chocolate tahini biscuits

Before the hot weather takes over, we thought we'd do a sweet baked treat. A month from now there will be many of us loath to turn the oven on, which is an excellent excuse to do it right now, and make one of my very favourite things: chocolate tahini biscuits.

​Tahini gives these morish biscuits a subtle, slightly 'grown up' flavour, while still having enough chocolate to satisfy anyone with a sweet craving.

The butter, chocolate chips, cocoa and tahini deliver a big, rich flavour hit. The generous amount of cocoa compared to a relatively restrained amount of flour makes for a fudgy, pillowy texture that makes you want another. They're really very addictive. Sorry :)

​Makes about 12
Prep Time: 20 min, Cook Time: 16 min

Ingredients:
115g room temperature unsalted butter
¼ cup  hulled tahini 
⅔ cup caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup plain flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dark and/or milk choc chips

Optional ingredients for sprinkling on top:
1 tbsp cacao nibs or sesame seeds
1 tsp sea salt flakes

Method:
**Before we begin, have a read through the recipe. You'll see that there is an option to make the dough ahead of time and freeze it overnight, resulting in a superior texture. Or you can simply make the dough and bake the cookies straight away, which still results in a really delicious cookie.
 
If you're baking the cookies straight away, preheat the oven to 180°c  (160°c fan forced).

Cream the butter, tahini and sugar together until light in colour and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk/mix until completely combined.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a separate large bowl (or just use a whisk if you don’t have a sifter) and combine well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.

Add the chocolate drops and mix them in.

[NOTE: IF YOU HAVE TIME AND FREEZER SPACE: scoop dessert sized  portions of dough and place close together on a lined baking tray, then place it in the freezer for no less than 12 hours. This will allow the glutens in the flour to relax and will give you a tender, soft cookie. If you want to bake straight away, that's fine too.]

Line a baking tray with baking paper or silicone mat. 

Use a dessertspoon or ice cream scoop to portion the dough into even sized balls. Space the cookie dough balls at least 4cm apart to allow for them to spread. Sprinkle with seeds or nibs if using. Bake for 13-16 minutes until just golden brown around the edges. They will still look fairly unbaked in the middle, which is perfect. Each oven is different and baking time and temperatures will vary depending on your oven. Sprinkle each cookie with Sea Salt flakes when they come out of the oven. After 10 mins, use a spatula to move cookies to a cooling rack.

When completely cool, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Hot tip: if you use the pre-baking freeze method, consider baking just half of the biscuits. Wrap the other half of the frozen, unbaked biscuits well so they're sealed and safe, and pop them in the freezer. That way you can bake them when you need another fix!

You can also double the recipe and freeze as many as you like. Future you will thank you.

Pimp My Recipe:
You can add the following ingredients to change it up. Experiment with the amounts to suit your tastes:

• Orange zest and a pinch of ground cardamom
• White chocolate chips
• Broken pretzels or salted potato chips
• Walnut pieces