I’m having a blast at the new Mediterranean grocery store right down the street from my house. The place is always packed, and the prices are way better than most grocery stores. Since it’s a heavily trafficked store, I know the turn-over is great. Fresh, fresh, fresh!
I picked up some fresh tahini (if I told you the price, you would slap yourself—no more $18 tahini at Whole Foods, thanks!) with the intent to make hummus. For some reason, all I can stomach for breakfast lately is hummus, vegetables, a hard-boiled egg and a glass of milk. It’s weird, but I’m going to ride it out because it sounds healthy. I will admit to stepping into Whole Foods long enough last week to grab their flyer. I’m hooked on the money-saving recipes in their monthly flyers, however ironic they may be (I have a recipe for saving money: shop somewhere else. I kid, I kid. I love WF). Anyway, a recipe for sesame chocolate chip cookies made with tahini jumped off the page. Why have I never thought of this? Then, I sawTahini Swirl brownies on Pinterest and just about died. Those are next, my little pretties.
I’m not about to claim this to be a healthy cookie. People ask me all the time about how I eat. It’s the most personal question I can think of, and it’s really best if you just come to my house for dinner so I can show you. I would say the diet I align with most is the Mediterranean diet. But, I have a strong love for Mediterranean foods, too. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to make more Indian food at home. I couldn’t quite define my eating habits until this month’s Rachel Ray magazine. Gabriella Gershenson wrote an article entitled ‘The New Mediterranean Diet’ that captures the foods from the entire coast that touches the Mediterranean Sea. Not just southern Europe anymore, her definition includes north Africa, the Middle East and a slip of Asia. Now, THIS is how I eat. I eat lots of lean proteins, vegetables and whole grains, but with heavy North African spices and Middle Eastern Flavors. And if I don’t have some variation of Asian food once a week, you can find me in the fridge with a spoon in the red curry paste jar. (Don't try that).
Maybe it doesn’t bother you to not be able to clearly expound upon your diet, but it was making me fret. I felt like I was dodging the question with my vague answer: ‘oh, I eat mostly healthy, but I do shove a cupcake in my pie hole on the reg'. Or, is it pie into my cupcake hole?
The one way my diet unmistakably differs from the Mediterranean diet is dessert (duh!). While the new Mediterranean diet touts dessert to be strictly dried fruits and nuts, I’m all GIMME THE CHOCOLATE over here. I eat lots of dried fruits as snacks, not dessert. This leaves plenty of room for a warm chocolate chip cookie.
If you’ve never cooked with tahini, try it! It’s just pureed sesame seeds—you know, the ones on your hamburger bun? They’re nutty and slightly sweet. And they’re gloriously gooey in chocolate chip cookies. Let’s do this!
Delicious chocolate chunk cookies flavored with tahini. About tahini: The brand I use is 100% natural tahini. The only ingredient is sesame seeds. No salt. Nothing but ground toasted sesame seeds.Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 152Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 3g
Kathryn says
Love the way that you describe your diet - it's very similar to the way we eat (dessert included) and this is such a great articulation of that philosophy. Also love these cookies; I've not tried tahini in baking yet but I'm intrigued!
Cookbook Queen says
You are so adorable. And these are gorg!! We have no Whole Foods nearby and that's probably a good thing...
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
I love all the fun flavours in these cookies. Tahini and chocolate?! Yes, please!
Julia says
YES! I've been wanting to make tahini cookies! I wish we had a good ethnic food store in our lil town...it's definitely expensive stuff, but I just can't not buy it. So with my jar o' tahini, I'm ready to go with these cookies. Bring on them chocolate chunks! I'm down for some delicious ethnic food and tahini cookies for dessert!
Leah | So, How's It Taste? says
Ooo, I bet that tahini is so good in a cookie! I need to make these soon!
steph@stephsbitebybite says
Such an interesting cookie! I'm trying to wrap my head around this flavor combo...guess the only way to know is to make them!!
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
LOVE LOVE LOVE this. I have a jar of tahini in my fridge just wasting away. Time to solve that "issue"
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
Christina, this is genius! I never know what to do with leftover tahini and I love the idea of cookies.
Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
I adore tahini but have never baked with it before. What a great twist on a classic cookie!
Paula - bell'alimento says
Not much better than a warm chocolate chip cookie!