Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Bars
Last Updated on May 4, 2020 by Priscilla
These gluten-free cookie bars have the best texture and are studded with tons of mini chocolate chips. The addition of tahini may be a first for some, but the tahini provides a perfect sweet and nutty addition to these bars!
I grew up eating plenty of peanut butter and almond butter, but didn’t buy a jar of tahini until I was 25. Sure, I had eaten hummus before, but I didn’t know what was in it (my Armenian grandmother would NOT be proud of me). Once I tried tahini on its own and incorporated it in homemade hummus and salad dressings, I was hooked. It’s such a wonderful and versatile ingredient that can be used not only in savory food, but sweets too! These cookie bars combine some of my favorite things – tahini, chocolate, and olive oil!
What is Tahini?
Tahini is a very smooth paste made from sesame seeds. In the same way peanuts or nuts can be ground up to make peanut butter or nut butters, the same can be done with seeds like sesame seeds.
Tahini is typically made from roasted sesame seeds and comes in two varieties: the most common tahini is made from hulled sesame seeds. That means the exterior tough portion of the sesame seed is removed before roasting. This type of tahini is light in color and usually mild. The other type of tahini that’s usually harder to find (but a favorite of mine) is whole seed, unhulled tahini. This means the entire seed (exterior and interior) are roasted and ground. Whole seed tahini is also much higher in calcium than its hulled counterpart
My favorite whole seed tahini is from Pepperwood Organics. I try to use the whole seed tahini when I can since it’s much higher in calcium than the other variety. It also has a bit of a darker and stronger flavor, so it really shines through dishes.
You can get tahini at almost every grocery store. Many grocery stores like Whole Foods, Kroger and Trader Joe’s all carry their own brands. Some of my favorites include Soom, Simple Truth Brand, and Whole Foods Organic.
What does Tahini Taste Like?
Tahini has a nutty flavor that can either taste sweet or a little bitter, depending on the variety or brand. In sweets, I find that its flavor is slightly reminiscent of peanut butter. As someone who no longer eats peanuts, tahini provides a really nice substitute! If you open your tahini and it tastes extremely bitter, there’s a chance it’s rancid, so always double check your expiration dates.
What if I don’t have Tahini?
I highly recommend using tahini for this recipe, but if you really can’t find any, you could try to substitute almond butter. I haven’t tried it for this recipe, but my guess is that it would be similar. You may need to increase the amount of olive oil slightly since I find tahini to be runnier than other nut and seed butters.
Making Tahini Cookie Bars
These cookie bars are super simple to make. You combine your wet ingredients, add in the dry ingredients, and pop the dough in the oven. I love how easy they are to make gluten-free, too! Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- salted butter
- tahini paste
- olive oil
- coconut sugar (if you don’t have coconut sugar, regular cane sugar should work)
- vanilla extract
- honey (any type of runny honey)
- eggs
- gluten-free flour (or regular flour if you aren’t GF)
- tiny bit of milk (I used nut milk but regular milk will work too)
- baking soda
- mini chocolate chips
First, you’ll combine softened butter along with your tahini paste, olive oil, honey, sugar, milk and vanilla. Next, you’ll add in flour (I love Vitacost’s gluten-free flour blend), baking soda, eggs, and chocolate chips. Mini chips work best for these cookie bars so that you get a bunch of chips in every bite.
The dough gets poured into a square baking pan and baked. When the cookie bars are done, you cut them up and they’re ready to eat!
Want some more sweet treats that are gluten-free? Try a few of these…
Gluten-Free Butternut Squash Olive Oil Cake
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cherry Scones
Now onto the recipe! Hope that you enjoy and have some fun baking!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Bars
Equipment
- large bowl
- whisk
- spatula
- 8"x8" baking pan
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Salted Butter (very soft)
- 1/2 cup Tahini Paste
- 2.5 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar
- 3 Tbsp. Runny Honey
- 1 Tbsp. Milk of Choice (I used nut milk)
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1.25 cups Gluten-Free Flour (I like Vitacost brand)
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda
- 2 large Eggs
- 2/3 cup Mini Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt the butter in a large bowl until it is very soft but not liquid. Whisk in the tahini, olive oil, sugar, honey, milk and vanilla extract.
- Slowly pour the flour and baking soda into the bowl and whisk as you pour. Whisk until just combined.
- Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and mix the eggs into the dough.
- Use a spatula to fold the chocolate chips into the dough.
- Line a 8”x8” pan with parchment and pour the dough into the pan. Use the spatula to spread out the dough so it’s even and smooth.
- Bake the cookie bars at 350 degrees for approximately 16-18 minutes. Allow the pan to cool before removing the bars from the pan and cutting them in squares.
This recipe looks so easy to make! I never would have thought to put tahini paste in cookies, but these look unreal – like big thick squares of chocolate chip cookies.