Servings: 24 cookies
Preheat: 350
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Source: Dorie Greenspan
David’s favorite cookie – we made it for his 67th birthday.
Ingredients:
Sesame Crunch
1/4 C (40g) sesame seeds
2 Tbsp white sugar
2 tsp water
Cookie Dough
3/4 cup (102 g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (28 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (sift if there are lumps)
1/4 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup (63 g) tahini
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
1/3 cup (67 g) packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 large egg
6 oz (170 g) finely chopped dark chocolate (or 1 cup chocolate chips)
Directions:
Line 2 baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper. Preheat oven.
Sesame crunch.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat, or lightly butter the baking sheet, and place it near the stove. Measure out sesame seeds and place them near the stove. Sprinkle granulated white sugar in the bottom of a small heavy skillet (non-stick is great here), then drizzle it with water. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and allow the sugar to come to a boil. Continue cooking, swirling gently 1 or 2 times to make sure all the sugar is incorporated, until it starts turning color. Once it is pale golden in spots, gently stir it with a silicone spatula until it is evenly amber in color (this will happen quickly, so don’t turn your back), then add the sesame seeds and stir to coat. Once coated evenly in the caramel, scrape the mixture out onto your prepared baking sheet, spread it as thinly as you can manage (don’t worry if it clumps) and let it cool completely. Once cool, finely chop the sesame crunch (you want pieces no larger than a pea) and set aside.
Cookie dough
Whisk the flour, cocoa, and baking soda together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, tahini, both sugars, and salt. Cream together on medium speed for 2 minutes until creamy and pale in color, scraping down the bowl a few times to incorporate everything. Add egg and cream for another minute or so, again scraping down the bowl.
With the mixer off, add the flour-cocoa mixture all at once and stir on low speed until the dry ingredients are almost but not quite combined. Pour in the chopped chocolate and the chopped sesame crunch, and mix until the dry ingredients have disappeared and the chocolate and sesame crunch are evenly distributed. Give the dough, which will look like frosting, a few turns with a spatula.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out level portions of dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2″ between each cookie (they will spread in the oven!). Bake in the preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back half-way through baking, until the edges are just set. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then move to a rack.