What you may not know about me is that I used to be a horrible baker. Okay, I’m still working on it even today. Practice makes perfect, right? But I have to say, I’m pretty gosh darn proud of these Salted Chocolate Tahini Cookies!

These cookies were born out of a recipe collaboration with one of my best gal pals and Culinary Nutritionist, Tabitha Lavoie. We had just finished recording a podcast episode for … wait for it – MY PODCAST coming out in the New Year (EEEEE – Stay tuned!) and had a few hours to kill. We were debating between going to get pedicures or making cookies and well, obviously cookies won!

I really do credit her for the success of these cookies. That’s what I love about collaborating though. You can optimize each person’s unique skills to make up something really freaking awesome. We worked on the base of the recipe together and as we taste tested it, we would each make suggestions of what we thought it needed. The tahini was totally Tab’s idea and I’m so glad it made its way in there.

Guys, these cookies are absolutely PERFECT for your upcoming holiday cookie exchanges! They’re actually perfect for any occasion, but I definitely had the holidays in mind when making them.

While we were getting our baking on, we were chatting about conventional cookies (aka cookies containing white flour, refined sugar etc) versus healthy baking and how we naturally prefer healthy alternatives.

I want to preface this by saying, I’m not about food shaming, but I am about doing things so you can feel your absolute best! There are times where I might, or you might, have a “conventional cookie” and that’s totally cool. But I personally know I feel a whole lot better when I eat healthier alternatives. And it’s not just in my head either – there are many reasons why someone might feel better after eating a healthy cookie versus a conventional cookie, such as:

1. Fibre – fibre can be found in common cookie ingredients, including oats, chia seeds, flax, nut butter as well as nuts and seeds. Fibre helps to not only fill you up, but it also helps to balance your blood sugar by slowing the release of glucose (sugar) into your bloodstream. That means you’re going to be preventing the energy spike and crash you get from a conventional cookie that contains white refined sugar and may not contain any fibre.

2. Fat – fat plays a similar role in the body as fibre when it comes to balancing blood sugar (and contrary to popular belief – fat doesn’t make you fat). You can find it in foods that contain nuts and seeds, nut butter and oils like coconut oil and olive oil.

3. High-quality, whole food ingredients – the great thing about these cookies is that you can probably pronounce all of the ingredients in them. Bonus: you probably already have them in your house! Choosing whole food-based ingredients is huge because it’s going to make what you’re eating, like a cookie, much more nutrient-dense and nourishing so it’s actually supporting your health.

Even choosing high-quality ingredients can make a difference. Making the switch from something like cocoa powder to raw cacao powder can come with a wealth of benefits. Heck, even switching from table salt to sea salt can make the world’s difference. To clarify, cocoa powder you may find in the yellow container or at bulk food stores, unless labeled as raw cacao powder, is roasted at high temperatures which means that many of the nutrients are destroyed. Raw cacao powder, on the other hand, has its nutrients intact and also acts as a great source of magnesium. Smell ya later, chocolate guilt (not that you should have had any to begin with).

These cookies are also gluten-free and dairy-free, which isn’t because that’s how I eat all the time, but more so most of the time because I know it makes me feel good when I do that. With that said, I am not especially sensitive to either (well okay, maybe when I have dairy-containing ice-cream … game over, if ya know what I mean! haha) so I will have gluten and dairy-containing foods from time to time. That’s just how intuitive eating works!

With that said, we did make these cookies gluten-free and dairy-free so as many people as possible could enjoy them despite their dietary restrictions. They are truly super delicious – rich, fluffy, moist and chewy.

Salted Chocolate Tahini Cookies

Makes 18-20 small cookies

Ingredients:

DRY INGREDIENTS

1 cup gluten free rolled oats
3/4 cup brown rice flour
¼ cup cacao powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt (+ a pinch to dress)
3/4 cup chocolate chips (we used Enjoy Life chocolate chips)

WET INGREDIENTS

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
3 tbsp tahini
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. If your coconut oil isn’t already in a liquid state, melt it on the stove top for 1-2 minutes. Let cool slightly before adding to wet ingredients.

4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out batter onto sheet to make small cookies. Make them a bit higher than you usually would for a cookie for more of a fudgy texture.

6. Dress with sea salt and bake for 7-8 minutes. When done cooking, place on cooling rack to cool before enjoying.[/directions]If you end up making them, please tag me on Instagram @rachelmmolenda and use #RealAssFood so I can see them!