Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

So...what to do when you are 8 months pregnant and out of breath all the time?  Well, if your significant other is anything like mine, he will probably decide that now is the perfect time to move to a bigger apartment so that you can have a little more space. Seriously? Right now??  More space is great, but trying to pack with a basketball that smashes into your lungs every time you bend over is not so much. However, I did honestly start to pack, but unfortunately for our moving process, I started in the most complicated room...the kitchen.  And as I went through each shelf, I kept thinking of things that I had wanted to make, before this "bundle of joy" started feeding on my energy reserves.   

  

So, fighting the guilt that I should packing, and the even stronger desire to just go lie on the couch underneath the light breeze of the cool air conditioning, I turned on the oven to make Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies from The NY Times.  It is an interesting twist on the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, and at the same time completely different. As I whipped up the ingredients, I was totally impressed with the luscious thick and fluffy batter! Thanks tahini! 

As with all chocolate chip cookies you can choose to make them thick, cakey, crispy, thin, chewy...and everything in between based on adding a little more or less flour and then cooking then for more or less time.  Based on my audience I went for the thin and chewy option. Slightly tanned edges with  a moist chewy center.

While the recipe calls for chocolate chips, I prefer to chop my chocolate using a slightly darker chocolate bar (70%+)...but again this is another "choose your own adventure", and you can really add whatever chocolate is your favorite....I am also considering adding some chopped dried cherries or figs next time.  The saltiness and nuttiness of the tahini in the cookies, might be well balanced with the tartness of the cherries or the sweetness of the figs (two of my favorite dried fruits).

 Needless to say these cookies did not last long, especially when I shared them with my just as pregnant neighbor.  Two pregnant women, on the couch in the heat of the summer, eating cookies...yea, I guess we are doing nothing to improve the stereotypes of pregnant women.

  

Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 4 ounces/113 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
• ½ cup/120 milliliters tahini, well stirred
• 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/150 grams all-purpose flour, or matzo cake meal (See tip)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¾ cups/230 grams chocolate chips or chunks, bittersweet or semisweet
• Flaky salt, like fleur de sel or Maldon                                        

Preparation

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, tahini and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and continue mixing at medium speed for another 5 minutes.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt into a large bowl and mix with a fork. Add flour mixture to butter mixture at low speed until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in chocolate chips. Dough will be soft, not stiff. Refrigerate at least 12 hours; this ensures tender cookies.
3. When ready to bake, heat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat. Use a large ice cream scoop or spoon to form dough into 12 to 18 balls.  
4. Place the cookies on the baking sheet at least 3 inches apart to allow them to spread. Bake 13 to 16 minutes until just golden brown around the edges but still pale in the middle to make thick, soft cookies. As cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle sparsely with salt. Let cool at least 20 minutes on a rack.