vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies on cooling rack

About These Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

These vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies taste EXACTLY like regular chocolate chip cookies with butter and eggs! This is thanks to a handful of “secret” ingredients like tahini, coconut oil, and vegan dark chocolate.

Despite being vegan, they have the ideal chocolate chip cookie texture. What does that mean? Crisp edges, soft and chewy centers, and signature pools of molten dark chocolate throughout each cookie. This is a cookie that both vegans and non vegans alike will enjoy!

Hold the phone—what’s a vegan diet?

In case you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know what a vegan diet is. Vegan diets eliminate all animal products and by-products. That means excluding meat, dairy, eggs, and even honey (honey is made by bees, after all) from your diet.

In baking, that means skipping the use of key baking ingredients like butter, cream, eggs, milk, sour cream, and more. I’m not going to lie—vegan baking can be CHALLENGING. You’re skipping a lot ingredients that are not only flavorful, but also provide key structures in baked goods. But when done right, vegan baking can result in the exact same flavors and textures as their conventional counterparts.

So what makes these chocolate chip cookies vegan?

Like I said before, because these tahini chocolate chip cookies don’t use eggs and butter, they’re 100% vegan! These cookies don’t use any eggs and butter. In their place, I use ingredients like tahini, coconut oil, and even water.

Wait, did you say tahini? I thought tahini was for savory foods.

When done right, tahini can add a nuanced and subtle toasted nutty flavor to sweets. My rule for using tahini in desserts is to think of it as a substitute for peanut butter. That means that tahini will work well in baked goods with ingredients like chocolate, nuts, bananas, and more.

Simply put, a peanut butter anything recipe (like “peanut butter brownies” or “peanut butter banana bread”) can easily be a tahini anything recipe (“tahini brownies” and “tahini banana bread”).

So what do these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies taste like?

These vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies taste like regular chocolate chip cookies with just a hint of smokiness and nuttiness from the tahini itself. They’re absolutely delicious!

hands breaking a vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie

Why You Should Make The Recipe

Here are all the reasons to make these vegan chocolate chip cookies:

These cookies are adapted from a popular vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe in my cookbook, Weeknight Baking.

When my cookbook came out in 2019, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the most popular recipes in the book was for vegan chocolate chip cookies!

These cookies are adapted from that popular recipe, but with a unique twist. The original recipe instructs you to use almond butter; however, to keep things “spicy”, I decided to switch it up to tahini. I loved the results so much that I decided to share the tahini version on Hummingbird High!

Despite being vegan, these cookies taste exactly like chocolate chip cookies made with eggs and butter.

In my book, I talk about my goal of making a vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe that would be indistinguishable from “the real thing.” I’m happy to report that these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies pass that test. In fact, when I brought these over to my gym to share, many folks were surprised to find that the cookies were vegan! My vegan coach mentioned that it was the best chocolate chip cookie recipe he’d ever had.

These cookies don’t use any “specialty” vegan ingredients.

I know that many alternative bakers rely on commercial egg replacers, or homemade ones made from flax, chia seeds, and other ingredients like vegan butter. However, I tend to avoid these ingredients. Don’t get me wrong! I have nothing against them. It’s just that I tend to bake conventionally (that is, with butter, eggs, and the whole works) 99% of the time. I don’t want to buy an expensive bag of egg replacers and similar ingredients…only to use a tablespoon of the stuff and let the rest go to waste!

As a result, I wanted to develop a vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe that used ingredients that could be repurposed for everyday cooking. And because of that, I relied on pantry staples of mine like nut butters, tahini, and coconut oil.

These cookies come together quickly.

The best part? These vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies come together REALLY quickly. Although I make them with a stand mixer in my book, I realized this year that I could simplify the recipe even further. Instead of a stand mixer, I instruct you to make the cookie dough by hand with just two bowls and a rubber spatula. That’s it!

These cookies store well.

Thanks to ingredients like tahini and coconut oil, these cookies stay fresh and flavorful for days. But the best part? The dough stores well in both the fridge and the freezer, meaning you can make fresh cookies anytime you want. Learn more in the post below!

hand breaking of a piece of gooey vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies, here’s your shopping list for the recipe:

  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • kosher salt
  • refined OR refined (virgin) coconut oil (make sure it’s a vegan brand—learn more below!)
  • tahini
  • water
  • pure vanilla extract
  • organic light OR dark brown sugar (make sure it’s organic—learn more below!)
  • vegan dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao)

And let’s talk about some key ingredients and their substitutions:

Coconut Oil

You need ½ cup melted refined OR virgin vegan coconut oil to make these vegan chocolate chip cookies.

Refined versus Unrefined (Virgin) Coconut Oil

Coconut oil tends to be sold in two varieties: refined and unrefined (virgin) coconut oil.

Unrefined coconut oil is also sometimes labelled as “virgin” or “pure” coconut oil. Manufacturers make it by cold-pressing coconut meat. The resulting oil has a distinct coconut scent and flavor.

On the other hand, manufacturers make refined coconut oil by drying and filtering coconut meat, turning it into a product called “copra”. They then press that copra into oil. Because of this process, refined coconut oil has a more neutral taste and aroma than unrefined coconut oil.

For these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies, you can use either refined or unrefined (virgin) coconut oil. However, the different products will yield slightly different cookies. Using refined coconut oil will make the tahini flavor more pronounced. Using unrefined (virgin) coconut oil will make cookies that taste ever-so-slightly more like coconut. Both are delicious, so choose your own adventure!

Wait, I thought all coconut oil was vegan. Why do you specifically write “vegan coconut oil” and ask me to find a vegan brand?

Alas—while coconut oil is indeed “vegan” in that it contains no animal products, some brands use non-vegan methods to harvest the coconuts to make their oil. What does that mean? Several companies enslave monkeys, forcing them to work under extremely harsh conditions to pick the coconuts needed to make their products. You can learn more about the issue in these heartbreaking articles by Bloomberg, NPR, and PETA.

I know it’s a bummer to talk about these issues on a food blog. But if you want to do the vegan thing right, it’s also worth considering the methods in which your food is produced. And the truth is, many coconut products that label themselves actually aren’t vegan in that context.

But PETA, thankfully, provides a list of monkey slave-free coconut products. They recommend this “truly vegan”, cruelty-free coconut oil brand: Native Forest Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. You can get a tub on Amazon and Thrive Market.

Can I use another kind of oil in this vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie?

In a pinch, yes. But your cookies likely won’t turn out as tasty as mine. Why? Unlike other oils—especially neutral flavored ones like canola or vegetable—both refined and virgin coconut oil has a subtle flavor. This coconut flavor helps balance out the tahini and keeps the cookies from tasting too savory.

That being said, if you really want to avoid the coconut oil, feel free to substitute the coconut oil in the recipe with the same amount of any kind of other oil. Just don’t leave me a one star review if you’re disappointed with the end result. 😜

Tahini

You need ⅓ cup tahini to make these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies.

What is tahini?

Tahini is a sesame paste condiment frequently used in Middle Eastern cuisine. It is one of the main ingredients in dishes like hummus and baba ghanoush. Manufacturers make it by grinding sesame seeds into a thick, oily paste with a texture similar to peanut butter. Although tahini used to be obscure and exotic to most American home cooks, it is now commonly used in savory recipes like salad dressings, dips, and more.

In the last few years, however, adventurous chefs and home cooks have started using tahini in desserts like brownies and cookies like this recipe. Because of its texture and flavor, tahini works well as a substitute for nut butter in sweets.

Is tahini vegan?

Yes! “Legit” tahini is made from nothing but sesame seeds and water.

What does tahini taste like?

Hmm… I like to think of tahini as nut butter’s fancy, more sophisticated cousin. You know, the one who speaks French and has a husky, sexy voice from all the cigarettes and wine, lol. It has a similar texture to an unsweetened, natural nut butter in that it’s pretty oily and will separate when sitting in its jar (you’ll need to give the tahini a good stir before using it in any recipe). Unlike nut butter though, its flavor is definitely more umami—in fact, it’s frequently used in savory dishes like hummus and baba ghanoush.

Where can I buy tahini?

The best places to buy tahini are fancy grocery stores like Whole Foods and organic food co-ops, or Middle Eastern markets (New Yorkers—I especially recommend Sahadi’s in Brooklyn). I recommend these places specifically because they carry my favorite brands of tahini (more on that in a hot second). In a pinch, you can also find tahini in the “International” or “Middle Eastern” aisle of any standard grocery store—but it’s likely they won’t have the brands I recommend.

My Recommended Tahini Brands

My absolute favorite brand of tahini—which I got hooked on when I visited Israel—is Al Arz Tahini. It’s so incredibly creamy and rich; its texture and flavor is incomparable to most of the brands of tahini you can buy in the United States. Because yes, that’s the kicker—aside from buying it online at Amazon (where you can buy it for a premium), I’ve never seen it sold here (at least, not in Portland, anyway). But Londoners, you’re in luck—I know that Ottolenghi sells jars of the stuff at his restaurants.

If you want to stay local and buy American-based brands, I highly recommend my friend’s tahini company, Seed + Mill. It’s the best tahini I’ve had stateside. You can buy their jars at their online store, or even in some Whole Foods stores (specifically in the New York and New Jersey area). I also recently tried Soom and was very impressed. You can buy their jars online on their website, Amazon, and Nuts.com. Also, if you’re a Portlander like I am, Providore Fine Foods carries Soom tahini.

Do I really need to splurge on tahini to make these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies?

Now I hear you wondering—does the brand of tahini really matter? Honestly, in a pinch, you can get away with using the stuff you can find at regular supermarkets. Your cookies will turn out just fine. But it’s sort of like opting for generic butter versus the super fancy European stuff with the high butterfat content. The good stuff is going to be infinitely more creamy and flavorful, hands down. It’s worth sourcing these brands if you’re planning on using the tahini in more “tahini-forward” recipes like salad dressing, hummus, and more.

Wait, I also see “whole tahini.” What is whole tahini? And can I use it to make these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies?

If you’ve followed my advice and are now perusing the fancy tahini brands I recommended above, you’ll notice that most of them sell jars of “whole” tahini. This has to do with the way regular tahini is made: sesame seeds that are soaked in water and then crushed to separate the bran from the kernels. The crushed seeds are soaked in salt water, causing the bran to sink. The floating kernels are skimmed off the surface, toasted, and ground to produce regular tahini. 

Whole tahini skips this step of separating the bran from the kernels; as a result, whole tahini is thicker and has a much stronger, smokey umami taste. You can absolutely use whole tahini instead of regular tahini in this recipe. Just note that your cookies will DEFINITELY taste more like tahini.

I can’t find tahini anywhere! What can I substitute it with in this recipe for vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies?

Although I typically side-eye substitution requests where folks want to swap out the main flavor (I always get folks asking me how to turn my blueberry muffins into banana ones, for instance), you’re in luck! You can make these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies without the tahini.

To do so, substitute the tahini in the recipe with the same amount of any kind of nut butter. Think: almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter, and more. Just note that your resulting cookies will no longer taste like tahini. Instead, they will have a subtle flavor of whatever nut butter you chose.

Organic Brown Sugar

You need 1 ¼ cups organic light OR dark brown sugar to make these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies.

Light versus Dark Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is granulated white sugar with a touch of molasses to give it its signature color and flavor. Because brown sugar contains molasses, it adds more moisture baked goods than granulated sugar otherwise would. Brown sugar is available in two varieties: light or dark. Dark brown sugar is my personal preference; because it contains more molasses, I find it to be more flavorful. However, you can use either in this vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie recipe without altering its flavor too much.

Wait, why do you instruct me to use organic brown sugar for these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies?

Ah, yes. Time for another fun fact: sugar made from sugarcane isn’t vegan. To make some sugar from sugarcane, manufacturers filter the sugar cane through bone char made from cattle bones. Doing so decolorizes the sugarcane and helps turn it into sugar’s bright white color. You can learn more about the process in this PETA article. Unfortunately, this process also applies to brown sugar. Many manufacturers make brown sugar by adding molasses to their white sugar product.

Fortunately, there are a lot vegan sugar options. Sugar made from coconuts and sugar beets are NOT processed with bone char. Therefore, sugar made from those sources is 100% vegan. Unfortunately, many manufacturers do not specify whether their sugar comes from sugarcane or sugar beets.

But thankfully, there’s an easier way. The U.S. Department of Agriculture mandated that organic sugar CANNOT be filtered through bone char. What does that mean? All organic sugar brands are 100% vegan. So when making these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies, opt for an organic sugar brand like Wholesome. You can buy their products at their online store, Amazon, and Thrive Market.

Wait, what if I just use coconut sugar instead? Can I use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar in these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies?

Sadly, no. These vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies are partially leavened by baking soda. What does that mean, exactly? Leaveners are the ingredients in baking recipes that responsible for making the baked goods rise. They do so by reacting with other ingredients to create bubbles in batters and doughs. The reaction is usually activated when an acidic ingredient is mixed an alkaline ingredient, and/or the heat from the oven.

In this vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie recipe, the baking soda reacts with brown sugar (which is slightly acidic, thanks to the molasses in it) to give the cookies their signature chewy texture. Unfortunately, coconut sugar does not have this same acidic quality and has a neutral pH level similar to that of granulated white sugar.

What does that mean for your cookies? If you use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar in this recipe, your cookies will likely be flatter and spread far more than mine. It might still be tasty, but I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.

Vegan Dark Chocolate

You need 10 ounces (284 grams) vegan dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao to make these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies.

What makes chocolate vegan?

Chocolate can be considered vegan if there are absolutely no milk products (like milk powders or milk solids, two ingredients commonly found in chocolate) listed in its ingredients. Typically, milk chocolate has more of these products. As a result, milk chocolate is rarely considered vegan (unless it’s a milk chocolate vegan brand, which uses ingredients like rice milk as substitutes to these milk products). You’ll have better luck by sourcing dark chocolate, which contains more cacao and less of these milk products.

Note that most dark chocolate will have “cocoa butter” listed in its ingredients. Cocoa butter is NOT an animal product and is actually just a specific part of the cacao bean; it is naturally vegan and dairy-free, so don’t worry if you see it!

Is dark chocolate vegan?

It really, really depends. In general, most dark chocolate with 70% cacao or higher has no milk products and are technically vegan in ingredients. BUT that’s not a nationally mandated rule! If it has even a little bit of milk product in it, the chocolate is NOT vegan—no matter what percentage cacao it is! If you’re baking these cookies for a strict vegan, you’ll need to read the ingredient labels of the chocolate you use.

Okay, so what chocolate is vegan?

For these cookies, I used Valrhona Guanaja 70% Feves. Although it is vegan in that it does not contain any milk products, Valrhona lacks the ability to officially label it as such since it’s made in a facility that processes milk and white chocolate (neither of which are vegan, obviously). But there are a ton of other “unofficially vegan” chocolate bars too—Trader Joe’s Pound Plus 72% Dark Chocolate Bar, Guittard Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bars, and Lindt 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate are good examples of vegan chocolate bars that are available in most grocery stores.

But if you’re looking for STRICT vegan chocolate (and is certified as such), check out Raaka Chocolate—all their chocolate is 100% vegan!

vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies

How To Make Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here are the basic steps to make vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies from scratch:

  1. Prep the ingredients. (Prep Time: 10 minutes)
    This vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie recipe requires slightly more prep time than my other cookie recipes. That’s because you’ll need to chop up the chocolate, melt the coconut oil, and make sure the tahini is well-stirred. I recommend melting the coconut oil first to give it time to cool slightly while you prep the other ingredients. And if you want to save yourself time, I recommend investing in chopped chocolate that’s ready for baking—like these Valrhona feves!

  2. Make the vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie dough. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    Luckily, the dough comes together really quickly. Simply mix together the coconut oil, tahini, water, and vanilla. Then, mix in the brown sugar, dry ingredients, and chopped chocolate. That’s it!

  3. Chill the cookie dough while you prep the oven and pans. (Chill Time: 10 minutes)
    Most cookie recipes instruct you to preheat the oven and prep your pans first. However, this recipe instructs you to do so only after making the dough. Why? The cookie dough can feel a little too loose and greasy when it first comes together. Chilling it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before scooping makes it easier to work with.

    So, it’s best to save energy and multitask! While you chill the cookie dough, preheat your oven (pro-tip: most ovens take about 10 minutes to preheat, anyway) and prep your sheet pans for baking the cookies.

  4. Assemble the cookies. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    The fastest and easiest way to portion cookie dough is with a cookie dough scoop. Most cookie recipes work best with either a 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop (my personal fave for cookie recipes!) or a 4-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop. Use the scoop to portion the dough into cookie dough balls, placing the cookie dough balls on a lined sheet pan as you go.

  5. Bake the cookies. (Bake Time: 12 minutes)
    You need to bake the cookies for 12 minutes, or until the edges and bottoms of the cookies have set and feel firm to the touch. The centers should still look a little doughy—that’s totally normal, I promise! It’s the secret to perfectly chewy centers.
vegan tahini chocolate chip cookie crumbling

Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

FAQ: Questions About Ingredients

Help! I don’t own a scale. How many cups is 10 ounces (284 grams) vegan dark chocolate?

Uh-oh! In a pinch, 10 ounces (284 grams) dark chocolate is roughly equivalent to 1 ⅔ cups roughly chopped chocolate.

FAQ: Questions About Unexpected Results

Help! My cookie dough feels SUPER greasy. The dough feels too loose to scoop. What did I do wrong?

Nothing!

I mentioned earlier that, if the coconut oil is still too warm when added to the rest of the ingredients, the dough will feel greasy and loose. This is especially the case if your kitchen is hot or if you’re making these cookies in the summertime.

As a result, I instruct you to chill the entire bowl of cookie dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven. Doing so will help the dough firm up. After 10 minutes, check the dough. If it still feels too loose, give it another 5 to 10 minutes in the fridge.

However, I don’t recommend chilling it for longer—doing so will harden the cookie dough too much and make it really hard to scoop!

Help! My vegan tahini chocolate chip cookiespread way too much. They look much thinner and more brittle than yours. What did I do wrong?

Ah. First things first, scroll up and read the preceding question and come back. Now—did you skip the chilling period and bake the cookies right away, when the dough felt super greasy and loose? If so, that means that the coconut oil was still too hot from being melted. Coconut oil that’s too hot causes the cookies to spread out way too much in the oven, creating thin and brittle cookies.

Alternatively, if you chilled the cookie dough and your cookies still came out too thin and brittle, you may have an ingredients issue. Did you stir your tahini properly? If not, it’s likely that you used only the oily part of the tahini, causing the cookies to spread too much.

You may have also used too much sugar. It’s easily to accidentally pack in too much brown sugar in a measuring cup. See the next question below for more info on how to properly use measuring cups!

Help! My vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies came out too puffy. They didn’t sink after baking and don’t look flat like yours. What did I do wrong?

Okay, there are several things that could be responsible for overly puffy cookies:

You didn’t measure your ingredients properly.

If you used cup measures as opposed to weight measures, there’s a larger chance your cookies will come out puffy. Why? As weird as this sounds, there’s a LOT of variation in how people use measuring cups. Like, somebody who scoops ingredients into a measuring cup and packs it down as they go will have a cup that has way more ingredients than somebody who simply scoops the flour into a cup and levels it off as its filled. This is why bakers love measuring by weight with a digital scale instead—it’s much more reliable and completely eliminates any inconsistencies.

While these variations aren’t a big deal for many recipes, they can be a big deal for cookies. Specifically: if you pack a heavy cup of flour, your cookies will come out too puffy. They won’t fall and sink in the same way as mine did.

So to fill a measuring cup properly, you need to first set the measuring cup on a flat, level surface like your kitchen counter. Spoon the ingredient into the measuring cup until it forms a small mound within the cup. Use a butter knife or bench scraper to level off the mound so that the ingredient is flush with the top edges of the measuring cup. If you’re measuring a dry ingredient that has a tendency to clump or get packed down (like flour, confectioners’ sugar, or cocoa powder), give it a quick whisk in its container first. Then, scoop the ingredient into the measuring cup as I described.

You let the cookie dough chill too long.

Sometimes, if cold cookie dough is baked straight from the fridge while too cold, the resulting cookies will stay puffy!

Although you can store the cookie dough for these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies both in the fridge and freezer for longer, you’ll need to slightly change the way you bake the chilled dough. Learn more in the next section below!

Help! I made these vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies but they don’t look like your cookies. My chocolate stayed mostly in tact—they didn’t melt and pool throughout the cookie like yours did. What did I do wrong?

First things first: did you use chocolate chips? If you did, they’re the likely culprit. Chocolate chips are made with stabilizers like more cocoa solids and paraffin wax (yes, the kind of wax candles are made out of) to ensure that they keep their shape when baked. They won’t melt and pool into puddles like chopped chocolate bars. That’s why I always recommend using chopped chocolate if you’re looking for a picture-perfect, Instagram-ready cookie!

However, if you did use chopped chocolate, it’s likely that you chopped your chocolate up too finely. You want to keep the pieces fairly big—think: ½ inch to 1 inch pieces. Bigger pieces will get more melty and molten!

FAQ: Questions About Recipe Techniques

Help! I’m pressed for time. Can I chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for longer than 10 minutes?

Yes! Because this cookie dough contains no dairy or raw animal products, you can actually refrigerate it for a week (and longer, if you dare). Nothing will technically go bad in it…but your tahini and coconut oils might start to absorb other flavors in the fridge. At the very least, I recommend putting it in an airtight container to prevent this issue. And if you want to store for even more long term, I recommend freezing the dough! Instructions on how to do so below.

Just note that, if you chill the cookies for longer, the dough will firm up considerably. If you store the dough for longer than 1 hour, it will become increasingly difficult to scoop it into cookie dough balls. To prevent this, scoop the cookie dough into cookie dough balls if you’re planning to store them in the fridge for longer.

Another issue that might pop up—if you bake the cookie dough straight from the fridge, it might still be too cold. You’ll start to get issues with the cookies staying puffy and not spreading properly in the oven. To prevent this, arrange the cookie dough balls on a sheet pan. Leave them out at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes while you preheat the oven. Doing so will allow them to thaw ever so slightly and bake properly in the oven when it’s preheated.

FAQ: Questions About Storing The Cookies

How To Store Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies After Baking

After baking, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Can I freeze vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies?

Yes! You can freeze the vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies in the following ways:

  1. Freeze the UNBAKED vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies.
    Follow the recipe instructions to make the cookie dough and scoop them out into cookie dough balls. Place the cookie dough balls in a small sheet pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour, or until the cookie dough balls are frozen solid. Transfer the cookie dough balls to a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 1 year.

    To bake the frozen cookie dough balls, follow the recipe instructions to preheat the oven and arrange the cookie dough balls on a sheet pan. There’s no need to thaw the cookies beforehand—you can bake from frozen. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges have set but the centers are still gooey.

  2. Freeze the BAKED vegan tahini chocolate chip cookies.
    Individually wrap any leftover chocolate chip cookies in two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. The aluminum foil will prevent the cookies from absorbing any other flavors or odors in the freezer. When ready to serve, transfer to the refrigerator to chill overnight. Rewarm in the microwave or in the oven at 350°F for 5 minutes before serving.

Best Recipe Tips

Best Ingredient Tips

  • Tahini tends to separate like natural nut butter—the oil floats to the top while the rest of the tahini stays at the bottom. For best results, you’ll need to stir the tahini well before using it in this recipe.

  • Like I mentioned above, I used Valrhona Guanaja 70% Feves (which is also available in smaller bags on Amazon). Feves are little 1-inch discs of chocolate; I love using them for baking because you get the same results as using a chopped chocolate bar, but without any of the work. I know they’re on the pricey side, but they’re definitely worth it, I promise. If you’re still unconvinced and end up using a vegan chocolate bar, you’ll need to chop up the chocolate into ½- to 1-inch pieces. I suggest avoiding chocolate chips for this recipe; it’ll be hard to find vegan chocolate chips, but even if you do, chopped chocolate always makes for tastier (and prettier!) cookies anyway.

Best Technique Tip

  • For this recipe, it’s especially important to WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS, especially the flour! This particular recipe is especially sensitive to variations in cup measurements—if you use too much flour (which can happen if you don’t fill your measuring cups properly), the cookies will be too puffy and won’t crack and fall like mine.

    If you don’t have a kitchen scale, the best way to measure out flour with measuring cups is to do the following: 1) fluff up your flour by stirring it with a whisk or fork for a minimum of 30 seconds; 2) use a spoon to scoop the fluffed-up flour into the measuring cup until the flour forms a small mound on top of the cup; 3) use a bench scraper or a butter knife to level off the mound so that the flour is flush with the top edges of the measuring cup.

Best Make Ahead Tip

  • Like my recipe for regular (that is, non-vegan!) chocolate chip cookies, you can freeze the cookie dough for these vegan chocolate chip cookies and save them for baking later. Make the dough and form it into balls as directed. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and freeze for 1 hour, or until the cookie dough balls are hard enough to be transferred to a zip-top bag without losing their shape. Seal the bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, bake as directed, but add 3 minutes to the total Bake Time for a total of 15 minutes.

Video Tutorial for Recipe

Use the video player below to watch my Instagram Story tutorial on how to make these small batch almond flour brownies! You can click on the left and right hand sides of the frame to skip backwards and forwards through the different recipe steps. You can also hit the frame to “pause” it accordingly.


Alternatively, head to my Instagram profile to watch these Stories! The circles underneath my bio indicate saved Instagram Story highlights for various recipes. Click on one of the circles to play the video tutorial for the recipe. You may need to swipe left or right to find these almond flour brownies.

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Get the Recipe: Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

These vegan chocolate chip cookies taste EXACTLY like regular chocolate chip cookies with crisp edges, soft and chewy centers, and pools of molten dark chocolate throughout every bite of cookie. This is all thanks to a handful of "secret" ingredients like tahini, coconut oil, and vegan chocolate.
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Ingredients

  • 2 cups (9 ounces or 255 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces or or 113 grams) vegan refined OR unrefined (virgin) coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • cup (3.15 ounces or 89 grams) well-stirred tahini (see baker's notes)
  • 6 Tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) water
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups tightly packed (9.35 ounces or 265 grams) organic light OR dark brown sugar
  • 10 ounces (or 284 grams) vegan dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao), from whole féves or a high-quality chocolate bar, chopped into ½- to 1-inch pieces

Equipment

  • a 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop

Instructions
 

  • Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix together the coconut oil, tahini, water, and vanilla until combined, about 1 minute.
  • Add the sugar, dry ingredients, and chocolate. Mix in the sugar, then gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Add the chocolate all at once, and mix until the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout, about 1 minute.
  • Chill the dough while prepping the oven and sheet pans. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
  • Assemble the cookies. Use a 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop to portion the cookie dough into balls and place them at least 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pans.
  • Bake the cookies. Bake one pan at a time for 12 minutes, until the edges have set but the centers are still gooey. The cookies will look puffed when you pull them out of the oven, but will fall and crack into the perfect cookies as they cool. Cool the cookies on the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, or until the edges and bottoms of the cookies feel firm to the touch. Repeat with remaining cookie dough balls.
  • Serve and store. Serve warm or at room temperature. The cookies can be stored, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Tahini tends to separate like natural nut butter—the oil floats to the top while the rest of the tahini stays at the bottom. For best results, you’ll need to stir the tahini well before using it in this recipe.
  • Like I mentioned above, I used Valrhona Guanaja 70% Feves (which is also available in smaller bags on Amazon). Feves are little 1-inch discs of chocolate; I love using them for baking because you get the same results as using a chopped chocolate bar, but without any of the work. I know they’re on the pricey side, but they’re definitely worth it, I promise. If you’re still unconvinced and end up using a vegan chocolate bar, you’ll need to chop up the chocolate into ½- to 1-inch pieces. I suggest avoiding chocolate chips for this recipe; it’ll be hard to find vegan chocolate chips, but even if you do, chopped chocolate always makes for tastier (and prettier!) cookies anyway.
  • For this recipe, it’s especially important to WEIGH YOUR INGREDIENTS, especially the flour! This particular recipe is especially sensitive to variations in cup measurements—if you use too much flour (which can happen if you don’t fill your measuring cups properly), the cookies will be too puffy and won’t crack and fall like mine. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, the best way to measure out flour with measuring cups is to do the following: 1) fluff up your flour by stirring it with a whisk or fork for a minimum of 30 seconds; 2) use a spoon to scoop the fluffed-up flour into the measuring cup until the flour forms a small mound on top of the cup; 3) use a bench scraper or a butter knife to level off the mound so that the flour is flush with the top edges of the measuring cup.
  • Like my recipe for regular (that is, non-vegan!) chocolate chip cookies, you can freeze the cookie dough for these vegan chocolate chip cookies and save them for baking later. Make the dough and form it into balls as directed. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and freeze for 1 hour, or until the cookie dough balls are hard enough to be transferred to a zip-top bag without losing their shape. Seal the bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, bake as directed, but add 3 minutes to the total Bake Time for a total of 15 minutes.
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Michelle holding Weeknight Baking cookbook covering her face.

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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule

Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.

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