Chocolate Sesame Cookies

These cookies were inspired by a recipe for Crunchy Sesame Cookies from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2008, page 390.  When I was first experimenting with this recipe I was using cup measures.  After seeing my cookie-recipe-testing husband come up with such variances in his flour and sugar measures, I decided to switch to weight for consistency.  I have included both weight and volume in the recipe, but recommend going by weight if possible.  If you give 'em a try, I would love to hear how they turn out for you!

Dry Mixture:

75 grams light spelt flour (2/3 cup - stir to fluff it up then spoon flour into cup)

75 grams brown sugar (1/3 cup tightly packed)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon arrowroot starch

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

a small pinch of cayenne

1/8 teaspoon salt

Wet Mixture:
3 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons non-dairy milk

2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil

2 tablespoons mild/light-flavored molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix-Ins:
1/4 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Coat baking tray lined with parchment paper or a coating of non-stick spray.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients.  Add wet mix to dry and stir just until combined; fold in chocolate chips and sesame seeds.

Drop cookies onto baking sheet using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each, leaving 1 1/2-2 inches in between.  Bake for 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cookies to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.  Cookies will be soft right out of the oven but will set up after cooling and are chewy and chocolatey with a bit of a crisp edge.

I bake these in two batches and get 24-26 2.5" cookies total.

August 21, 08:  This recipe has been updated to include cinnamon, cumin and cayenne.  You can leave them out if you prefer, but they do add another dimension of flavor that I quite like!  Thanks goes to Kathryn of Limes & Lycopene for her suggestion to add spices!

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