It’s often assumed that as a Nutritionist I must also be an avid recipe creator…but I’m not. I’m really really not. Except with cookies, cookies are my jam.
Many popular nutritionists create tons of amazing recipes. I visit their sites often for inspiration, they’re really good at what they do! But…being a Nutritionist has (almost) nothing to do with their recipe skills.
Creating recipes isn’t taught in most nutrition schools. Our time is spent learning the practice of understanding our clients and finding the most direct road to health (this is also my jam :). This has nothing to do with cooking or recipe creation.
But, most nutritionists are also foodies and spend hours in the kitchen (or take many courses) to learn this skill. I’m not a foodie, that’s not the kind of nutritionist I am. I’m a different kind of nutritionist :).
Ya know, this is a very weird intro to my new and most favourite recipe…
I wanted to give you a bit of background on my recipe creating skills and why my blog isn’t chockfull of recipes.
Instead - I share with you any creations that are so good that I need to share them. And, my recipes are usually very flexible. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of cook and my recipes are created in that style. This means you can be flexible too! They work as they are and you can adjust the ingredients to your heart’s desire and they should work out :)
I’ve spent almost 6 months on this recipe and I’ve eaten so many yummy cookies! The recipe has been really good for quite a while but with each iteration, I’ve felt that there was something that needed to be tweaked. That is, until about 2 weeks ago. Now it’s done ❤️.
I’ve shared this recipe with a few clients and the reviews so far have been stellar. But, truthfully, it’s my favourite cookie and I want to share it with you :).
This cookie was inspired by Joyous Health’s Tahini Cookie. It’s a really good one too and I highly recommend it. I’ve made enough changes that this is its own cookie now, but I wanted to give Joy lots of credit because tahini cookies are SO GOOD and without her, I never would have created this one.
Tahini makes a great base for a cookie because it binds the ingredients and keeps them nice and chewy. The flavour is kind of nutty and has its own sweetness. Plus, tahini is chockfull of nutrients (B1, B6, and a bunch of minerals).
The brand of tahini you buy does affect the flavour of the cookie because you use so much. I’ve used “New World”, “Nut’s to You”, and “Nuttin’ But Spreads” brands and they all make great cookies. My favourite is ”Nuttin’ But Spreads” brand.
Let’s get on with the deliciousness, here’s the recipe:
Chocolate Tahini Cookies
Ingredients
6 tbsp tahini paste
1/3 cup real maple syrup
2 tbsp of cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp of sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1-1/2 cups large flake oats
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the tahini, maple syrup, cocoa, vanilla, sea salt, and cinnamon together until well mixed.
Add the oats and mix well
Add the chocolate chips and mix well
Wet your hands (so the mixture doesn’t stick to your hands). Grab a heaping tablespoon or so of the mixture and press it together with your hands. Place on the baking sheet and flatten a bit. Repeat until the mixture is done.
Bake for 10 - 12 mins, cook less for chewy cookies.
Makes 10 - 12 cookies
Notes:
If the mixture isn’t sticking together well, add a bit more tahini and mix.
If the mixture was sticking together but suddenly started to fall apart…your hands may be too dry and the mixture is sticking to them. Wet your hands every 3 or 4 cookies.
You can replace the tahini for any nut butter. A few times I haven’t had enough tahini for a batch and added some unsweetened peanut butter. It was delicious!
Feel free to add whatever you’d like to this recipe, but you may need to adjust the tahini to ensure everything sticks together. ❤️
Let me know what you think in the comments below!