Chocolate Chips

If you want those pools of dark chocolate, you will need to use dark chocolate chopped into chunks. You simply will not receive the same effect by using chocolate chips. Chocolate chips when baked will not pool or melt in the same way.

For the dark chocolate, I recommend using about 70% dark chocolate.

I also much prefer the roughness of using chocolate chunks not just for aesthetics but they also taste better in cookies as well.

I recommend keeping the chunks to about 1/2" pieces to ensure they melt and pool as they should.

Freeze the Cookies:

These vegan tahini cookies make quite a large batch (around 25-28 cookies), so you may want to freeze them to keep them tasting their best afterwards. To do this, let them sit out at room temperature for the first day and then move them to a ziploc bag and freeze them for longer. When you want a cookie, let it sit out for five to ten minutes (or not!) and enjoy. They still taste so good from the freezer!

** This recipe is inspired and slightly adapted from the genius- Sophia Roe **

Other Cookie Recipes to try

If you make these vegan tahini cookies, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to tag me on Instagram, and/or leave a comment, rating or review below.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.

Vegan Tahini Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

These vegan tahini cookies with chocolate chunks are one of the best cookie recipes I've made to date. Made with simple ingredients and gluten-free too!

Prep:
10
min
cook:
13
min
total:
25
min
servings:
28
Author:

Jaclyn

Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugars and salt.
  2. Pour in the melted coconut oil, milk, tahini and vanilla and stir with a spatula until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks, I use my hands to incorporate them. Place in the fridge for 25 to 30 minutes to chill.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Using a small cookie/ice cream scoop, (about two tbsp of dough), scoop dough onto the baking sheet. Be sure to leave space as they will spread.
  5. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until just cooked through, and the edges are slightly browned. Garnish with flaky salt. Let them cool for five minutes on the tray and then remove and place on a cooling rack.
  6. Store leftovers in a sealed container and leave them at room temperature for up to two days. Store in the fridge, or freeze for longer.

Notes

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Nell
March 10, 2024
Hello! Ive recently been sent down the dairy/gluten free path. Not gonna lie its not ideal. I adore food and cooking and all things food. In a very sort space of time ive tried one million + recipes, the thing is, nothing comes close to your tahini sea salt cookies. Theyr ethe most sublime thing of all time, even pre cutting every out if have thought so. Its not too dramatic To call them my saviour. In fact without them i may have lapsed. Thank you a thousand times…. I’ll continue spreading the word and try and chill on how many im ploughing through.
Jaclyn
October 10, 2023
Hi Angela! You can omit the tapioca flour here and add more AP flour (1/4 cup). Just be sure to use the spoon and level method when measuring for the best results. Please let me know how they turn out :)
Angela
October 10, 2023
Hi, recipe looks great! Just wondering if I use AP flour, do I still also need the tapioca flour, or can I sub the tapioca flour also for AP flour, or leave that measurement out? Just want to be sure I get the measurements right when I sub in AP flour. Thanks!
Jaclyn
September 12, 2023
Hi Bridgette! Yes, you can use regular all purpose flour. Enjoy :)
Bridgette
September 5, 2023
Can you just use regular flour ?
Whitney Mullenax
April 22, 2022
I have these cookies in the oven right now (2nd time making them in a few weeks). They are perfection and will be a great gift for some coworkers tomorrow. I made the recipe as is, great texture! I saved some for me too, don't worry ;)