Hi Vegetarian Carnivores! Let me start things off by saying that when it comes down to either cooking or baking, I choose cooking hands down. It’s an easy choice for me for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that I find that cooking yields itself better to artistic interpretation- I can get a much better handle on manipulating ingredients, leaving out the ones I don’t want, and introduce lovely and complex new flavors. Baking has not been so flexible for me- I have always perceived it as rigid and set in its ways. In any case, I decided that I would like to start baking more and learning how to manipulate ingredients in baking, as I have learned to do in cooking. These vegan tahini cookies are delicious, wholesome, and absolutely delectable.
You’ll love these because…
These tahini cookies combine some of the most delicious and complex flavors and textures. We’ve got course ground oatmeal, which we are food processing ourselves from rolled oats. Next, we have the smooth/sticky combination texture from the tahini, which adds a bit of a savory kick to balance out the sweet in the cookies. Lastly, we’ve got pure Grade A maple syrup to add the sweet flavor without the processed flavor that comes through with white sugar. A few dark chocolate chunks really take the cookies to the next level. The cookies are crumbly from the oats, but chewy from the tahini. They’re what I like to call breakfast cookies, since they combine both oats and maple syrup. Wholesome meal right? Right???
Star Ingredients
Tahini- This ingredient, which is a key ingredient in hummus and other Middle Eastern dishes, may sound kind of out of place in a sweets recipe, but hear me out. The smooth texture and nutty flavor will really help keep the taste balanced so you don’t feel like you’re eating a complete sugar bomb.
Maple syrup- We are completely skipping the traditional sugar out of this recipe and using maple syrup! I love maple syrup because it’s absolutely luxurious and has such a complex flavor. Grade A syrup is great if you want the flavor to come through but without it being overpowering. Grade B would also be great, but make sure you are using actual maple syrup and not Aunt Jemima’s fake high fructose corn syrup (SMH). I am not a huge fan of sweets, but I am completely capable of drinking maple syrup directly out of the jug. Seriously- I have a problem!
Rolled oats- Make sure you are using rolled oats, and not oat flour. For this recipe to truly bring the textures I am intending to bring through, it is important to use rolled oats that are food processed by you. I suspect the recipe will still be super tasty, but store bought flour will be fine and the course texture we are attempting here won’t work.
Dark chocolate chips- I would say this ingredient is optional if you absolutely don’t have it or can’t get it. But I do HIGHLY recommend putting these in. They bring a beautiful complex flavor that i don’t recommend skipping out on!
How to make tahini cookies
Making these cookies is super simple. We are going to mix our wet and dry ingredients separately first and then mix them together. First, we are going to food process our rolled oats in a food processor. We are aiming for a texture that is coarse but at which point the rolled oats don’t look like rolled oats anymore. I did mine in batches, because when the oats get processed, they tend to stick to the bottom, which means that the rolled oats at the top of the processor don’t get processed.
Once you have processed your oats, combine the oats with the salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl you’re going to beat your maple syrup, tahini, and vanilla until the mixture is well combined and smooth. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together and use a spatula to combine well. Then we’re going to throw it in the oven to bake and cool once we take it out.
Ingredients (10-12 cookies)
- 2 cups rolled oats (food processed in batches)
- 2-4 tsp rolled oats (not processed)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix the 2 cups of food processed rolled oats with the baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the maple syrup, tahini, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the oat mixture and mix well to combine. The mixture will feel kind of wet, and that is expected. One tsp at a time, add the unprocessed rolled oats into the mixture. This will help firm up the mixtue as well as add texture.
- Mix in chocolate chips.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, use a double boiler to melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil to form a smooth mixture. A double boiler is achieved by using a pot inside another pot with water in the bottom pot. This helps control the heat delivered to the actual chocolate so we don’t burn the chocolate.
- Take the cookies out and cool for 10 minutes.
- Enjoy!
