These vegan tahini cookies are crispy on the outside with rich and gooey centers. They’re loaded with chocolate chunks or chips and even gluten free!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Like all recipes that make it to the blog, these vegan tahini cookies required a LOT of trial and error. Tahini can have a strong nutty flavor, so it was tough getting the other ingredient ratios right to balance that.
But it was SO worth it! These vegan chocolate chip cookies have a perfectly crispy outside, soft and chewy center, with pools of melted chocolate chunks and a rich buttery flavor but without any butter!
They’re made with no egg (we’ll be using apple sauce instead) and are completely nut free, dairy free, gluten free and made in just one bowl.
I promise they taste just like a classic cookie, but are made with simple ingredients.
How to make tahini cookies
In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together all wet ingredients with an electric mixer until well combined.
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature so the coconut oil doesn’t harden in chunks when it comes into contact with other ingredients.
Add in the dry ingredients (but not the chocolate), making sure to spoon and level the flour. Fold until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips or chunks.
Add the dough to the fridge for 15-20 minutes and preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit while you wait.
After about 20 minutes, use a medium cookie scoop and scoop the dough into roughly 2 inch round balls and add to a lined baking sheet.
Keep them several inches apart as they will spread. I suggest baking no more than 6 cookies at a time.
Press on a few extra chocolate chips or chunks on top. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. They will firm up as they cool.
As soon as they come out of the oven, take a round cookie cutter and scoot the edges of the cookie around it to create a perfect circle.
Let cool completely, then sprinkle with salt flakes and enjoy.
How to store and freeze cookies
Once prepared, these vegan tahini cookies will keep for 3-5 days. I suggest storing them in an air tight container and then microwave for 10 seconds before eating so they have that fresh from the oven feel!
You can also freeze the dough or the cookies before or after baking.
To freeze before baking, roll the cookie dough into balls, then place in a ziplock bag. Bake when you’re ready but at 325 and for a few extra minutes.
To freeze after baking, simple let cool completely, then store in a freezer safe bag. Reheat in the oven until warm through the center.
What is tahini?
Tahini is sesame seed paste. Basically like the peanut butter of sesame seeds. It has a nutty flavor, despite being a seed, and gives these cookies a rich and almost caramel like flavor.
For this recipe, you need a nice and runny tahini for this recipe, my personal favorite is the 365 brand from Whole Foods.
You do not want a thick/chalky one as it will change the consistency of the dough and the flavor will be a bit too strong.
Do I need to chill the dough?
For this recipe, yes! When you first combine the dough, you might notice that it’s a tad oily, which is because of the tahini and coconut oil.
Chilling the dough for just 20 minutes allows the flour to absorb excess oil and ensure the cookies don’t spread completely flat while they bake.
Can I make them refined sugar free?
Honestly, I don’t recommend it. These cookies require dark brown sugar and regular white sugar and I don’t recommend swapping both for coconut sugar.
The color will be very dark, the flavor will be different, and the cookies won’t spread properly. If you’re looking for a RSF cookie, try my healthy chocolate chip cookies!
More vegan cookies to try!
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Funfetti Cookies
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- ⅓ cup runny tahini at room temperature, see notes
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ⅔ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup apple sauce at room temperature
- 6 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted 6 tbsp = 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 ½ cups gluten free all purpose flour or regular AP flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup chocolate chunks or chips
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together all wet ingredients with an electric mixer until well combined.
- Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature so the coconut oil doesn't harden in chunks when it comes into contact with other ingredients.
- Add in the dry ingredients (but not the chocolate), making sure to spoon and level the flour. Fold until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips or chunks.
- Add the dough to the fridge for 15-20 minutes and preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit while you wait.
- After about 20 minutes, use a medium cookie scoop and scoop the dough into roughly 2 inch round balls and add to a lined baking sheet.
- Keep them several inches apart as they will spread. I suggest baking no more than 6 cookies at a time.
- Press on a few extra chocolate chips or chunks on top.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. They will firm up as they cool.
- As soon as they come out of the oven, take a round cookie cutter and scoot the edges of the cookie around it to create a perfect circle.
- Let cool completely, then sprinkle with salt flakes and enjoy.
Lori says
Very good, but I can’t eat apples so substituted dairy free yogurt, they didn’t spread thin.
My mistake was thinking they were too doughy so cooked longer. The taste is good but they ended up dry and hard. SO, DO NOT OVERCOOK., take out while still very soft. Learned for the next time.
,
Claire Cary says
Yeah definitely don’t overcook, they continue to harden quite a bit as they cool. Glad that sub worked!