Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer or hand mixer
• •Rubber spatula
• •Cookie scoop or tablespoon measure
• •Rimmed baking sheets
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Stir your tahini

   Before measuring, stir your tahini thoroughly in its jar. Sesame paste separates like natural peanut butter, with oil floating on top and thick paste settling below. You need both parts in proper proportion. Stir until smooth and pourable, then measure. This step determines whether your cookies turn out tender or dense.

   If your tahini has been refrigerated, let it come to room temperature first. Cold tahini won't incorporate properly and will leave greasy pockets in your dough.
2. 2

   Cream the fats and sugars

   In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and tahini together with an electric mixer on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat on medium-high for 3 full minutes. The mixture should lighten in color and become visibly fluffy. This aeration creates the cookie's tender texture. Don't rush it.

   Scrape down the bowl halfway through creaming. Butter and tahini love to cling to the sides, leaving you with an unevenly mixed dough.
3. 3

   Add eggs and vanilla

   Beat in the whole egg until fully incorporated, then add the egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until the dough looks glossy and uniform. The extra yolk adds richness and helps keep the cookies tender. You'll see the mixture transform from grainy to smooth and almost satiny.

4. 4

   Mix the dry ingredients

   In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt. Whisking aerates the flour and distributes the leavening evenly. Skip this step and you risk pockets of baking soda that leave bitter spots in your finished cookies.

5. 5

   Combine wet and dry

   Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture all at once. Mix on low speed just until the flour disappears. Stop the moment you no longer see dry streaks. Overmixing develops gluten, which turns tender cookies tough. The dough should look shaggy and soft.

   I finish this step with a rubber spatula, folding from the bottom to catch any flour hiding there. Machines can't feel what's happening the way your hands can.
6. 6

   Fold in chocolate

   Add the chocolate chips and fold them through the dough with a spatula or wooden spoon. Distribute them evenly but don't overwork. Count about 20 folds. Every chip should have dough around it, but you're not kneading bread here.

7. 7

   Rest the dough

   Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Cold dough spreads more slowly in the oven, creating thicker cookies with better texture. The rest also allows the flour to fully hydrate and the flavors to meld. Patience rewards you here.

   If you're truly impatient, 30 minutes in the freezer will firm the dough enough to scoop. But overnight rest produces noticeably superior cookies. The difference is worth waiting for.
8. 8

   Prepare for baking

   Heat your oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If it's been overnight, let it sit for 5 minutes to take the hard chill off. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough, rolling each portion between your palms into rough balls. Space them 2 inches apart on your prepared sheets.

9. 9

   Bake until just set

   Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges look set and golden but the centers still appear slightly underdone and puffy. They'll continue cooking on the hot pan. Remove them too late and you'll have crunchy cookies instead of chewy ones. Trust the soft center.

   Rotate the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking if your oven has hot spots. Most do.
10. 10

    Finish with flaky salt

    The moment the cookies come out of the oven, while they're still soft and shiny on top, sprinkle each one with a few flakes of sea salt. Press the salt gently so it adheres. This isn't optional. The salt amplifies the tahini's nuttiness and balances the chocolate's sweetness. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Chef Tips

• •Buy tahini from a store with high turnover. Old tahini turns bitter and tastes of nothing but regret. Middle Eastern groceries often have the freshest options at better prices than supermarkets.
• •Use bittersweet chocolate with 60 to 70 percent cacao. Milk chocolate gets lost against the tahini's assertiveness. Semisweet works in a pinch but lacks depth.
• •For bakery-style cookies with visible chocolate pools on top, press a few extra chips into the surface of each dough ball before baking.
• •These cookies pair beautifully with strong coffee or a glass of cold milk. The tahini's savory notes make them equally welcome after dinner with a dessert wine.
• •If you want thinner, crispier cookies, let the dough come fully to room temperature before scooping. If you want thick and gooey, bake straight from the refrigerator.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough keeps refrigerated for up to 3 days. The flavor actually improves after 24 to 48 hours as the tahini mellows and integrates.
• •Scoop dough into balls and freeze on a sheet pan, then transfer to a freezer bag. Frozen dough balls keep for 2 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the baking time.
• •Baked cookies stay soft in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days. They freeze beautifully for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly in a 300°F oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 38g)