Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my favorite kind of cookie: crunchy, dense, and tender all at the same time. Man, are they perfect. This particular recipe was adapted from a simple Pinterest search thanks to Chelsea’s Messy Apron and I’m so glad I was able to put my own spin on it and make it my way.

These often traditional cookies get a savory makeover with the addition of tahini paste. Tahini paste is made from ground sesame seeds; think of it as peanut butter’s fancy cousin that went to study abroad and came back with a whole new wardrobe and lifestyle. It can be found in the “ethnic” section of the supermarket aisle, typically near the coconut milk and other Middle Eastern or Asian items. I always keep it on hand for homemade hummus and stir-fries.

And I will say this: one trick to baking cookies that stuck with me after culinary school is the method of chilling cookie dough. For this particular recipe, it’s key for getting a tender and soft cookie; the oats soak up all of the excess moisture in the dough and the fat from the butter is able to get cold again, which will give you nice, crispy edges when you bake them. Allowing the dough to rest gives all of the ingredients some time to come together and get happy. You’ll certainly notice a difference after eating these.

Keep in mind, if you don’t want to make the entire batch in one go, I highly recommend to portion out all of the cookie dough and then freeze the pre-portioned balls that you want to have another time. I just freeze them on a plate and then pop them in a gallon-sized plastic zip-top bag once they’re solid. That way, whenever you want fresh cookies, you can just pop a few dough balls right out of the freezer and into the oven. Let’s get baking!

Oatmeal Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: about two dozen cookies

Cook time: 1 hour chill time, 15 minutes bake time

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tbsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp tahini paste

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Flaky sea salt, for garnish

In a large bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the butter, light brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. It should look like mushy, wet sand before adding the eggs. Next, add the eggs, one at a time, making sure they get fully incorporated. Then, add the tahini paste and vanilla extract and beat until combined, scraping the sides with a spatula or spoon as needed. You want this mixture to be nice and smooth before adding the dry ingredients.

Once the wet ingredients are beaten together, add the cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and old fashioned oats (a great way to do this is to put all of these dry ingredients in the same bowl for easy clean-up while you’re prepping). Beat on low speed to fully incorporate.

Once the wet ingredients and oats are mixed together, add in the flour in small batches and over low speed to make sure you don’t spill it everywhere. Mix until JUST combined being careful to not over beat the mixture (as photographed above). Remove from mixer and set aside paddle attachment. Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

The dough is going to be pretty sticky but don’t worry, the oats are going to absorb the excess moisture as it chills in the refrigerator. Cover and chill the oatmeal dough for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line your sheet pans with a silpat liner or parchment paper.

Roll out the cookie dough into balls (if you have a food scale at 1.7 ounces). If you don’t have a food scale, a heaping tablespoon should do you just fine. Depending on the size of your sheet tray, evenly space out the cookies in a grid (I did mine 3x3 since I did a small batch for myself for the week).

Bake for 5 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for another 10, watching the cookies carefully near the end of baking. They’re going to look a bit wet in the center but they will harden as they cool thanks to carryover heat.

When removing the cookies from the oven, gently slam down the cookie sheet on the counter or table to loosen up the cookies. This will also get out any trapped air in the cookie. Let the cookies stand on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before removing from the sheet pan. Add a pinch of sea salt to your cookies and enjoy!

¡Buen provecho!