Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies

“The present is the only thing that has no end.”

— Erwin Schrödinger

This may be a little crazy to say, but these cookies deserve an award! They honestly taste like fudgy brownie cookies, and I am shook.

When I made them for the first time, I immediately texted my old roommate, apologizing for turning down tahini all of those times that we lived together. She tried to get me to try it in every form, even the wonderful chocolate halva bars—I always turned it down. But now, many years later, I’m in LOVE! The flavor is never too strong for me, but it adds this richness that I simply cannot explain, taking anything from good to outright insane and necessary and mouthwatering.

The wonderful thing about these little bites of deliciousness is that they do not need a mixer, there are no fancy baking steps involved, just mixing the wet ingredients together, the dry together and combining the two for a rich and decadent batter, which makes an unreal cookie. As we know, I’m all about the speedy yet worth it desserts or treats these days, as my little one is on the go when he’s awake! He’s also still not eating chocolate or sugar or any of my specialties yet as he is still only 8-months-old, SO it’s not like he can take part in all of this fun because he also puts everything into his mouth!

Anyways, these cookies are worth going to the store to get a HUGE jar of tahini if you don’t keep some in your fridge or pantry at all times! It’s hard to believe that these taste like brownie batter but in cookie form, but they do—trust me. Hell, you can even make them vegan if you want to sub in a banana for the egg, make them GF if you swap out the flour, these are quite friendly to any changes that you feel necessary to make. Just know, these won’t last long, and if you think that the 1 dozen that this recipe makes is enough for the week, HAH (!), think again, my friends!

ingredients

Tahini—5 oz, or ½ C + 2 TBL

Eggs—1

Vanilla Extract—1 tsp

Honey—1.75 oz, or 3 TBL

Coconut Oil, melted—1.75 oz, or 3 TBL

Cocoa Powder—2 oz, or ½ C

Flour—1.5 oz, or ¼ C

Salt—1 ½ tsp

Maca Powder—2 tsp

Baking Powder—½ tsp

Dark Chocolate—3 oz bar, or ½ C

process

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, maca, and baking powder

In another bowl, whisk the tahini, egg, vanilla and honey

Add in the coconut oil once it has been cooler slightly so that it doesn’t cook the egg

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, folding together with a spatula

Fold in the chocolate, this can either be chips or a chopped up dark chocolate bar

Scoop into about 2 TBL sized balls either onto your baking tray or into a container to allow to firm up in the refrigerator for at least an hour

When you are ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 350˚F

Place on your baking pan that has either been sprayed with nonstick spray or is lined with parchment or a Silpat

Bake for 10 minutes

Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray before transferring them onto a cooling rack

Store in a sealed container in the fridge

Bon Appétit!

Granola Brownies

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

Did you know that brownies seem to be the most difficult thing for me to make? I have tried what seems like a million recipes and they’re either too dry, not enough flavor, too cakey, I can’t seem to get it right. Until now! I finally did it! Sure, it took me a couple of tries, but we now have the most perfect brownie. They’re moist and dense, which is, honestly, just what I wanted. I’m quite surprised that I continued to test out recipes for these babies, but as a brownie is basically a STAPLE baked good, how could I not?!

And so once I got these amazing single-nap brownies finished, I figured why not use up another of Oliver’s naps to take them to the next level?! Yep. I measure everything in naps. How many naps does it take for me to get in my workout? About half of one. How many to clean to house? A full nap. How many to make these granola stuffed brownies? Two whole naps! For a baby who naps 3-4 times per day, I’ve become a pro at using up every second of them - even if it means I’m napping during one of those, too!

If you haven’t had them already, these toasted oat raw granola bars are the best things on the PLANET. Like, I try to have our freezer full of them whenever possible! So, I decided to use the same idea but make a granola layer on top of these brownies, then just throw on some more chocolate after that! I will say these are probably some of the best things I’ve made. They’re so thiccc and decadent. Oh my. The brownies have coffee and orange zest in them (you’re welcome for this combo), then a nice peanut butter granola, all covered in chocolate. These are a TREAT for sure! Wholesome ingredients, rich flavor, I’ve outdone myself with these 2-nap brownies!

brownie ingredients

Butter—4 oz, or 1 stick

Coconut Oil—3.5 oz, or ½ C

Coconut Sugar—2.5 oz, or ½ C

Coffee, ground—1 TBL

Orange Zest—from 1 orange

Eggs—2

Coconut Sugar—5 oz, or 1 C

Flour—7.5 oz, or 1 ¼ C

Salt—1 tsp

Baking Powder—½ tsp

Cocoa Powder—2 oz, or 2/3 C

Chocolate Chips—5.5 oz, or ¾ C

process

Preheat your oven to 350˚F.

In a small saucepot, combine the butter, coconut oil, first amount of sugar (2.5 oz) and coffee. Melt on the stove until the oils are melted. Set aside

Whisk together the eggs, orange zest and second amount of sugar (5 oz) until just combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder.

Slow add the melted oil mixture and egg mixture into the dry. Fold together with a spatula until just combined—you do not want to over mix!

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour brownie batter into a 9”x9” baking pan.

Bake for 28-30 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before going to the next steps.

granola ingredients

Oats, toasted—5.25 oz, or 1 ½ C

Peanut Butter—6.5 oz, or ¾ C

Honey—3.5 oz, or 1/3 C

Salt—½ tsp

Vanilla Extract—½ tsp

process

In an oven preheated to 350˚F, toasted your oats for about 10 minutes.

Once out of the oven and cooled, mix your oats with the peanut butter, honey, salt and vanilla until all of the oats are covered and the mixture is homogenous.

Spread this over the top of your cooled brownies.

Put in the refrigerator to firm up while you do the next step.

chocolate topping ingredients

Chocolate Chips—6.25 oz, or 1 C

Coconut Oil—1 TBL

process

In a heat proof bowl, melt together the chocolate and oil in either the microwave or over a double boiler until smooth.

Pour over the top of the oat layer.

Chill in refrigerator until set, cut into squares.

Bon Appétit!