Gluten-free and vegan-adaptable, these Chocolate Tahini Cookies are magical! Made with almond flour, tahini, and chocolate, they are irresistibly tender, chewy, and divinely delicious.
Tasting dark chocolate, a ripe apricot, a luscious elixir… Savor the expanding joy in your body…..The Sun and Moon and Earth danced together to bring you this delight. Receive the nectar on your tongue as a kiss of the divine. ~ The Radiance Sutras
These Chocolate Tahini Cookies are pure magic-rich chocolate + nutty sesame in one irresistible bite. Tahini blends into the batter for a deep, halva-like flavor and dreamy texture. Lightly crisp on the outside, soft and tender in the center, they're delicious as-is or rolled in sesame seeds and cocoa nibs for extra crunch.
Best of all? This quick, no-fuss cookie recipe comes together in minutes with simple pantry ingredients-no chilling required. Easy, bold, and completely crave-worthy.
The other night, I was hankering for a cookie after dinner. I put the dishes on hold and started combining a few pantry ingredients. I was pulling these delicious morsels out of the oven in 15 minutes. I am all about the quick, no-fuss cookie batter. I don’t always follow the rules of mixing, rolling, refrigeration, or cooling racks. Somehow these evolved, fitting all the criteria of quick, easy, and divinely delicious. We don’t mess around with cookies here in this family; the whole batch was devoured in no time.
Chocolate Tahini Cookie Ingredients
- Raw Cocoa Powder - Provides deep chocolate flavor and richness. (Dutch process can be used with a slight baking soda adjustment.)
- Coconut Sugar - Adds natural caramel notes and balanced sweetness. Use brown sugar if desired.
- Unsalted Butter (or Coconut Oil) - Creates richness and helps give the cookies crisp edges and a tender center.
- Egg (or Flax Egg) - Binds the dough and adds structure while keeping the texture soft.
- Tahini - Sesame seed butter is the star ingredient! Adds nutty sesame flavor and a creamy, halva-like flavor.
- Honey - Brings moisture and subtle floral sweetness that complements the chocolate and sesame. As well as toning down the bitterness of the tahini.
- Vanilla - Enhances and rounds out the chocolate flavor.
- Almond Flour - Keeps the cookies tender, slightly chewy, and naturally gluten-free.
- Baking Soda - Gives gentle lift and helps create those lightly crisp edges.
- Sea Salt - Balances sweetness and intensifies the chocolate.
- Optional toppings– cocoa nibs, sesame seeds, Turbinado or Demerara sugar, dried rose petals
Variations
Nuts or chocolate chips: Pistachio nuts or walnuts would make a lovely addition for a bit of crunch, and you can never go wrong with a few chocolate chips.
How to make chocolate tahini cookies
Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Melt butter, sugar, and cacao powder: In a saucepan, gently melt butter with sugar and cocoa powder. Stir to combine.
2. Whisk in egg: Remove from heat. Add in the egg whisk until glossy and thick.
3. Add wet ingredients: Add tahini, honey and vanilla. The honey tones down the bitterness of the tahini and adds more flavor.
4. Mix with dry ingredients: Stir in the almond flour, salt and baking soda to the cookie mixture. You can certainly mix it all in the saucepan, saving any extra dishes.
5. Shape cookies: Use a cookie scoop or roll in small balls. (I made mine 3/4 of an ounce). Dip in sesame seeds and cocoa nibs.
6. Bake cookies 10 minutes at 375 F. After removing from the oven, leave them on the sheet pan to set for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
7. Garnish with dried rose petals for extra magic.
Chef’s Tips
- Don't overbake. The cookies should look slightly soft when you pull them from the oven-that's the secret. They'll firm up as they cool, leaving you with perfectly tender, melt-in-your-mouth centers.
- Don't skip the coating. That sweet outer layer takes these cookies to the next level, adding a delicate crunch and beautiful finish that makes them truly irresistible.
- Mix it all in the saucepan. Fewer dishes, less fuss, and just as delicious. Bringing it all together in one pan saves time and makes the whole process feel effortless without any extra dishes.
storage
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Texture is best on the day of baking.
You can store in the fridge up to a week- let cookies come to room temperature for better flavor and texture. Freeze raw or baked cookies for up to 3 months in a sealed container or freezer bag.
FAQS
The nutty, earthy flavor of the tahini, paired with chocolate in these cookies, is reminiscent of halva.
Chocolate tahini cookies can be healthy when made with wholesome ingredients and low sugar. Tahini provides healthy fats and minerals dark chocolate adds antioxidants.
This cookie recipe is gluten-free, made with almond flour!
I hope you give these cookies a try and that they bring some moments of delight into your day and those you love!💕
More recipes you may enjoy:
- Thumbprint Cookies with Walnuts and Apricot Jam
- Spicy Chai Molasses Cookies
- Stuffed Dates with Rose & Pistachios
- Chewy Triple Ginger Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake with Blood Oranges
- Perfect Shortbread Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
Chocolate Tahini Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 20 small cookies 1x
- Category: Baked, cookies, desserts, Gluten Free
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Gluten-free and vegan-adaptable, these Chocolate Tahini Cookies are magical! Made with almond flour, tahini, and chocolate, they are irresistibly tender, chewy, and divinely delicious.
Ingredients
Cookie Batter
- 1/2 cup raw cocoa powder (see note on raw vs. dutch processed)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (maple syrup or regular sugar will work)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick of butter ) (or substitute with coconut oil)
- 1 egg (or sub a flax egg)
- 1/2 cup tahini paste
- 1/4 cup honey (for vegan-leave out and increase the sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (see notes if using dutch process chocolate)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Coating (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cocoa nibs
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon Turbinado or Demerara sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.Â
- Melt butter, sugar, and cocoa powder: Preheat oven to 375°F. In a sauce pan, gently melt butter with sugar and cocoa powder. Stir to combine.
- Whisk in egg: Remove from heat. Add in the egg whisk until glossy and thick.Â
- Add wet ingredients: Stir in tahini, honey and vanilla. The honey tones down the bitterness of the tahini and adds more flavor.
- Mix with dry ingredients: Sprinkle in almond flour, baking soda and salt. Fold into the chocolate mixture. Â Stir until fully incorporated.
- Shape cookies: Roll into balls or use a small cookie scoop. Â (If you want to get precise you can weigh them. I got 20 balls at 3/4 of and ounce each).
- Mix the coating in a bowl, dip and roll the sides of the cookie in it. Set on parchment paper lined baking sheet a couple inches apart. Can also use a silicone mat.Â
- Bake 10 minutes at 375. After removing from the oven leave on the sheet pan to set for about 5 minutes.
Top with dried rose petals.
Notes
Raw cocoa is simply pure powder from the cacao bean unprocessed. It has a darker taste and a more bitter flavor.  If you like really dark chocolate and all it’s amazing health benefits – this is a good choice. Natural cocoa powder is from roasted cocoa beans.  Still on the darker chocolate side with bitter notes. Dutch process cocoa powder is treated with an alkalizing agent to neutralize acidity.  It is smoother and more mild in flavor.  If using Dutch Process chocolate in this recipe use 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder instead of the 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Â
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Texture is best on the day of baking. You can store in the fridge up to a week. Freeze raw or baked cookies for up to 3 months in a sealed container or freezer bag.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie (with butter and egg)
- Calories: 138
- Sugar: 8.8 g
- Sodium: 55.1 mg
- Fat: 7.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.6 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 15.4 mg
Amazing cookies! Crunchy outside and soft and chewy inside. A little cloud of goodness and not too sweet! I used maple syrup instead of honey and it worked perfectly! Thank you Tonia!
Oh wonderful, so happy you enjoyed this Sylvie!
These are fun to make and even more fun to eat! Nutty, rich, chocolate-y, not too sweet and fun crunchy toasty sesame outside… mmm… Makes the house smell so good and love the petite size. Grazie mille!
Wonderful! So glad you gave them a try- one of my favorites. 🙂
I love these!!! They’re so gooey and perfectly balanced. The chocolate, tahini, and almond flavors go so well together! Satisfies all my cravings 🙂 Thank you for an amazing cookie recipe!
Glad to hear it Angeli! 🙂
What lovely cookies! So appreciate them not being overly sweet!
So happy you enjoyed these Cindy!
This is my daughter’s favorite cookie. We tried it three different ways. We followed the recipe as written with almond flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil and a flax egg and it had a lovely moist dark chocolate deep flavor but was a little flat. Everyone agreed that tasted better than the cookies made with gluten free flour and a real egg although they presented with a perfectly round ball. We’ve made them with all purpose flour,real egg, butter and sugar and they were marvelous but our gluten free friends couldn’t enjoy them.
Interesting Heidi, I don’t know why they are turning out flat? Glad you are enjoying playing around with them!
Very tasty with a nice chewy texture, lightly sweet. I used earth balance and brown rice syrup. They definitely don’t stay in a ball (I used once again tahini which is not thin) but I like the a traditional cookie shape anyways. Coated in pink sugar and sesame seeds, they were very pretty!
Hi Alysia, I’m glad you were happy with how they turned out. Maybe the earth balance and brown rice syrup altered it? If one did want them to stay in more in a ball shape, refrigerating on the tray for 15-30 minutes before baking could help.
Substituted Dukkah for the sesame seeds. A surprising burst of earthy deliciousness! Gifted some to a friend and he said they were the most ‘exotic’ cookie he ever tasted! A new favorite! Thanks Sylvia
Nice Kim, I love that!
These are just lovely! So easy and quick to put together with a soft-chewy-crisp texture and not too sweet. Another great recipe, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed!
Hi Sylvia, I have made these cookies & LOVE them. Is it easy to double the recipe? I would like to bring them to a group gathering and I think I will need more than one batch. Thanks, Ginger
My new favorite cookie. I used cacao instead of cocoa powder. The sesame seeds on top definitely enhances the cookie. I didn’t have nibs so omitted them.
So so good and easy! Mine flattened out a bit probably due to thin tahini but cooked perfectly in 10 minutes. ( I live at 5000 ft. )
So glad you liked!
Sylvia, I just made these cookies for Valentine’s day and we are in LOVE we them! They are a HUGE success and they have to be the BEST chocolate cookie I have had. Rich but not too rich and not to sweet. I don’t like really sweet deserts so these are Wonderful! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I used Dark cocoa, sugar, coconut oil and Raw coconut nectar instead of the honey. I will be making these again and trying them with peanut butter too.
I read this recipe in today’s new Feasting at Home email and was delighted to have the ingredients on hand so I could try them. I have never used tahini in a cookie recipe so I was intrigued about how this combination of flavors would turn out. These cookies are fantastic! I also love the cocoa nibs/sesame seed/Demerara sugar coating….simply delicious and a delightful Valentine’s treat. Thank you!
I am in the process of making them. They are not stiff enough to forming to balls so I put them in the refrigerator. Hope this helps.
My initial thought is that some brands of tahini can be thinner than others? You could probably add a little more almond flour if needed. I am curious if the refrigeration did the trick?
The refrigeration helped. It they still came out flat rather than balls but they were delicious.
hmmm…interesting. Well I’m glad they tasted good!
Yummy! I subbed peanut butter for the tahini & they’re great!
yum…peanut butter and chocolate- can’t go wrong there! glad you liked them!
I loved these! I didn’t have cocoa nibs so I used one bitter sweet chocolate chips per cookie. I used the honey version. Delicious!
perfect…yay!