Healthy gluten free tahini chocolate chip cookies with bursts of citrus and spice in every bite. These delicious tahini cookies are naturally sweetened with coconut sugar, made perfectly crispy and chewy with gluten free oat flour and tahini, plus they’re dairy free and vegan optional! Make this one-of-a-kind cookie recipe right in one bowl for an easy, healthy dessert.
When I was working on the dessert section for my Healthier Together cookbook, I spent hundreds of hours trying to define what a “healthy dessert” meant. I eventually landed on mitigating the less positive elements of typical desserts: namely, the blood sugar spike and subsequent crash that creates a cascade of less than pleasant hormonal responses, like we learned in this episode of the Healthier Together Podcast. And, spoiler alert: these Cardamom Orange Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies check all the boxes for a blood sugar friendly dessert!
The best healthy dessert hack
Did you know that you can design cookies that actually support weight loss, hormone balance, energy, and mood? By infusing desserts with healthy fat, fiber, and protein, you blunt the negative health impacts of sugar. Does that mean I never eat “traditional” desserts? Hell no. I had two of my sister’s famous chocolate chip freezer cookies last night and they were oh so satisfying. For me, the point is understanding what’s going on, so I can make my choices with intention. When I say “healthy,” it’s a short cut for “I’ve spent way too much time thinking about the science of how this healthy cookie impacts the body, and I’ve designed the recipe to make you feel your absolute best in as many ways as possible, so you can just focus on enjoying the delicious flavor”. So yeah, “healthy” is shorter.
And these healthy tahini cookies are the perfect example of that. They’re incredibly delicious (the orange zest cardamom combo is utter heaven) and they’ll leave you full and satisfied. If you’ve never used medicinal spices in your baked goods before, listen to my Healthy Cooking Secrets episode on the Healthier Together podcast to hear my best spice secrets!
Everything you’ll need to make the best tahini cookies
- Tahini: creamy, ground up sesame seeds give these cookies the perfect texture without requiring any additional oil! Plus, this nutrient-rich seed butter is shown to help balance hormone levels and boost fat burning.
- Vanilla extract: obviously vanilla adds warmth, depth, and dessert-like flavor, but it also is a powerful antioxidant that’s researched for its depression fighting and anti-inflammatory benefits.
- Orange zest: I love the flavors of chocolate and orange together, and the orange zest brights a bright and zesty (literally) element to these chocolate chip cookies.
- Cardamom: this complex spice tastes both savory and sweet which adds to the uniquely amazing flavor of these tahini cookies. It’s also a medicinal spice used to treat digestive problems and diabetes!
- Fine grain sea salt: adding salt to these tahini cookies will make the flavors pop!
- Coconut sugar: we naturally sweeten these cookies with heart-healthy coconut sugar that adds a little something special and gives these cookies a complex, sweet flavor.
- Baking soda: helps these tahini cookies rise to become light and fluffy in texture.
- Egg: you’ll need just one pasture-raised egg to help these cookies bake properly, but if you’re vegan feel free to substitute for a flax egg!
- Chocolate chips: you could use chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or even chop up a bar of your favorite chocolate to mix into the cookie dough. If you’re vegan or dairy free, make sure your chocolate bar is too!
- Flaky sea salt: this balances out all the wonderful flavors in every bite. Maldon’s flaky sea salt is my go-to!
Can I make them vegan?
Yes! Simply use one flax egg in place of the regular egg in these tahini chocolate chip cookies.
How to make one bowl tahini cookies
- Mix the ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the chocolate chips and flaky sea salt. Once well mixed, whisk in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Form and bake. Spoon the cookie dough into 6 to 8 mounds (6 mounds for jumbo cookies and 8 mounds for regular size cookies). Top with flaky sea salt and press on any additional chocolate chips as desired. Then bake them up!
- Cool and enjoy. Let the cookies cool completely before enjoying!
More healthy desserts with cardamom you’ll love:
Obviously, I think you’ll be so obsessed with these Healthy Cardamom Orange Tahini Cookies that you’ll want to make them again and again. And I have a feeling you’ll fall in love with using cardamom more often in recipes, too. So, here are a few of my favorite recipes with cardamom to put that delicious spice to work:
Chocolate Cherry Cardamom Smoothie
Super Clumpy Cardamom Orange Creamsicle Granola
Honeyed Cardamom Berry Tartlets
Cardamom Pumpkin Waffles with Chai Spiced Maple Pecans
Cardamom Pistachio Rose Energy Balls
Watch it being made!
Enjoy, and tag me if you make these cardamom orange tahini chocolate chip cookies on Instagram (@lizmoody)—I can’t wait to see!
Print
Healthy Cardamom Orange Tahini Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted tahini (well stirred)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine-grain mineral salt
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pasture-raised egg (a flax egg works great too!)
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
- Maldon or flaky sea salt, to sprinkle (optional, but not really)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Stir together all ingredients except chocolate chips, until the batter is smooth.
- Add chocolate chips (I like to leave a few out to press on top!). Spoon into mounds, press on more chocolate, and top with flaky sea salt.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden at edges. Let cool on the pan before enjoying!! Makes 6-8 cookies. Enjoy!
