Whiteley Creek Homestead

These are seriously the best guiltless chocolate chip cookies you've ever sunk your teeth into. Well, maybe not guiltless… but moreso than the typical recipe. One of the ingredients is tahini, which is a paste made from ground sesame seeds that has the consistency of peanut butter. I cut the sugar content in half and they are perfectly sweet. The original name of the recipe that I got off the EatingWell web site was oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but I renamed it tahini choco chip oatmeal cookies because tahini plays such a major role that I thought it should be given center stage recognition.

Tahini Choco Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup all-purpose flour (I use Gold n White or white whole wheat.)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ cup tahini

4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used 2 tbsp butter + 2 tbsp applesauce.)

2/3 1/3 cup raw cane sugar

2/3 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 tbsp tsp vanilla

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips since I reduced the sugar.)

½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheet with natural unbleached parchment paper. Whisk oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat tahini, butter, and applesauce in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended into a paste. Add sugar; continue beating until well combined; the mixture will still be a little grainy. Beat in egg, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the oat mixture with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by tablespoon onto parchment paper. Bake until golden brown, about 16 minutes. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.