Name: Gluten Free Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Tahini, well stirred; 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed; 1 Large Egg; 1 tsp Vanilla Extract; 1/2 tsp Baking Soda; 1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt; 4 oz Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped; Flaky Sea Salt, for topping

These gluten free tahini chocolate chunk cookies are one of my favorite things to bake. They’re rich, chewy, and have that perfect salty-sweet combo that makes you want to eat the whole batch.

The base of these cookies is tahini, which gives them an amazing nutty flavor and a soft, almost fudgy texture. If you’ve never baked with tahini before, you’re in for a treat.

And yes, they are 100% gluten free. No flour needed at all. Not even a gluten free flour blend. Just naturally gluten free ingredients that come together in minutes.

The chunks of dark chocolate and the flaky sea salt on top really take these over the edge. They look fancy but they’re honestly so simple to make.

Whether you eat gluten free by choice or because you need to, these cookies won’t disappoint. They taste just as good as any regular cookie, if not better.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Sweet and Salty Combo – The flaky sea salt on top hits right alongside the brown sugar and dark chocolate, giving you that irresistible sweet-salty balance that keeps you reaching for another cookie.

Naturally Gluten Free – These cookies don’t use any flour at all, so there’s no need for a gluten free flour blend or worrying about whether your substitute will mess up the texture.

Rich and Nutty Flavor – Tahini gives these cookies a deep, toasty, almost peanut-butter-like richness that pairs perfectly with chunks of dark chocolate in every bite.

Ready in Under 25 Minutes – With no dough chilling required and only 10 to 12 minutes of bake time, you can go from craving cookies to eating them in less than half an hour.

Ingredients

1 cup Tahini, well stirred
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
1 Large Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt
4 oz Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
Flaky Sea Salt, for topping

How to Make

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 2

In a large bowl, stir together the tahini, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and well combined.

Step 3

Add the baking soda and salt, and stir until evenly incorporated. Fold in the chopped dark chocolate until distributed throughout the dough.

Step 4

Scoop the dough into 12 equal portions, about 2 tablespoons each, and roll them into balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Gently press each ball down slightly with the palm of your hand.

Step 5

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly soft and underdone. They will firm up as they cool.

Step 6

Immediately sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt over the top of each cookie. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Helpful Tips

Stir Your Tahini Really Well

This is the most important step before you even start. Tahini separates in the jar with the oil floating to the top and the thick paste sitting at the bottom. If you scoop it out without mixing it first, your dough will either be too oily or too dry and crumbly.

Give it a really good stir right in the jar until it looks smooth and creamy all the way through. If your tahini has been sitting in the pantry for a while, it can be pretty stubborn to mix, so take your time with it. You want a peanut-butter-like consistency before you measure out your cup.

Pack Your Brown Sugar

When the recipe says “packed” brown sugar, it means you should press the sugar firmly into the measuring cup so there are no air pockets. Scoop it in and push it down with the back of a spoon, then keep adding more until it’s level with the top. If you just loosely scoop it, you’ll end up with less sugar than you need and the cookies won’t have the right sweetness or chewiness.

Also, make sure you’re using light brown sugar and not dark brown sugar. Dark brown has more molasses and will change the flavor and texture of these cookies.

Don’t Overbake Them

Pull the cookies out when they still look a little underdone in the center. The edges should be set and just starting to turn golden, but the middles will look soft and almost puffy. They might not look “done” to you, but they are.

These cookies firm up a lot as they cool on the baking sheet. If you wait until they look fully baked in the oven, they’ll end up hard and dry once they cool down. Start checking at 10 minutes and don’t go past 12.

Since there’s no flour in this dough, the texture window between perfectly chewy and overdone is pretty small. Keep a close eye on them during those last couple of minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different nut or seed butter instead of tahini?

You can try almond butter or cashew butter, but the flavor and texture will be noticeably different. Tahini has a unique slightly bitter, nutty taste that really makes these cookies special, and it also has a thinner consistency than most nut butters.

If you do swap it out, stick with a runny, well-stirred nut butter for the best results. Thick or dry nut butters can make the dough crumbly and hard to work with.