• recipes
    • small plates
    • large plates
    • sweets
    • baking
    • salads and soups
    • breakfasts
    • pantry staples
    • drinks
  • about
  • contact
Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Chocolate tahini cookies

November 4, 2016 by Ania - 40

chocolate, easy, gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-freego to recipe

go to recipe

chocolate tahini cookies

As many of you know I live on a small Greek island called Paros. This year the wonderful Greek climate has been fighting against the chillier autumn weather and we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy warm and sunny weather… until now. As soon as November arrived, the days got shorter and we are starting to remember what it feels like to be cold. We’ve even had to start doing crazy Northern European things like wear socks and warm slippers.

The cat, who spent all of summer prowling outside and sleeping face down on cool marble floor tiles is sneaking up to our bed to sleep during the day. Autumn chill has officially arrived.

Two months ago the idea of a hot cup of tea would have brought cries of “are you kidding?!?” resonating throughout the household, but now hot tea seems like a wonderful idea. And what better accompaniment to tea than a nice biscuit?

So, taking all this into account, I decided to take one of my favourite recipes of last year, my tahini cookies, and elevate them by making them into chocolate tahini cookies. What biscuit isn’t made better by the addition of chocolate?

These cookies are unbelievably easy to make, require only 6 ingredients and taste soooo good. They are vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free so pretty much guilt-free too ๐Ÿ˜‰ .

PS: If you make these chocolate tahini cookies, donโ€™t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

chocolate tahini cookies top down

chocolate tahini cookies tray

chocolate tahini cookies close

snatching chocolate tahini cookies

5.00 from 7 votes
Print
  • makes: 16
  • prep: 15 min
  • cooking: 10 min

Ingredients

  • 120 ml / ยฝ cup maple syrup*
  • 90 ml / ยผ + 1/8 cup tahini**
  • 90 gr / 1 cup walnut halves, ground finely (approx. ยพย cup ground walnuts)
  • 135 gr / approx. 1 + ยผ cup buckwheat flour
  • heaped ยฝ tsp baking soda
  • 4 level tbsp / ยผ cup cacao powder
  • fine sea salt (optional)
  • white sesame seeds to decorate (optional)

Method

  1. In a bowl, whisk up maple syrup and tahini until fully combined and there are no lumps in your tahini.
  2. Mix in ground walnuts until fully combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine sifted flour, baking soda and cacao powder. Add it to the tahini mixture in 3 batches. The mixture will be thick and sticky so it’s best to use your hands. (If you’ve swapped buckwheat flour for a gluten flour, be careful not to overmix the dough as the cookies will come out hard).
  4. Weigh the dough and divide it into 16 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and dip it in a plate of sesame seeds mixed in with a bit of salt (if using), press the ball down with a bottom of a glass to create a ยฝ cm thick 5 cm (2 in) diameter disc.
  5. Once you get all the discs coated in sesame seeds, put them into the fridge for about 40 min. 30 min in, pre-heat the oven to 175ยฐ C / 350ยฐ F.
  6. Bake in a hot oven for 10-12 mins. Remove the biscuits from the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely before eating. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

*These cookies aren’t overly sweet. If you want them sweeter, add 2 tbsp of sugar (coconut or cane sugar, for example) to the dry ingredients before incorporating them into the tahini and maple syrup. You could also add more maple syrup to increase the sweetness but then you’ll need to compensate with a bit more buckwheat flour for the dough to have the consistency of play dough.

**If your tahini has separated, make sure you stir the oil back in before using it in this recipe.

This recipe is based on my previous recipe for tahini cookies.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
SHARE
greek fava vegan
Previous:
Greek fava with caramelised onions
Next post:
Vegan khao soi soup
vegan khao soi soup top down

get a sweet e-book

on joining our mailing list

Iโ€™d like to receive new recipe emails and a link to your free e-book.
(By submitting this form you agree to our privacy policy.)
This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

You may also like

healthy chocolate muffins side

Healthy chocolate muffins

vegan oat cookies macro

Vegan oat cookies with chocolate and peanut butter

chocolate nut bars side

Chocolate nut bars with salt

vegan chocolate cookies single

Vegan chocolate cookies (2 ways)

    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Maria says

    November 4, 2016 at 12:44 pm

    Is it possible to replace buckweat flour?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 4, 2016 at 1:11 pm

      Hi Maria,

      Depends which flour you have in mind…I’m pretty sure rice flour and oat flour would work fine, for example. If you want to use wheat flour, you’ll need to incorporate the flour very gently as otherwise you’ll activate gluten and the cookies will end up tough.

      Hope that helps,

      Ania

      Reply
  2. Sita says

    November 8, 2016 at 5:01 pm

    Hi Katie,

    My cookies came out really, really dry and I followed the recipe. They would have had good flavor but were almost too dry to chew.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks,
    Sita

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 8, 2016 at 5:07 pm

      Hi Sita,

      Hmm, I’m not sure, they are soft cookies but certainly shouldn’t be dry. Did you use exactly the same flours and amounts as I did? When you were forming the cookies was your mixture like play-dough or crumbly? Did you use raw cocoa or cacao?

      Ania (not Katie, btw ๐Ÿ˜‰ )

      Reply
  3. Fanny says

    November 17, 2016 at 5:45 pm

    yummm!! I love chocolate and Tahini ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 17, 2016 at 7:13 pm

      That makes two of us ๐Ÿ˜‰ Thanks for stopping by, Fanny!

      Reply
  4. Casey says

    November 19, 2016 at 6:19 pm

    These are adorable and sound simple and delicious!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 20, 2016 at 11:58 am

      Thanks so much, Casey! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  5. Eden Passante says

    January 12, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    These look SO good! Yum!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 12, 2017 at 8:58 pm

      Thanks, Eden! ๐Ÿ™‚ Ania

      Reply
  6. SG says

    February 13, 2017 at 9:38 am

    I made these and am obsessed! So delicious – such an interesting flavor and texture! I was wondering how long they will last if they were refrigerated? I want to give to a friend but not seeing for a couple days…

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 13, 2017 at 1:27 pm

      Hey Stefani,

      Thanks so much for kind words, I’m so pleased to hear that you liked them! I’m not sure how long they will last as nothing ever lasts long in my house (my boyfriend eats like a horse ๐Ÿ˜‰ ) but worth giving it a shot, for sure. x Ania

      Reply
  7. Laana says

    June 1, 2017 at 11:06 am

    Delicious ! Turned out great ( soft as promised) even though I had only tahini and raw cocoa at hand and had to substitute all the rest: I used honey instead of maple syrup, ground almonds and oat flour. Nearly finished them all myself , will definitely make again! Love your blog! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      June 1, 2017 at 11:40 am

      Aw, thanks so much Laana! I’m so pleased to hear that you liked them ๐Ÿ™‚ and THANK YOU for taking the time to leave a nice comment!! Ania

      Reply
  8. leatinosaure says

    August 13, 2017 at 8:44 pm

    I was sceptical so I did half a batch AND I SHOULDN’T HAVE because there will be nothing left for my friends tomorrow…
    Amazing recipe thanks a lot !

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 14, 2017 at 8:26 am

      ha ha, thanks so much, Lea ๐Ÿ™‚ Glad to gear you enjoyed them! Ania

      Reply
  9. Audrey says

    November 13, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Une belle rรฉussite, merci pour cette chouette recette !

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 13, 2017 at 6:15 pm

      Merci, Audrey! ๐Ÿ™‚ Ania

      Reply
  10. Jenny says

    February 3, 2018 at 5:50 pm

    have just made my second batch of these biscuits. Theyโ€™re really yummy, so thank you for the recipe! I didnโ€™t have enough maple syrup, so substituted with purรฉed banana. Seemed to work quite well ๐Ÿ˜€

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 3, 2018 at 6:20 pm

      Thank you, Jenny! That’s great to hear and great thinking about incorporating a banana in too! Ania

      Reply
  11. Marijo says

    March 25, 2018 at 3:00 pm

    Hi, When I read the recipe, I wondered that there is no fat, other than the one in tahini and the nuts, and when I read the message of Sita, I remembeted some experiences of my own, when cookies or other biscuits tasted dry, and they where without fat too, so I always thought that was the reason. Iโ€™d like to try those adding some vegetable oil or so. What do you think? Thanks for uour answer. Canโ€™t rate as I dis not yet try it out.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      March 25, 2018 at 7:11 pm

      Hi Marijo,

      Please feel free to adjust to your liking, but I cannot make any promises about the outcome, I’m afraid. Ania

      Reply
  12. Dips says

    July 22, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    Hi Ania,

    I was wondering If I could subsititute Maple syrup with Honey and Walnuts with Almonds and Gluten free flour. In the comments above I saw someone has substituted honey and Almond but not the Gluten Free Flour. Any Idea ?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 23, 2018 at 12:43 am

      Yes, I think it should work fine as buckwheat flour is also gluten-free by default (it may have traces of gluten through cross-contamination during processing unless GF certified) so I don’t see why an all purpose gluten-free flour would not work. Hope that helps! Ania

      Reply
  13. Talya says

    August 14, 2018 at 12:58 pm

    Thanks so much for the recipe! I have just tweaked it to use agave nectar instead of honey to suit my reactive hypoglycemia Iโ€™ve just put them in the oven and canโ€™t wait to try them!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      August 14, 2018 at 3:19 pm

      Thanks, Talya! I hope you’ll enjoy them!! Ania (PS: I don’t use honey either as it isn’t vegan)

      Reply
  14. Irene says

    September 6, 2018 at 11:29 am

    Very nice recipe. I mix maple syrup with maple butter. The cookies are delicious and healthy. Iam thinking of replacing maple syrup with honey next time.
    Thank you have a nice day!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      September 6, 2018 at 12:19 pm

      Thanks, Irene! I’m delighted to hear that you like it! Ania

      Reply
  15. Yasmeen says

    September 26, 2018 at 6:29 am

    Many thanks for the amazing recipe! I have made it several times already with different nuts too (walnuts and peanuts)
    I buckwheat flour is not available where I live so I use oat flour, I divided the dough into 24 cookies instead of 16 (because more cookies, right?), the result was incredible crispy cookies instead of soft, which is how I actually prefer my cookies ๐Ÿ™‚
    The first time to make it I felt it was not sweet enough for me, so the following times I eliminated the cocoa powder and increased the amount of flour a bit, it was a huge hit in my house.
    I plan on experimenting a bit more and try using date paste for sweetening as well.
    Love it!
    Yasmeen

    Reply
    • Ania says

      September 26, 2018 at 12:37 pm

      Thanks, Yasmeen! ๐Ÿ™‚ Glad to hear that the recipe has inspired you to experiment! Ania

      Reply
  16. wallace baisden says

    December 11, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    Killer recipe! I’m gonna swap coconut flour for the buckwheat flour. i think it will work.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 11, 2018 at 7:18 pm

      Thanks, I’m glad to hear that you liked it! Ania

      Reply
  17. Fareen says

    December 21, 2018 at 12:30 am

    Hey Ania!
    Iโ€™ve had these cookies from a Greek bakery (in London, UK) before and love them so really looking forward to making them myself. I was wondering if there was any substitute for the walnuts that might work because Iโ€™ve got a guest with a tree-nut allergy (she can only have peanuts, for example).

    Thanks in advance!
    Fareen

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 21, 2018 at 1:35 am

      Hi Fareen,

      I’m glad you are planning to making these and I hope they will hit the spot! As for the substitution, typically I would recommend almond meal for example, but in this case maybe finely ground sesame seeds or sunflower seeds would be your best bet. You could also try rice flour as it will make them a bit lighter too. They will be a bit different, but should work equally well. Hope that helps! Ania

      Reply
  18. Maria Anadi says

    February 24, 2019 at 10:19 pm

    May I use rice malt instead of maple syrup? And almonds instead of walnuts?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 25, 2019 at 2:28 pm

      Hi Maria,

      Yes, I am pretty sure that they will both work well too! x Ania

      Reply
  19. Suzanne says

    December 21, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    This looks so good! I’ve never tried this flavor combination before!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 21, 2020 at 10:40 pm

      Thank you, I hope you’ll enjoy them if you decide to try. Ania

      Reply
  20. Vanessa says

    December 21, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 21, 2020 at 10:41 pm

      Pleasure! About 5 days in a tin, I would say but they never last that long in my house. Ania

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Fields marked as * are mandatory
This form collects your name and email so that we can correspond with you and display your name and the content of your comment. Check out our privacy policy for more information.

I consent to having Lazy Cat Kitchen collect my name and email

Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
read more

Follow us on Insta

View on Instagram

Like us on Facebook

Lazy Cat Kitchen
Lazy Cat Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca.

Follow Us On Pinterest

Copyright © 2018 · Privacy Policy · Theme by Lazy Cat Themes · Logo by Sarah from The Small Object