Happy Friday and LAST day of AK Cookie Week 2020! I hope you’ve been loving all of the cookie recipes this year as much as I’ve been loving your creations. Today, I’m bringing you a little some unique because you know I had to go out with a BANG. And of course because I’m the self-proclaimed #TahiniQueenie — ha!
You could say these cookies pretty much came to me in a dream and trust me, they’re out of this world delicious. Repeat after me: coffee tahini date chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies.
Yes, they’re a mouthful and yes, they’re going to change your life. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and everything you could want in a chocolate chip cookie except multiplied by a million amazing flavors. Let’s get baking!
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Ingredients you’ll need
These wonderful tahini oatmeal cookies use plenty of baking staples plus a few fun, unique add-ins to make them special. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, old fashioned rolled oats (do not use steel cut), baking soda, cinnamon and a bit of salt.
- Wet ingredients: salted butter for extra flavor, good-quality tahini (I use Soom), brown sugar, one egg, a bit of pure maple syrup and vanilla. Feel free to use my discount code ‘ambitiouskitchen’ for 10% your Soom Tahini order!
- Coffee flavor goodness: I highly recommend adding the instant coffee granules or espresso powder to give the cookies a hint of coffee flavor. It’s just the right amount – not overpowering! This is, however, optional.
- Mix-ins & toppings: good quality dark chocolate bar (or chocolate chunks), Medjool dates and a little fancy Maldon sea salt for sprinkling on top.
What makes these tahini cookies magical?
A few things that really make these tahini oatmeal cookies unique and out of this world:
- Tahini. Obviously tahini is the star here, and if you’ve never tried it, you must! It’s simply ground up sesame seeds, very similar to a nut or seed butter. It’s important to use a high quality tahini. I only use Soom Tahini in my recipes. Feel free to use my discount code ‘ambitiouskitchen’ for 10% your Soom Tahini order!
- Salted butter. Yes, salted butter = more flavor! Trust me.
- A little pure maple syrup for flavor + moisture. Besides brown sugar, you’ll need a tablespoon of maple syrup to create a nice sweet flavor and extra moisture. Honey will also work, but I LOVE maple syrup in these.
- Coffee + dark chocolate: truly a match made in heaven. Don’t skip either, it’s what takes these cookies to the next level!
- Dates: I love chewy, sweet chopped Medjool dates in these cookies. They pair perfectly with the tahini flavor and make it a little more interesting than your typical oatmeal raisin cookie.
Optional ingredient swaps
These tahini chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies are great for customizing and have optional ingredient swaps for other things you might have on-hand:
- Instead of Medjool dates you can also sub raisins, dried cherries or dried blueberries.
- Feel free to chop up a dark chocolate bar, or use chocolate chunks or chips. Whatever you have in your cupboard.
Can I make them gluten free?
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend a gluten free flour substitute in these cookies as I haven’t tested them, but feel free to let me know if you try these out with a gluten free flour. If you’re looking for a gluten free cookie, try one of these:
- The Best Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Grain Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Flourless Paleo Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies
- Damn Good Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Seven steps to tahini oatmeal cookie perfection
- Prep your oven. Preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix dry ingredients. Whisk them together in a medium bowl until they’re well-combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. Add the butter, tahini & brown sugar to your electric mixer and beat them until they’re combined. Then add your egg, maple syrup, vanilla & coffee and beat on low for one minute.
- Make your dough. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low until everything is combined.
- Scoop your dough. Use a medium cookie scoop to roll dough into balls, and place each ball on your prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake them! Bake these cookies for about 10 minutes until the edges are barely turning golden brown.
- Cool them! Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. This will ensure that they set nicely. Then sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy!
Can I make these without an electric mixer?
Yes! Feel free to mix the wet ingredients together by hand, slowly add the dry ingredients in, and mix again until they’re well incorporated. A great arm workout!
Tips for baking with dates
I absolutely love adding Medjool dates to baked goods, no bake treats and even smoothies (check out these amazing bars and this tahini date smoothie!) If you’ve never used dates in recipes before, it can seem a bit odd. But have no fear! Here’s are a couple of tips for using dates in recipes:
- Be sure to check your dates and remove any pits. You can do this by simply splitting it open and pulling the pit out of the center.
- If your dates aren’t nice and soft, I suggest soaking them in warm water for 5 minutes. Once you’re ready to use them, drain the water, chop the dates and toss them with ½ tablespoon of flour before adding to the recipe.
How to store tahini oatmeal cookies
Feel free to store these cookies in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days.
Can I freeze these cookies?
Yes! There are two easy ways to freeze these coffee tahini chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies:
- Freeze the dough: after you roll the cookie dough into balls, place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes. Once the cookie dough balls firm up, you can transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe bag or container. Cookie dough will keep well for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, simply bake cookies as directed in the recipe. You’ll likely just need to add a few extra minutes of baking time.
- Freeze baked cookies: wait for the coffee tahini date cookies to cool completely, then transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe bag or container lined with wax or parchment paper. I like to place them in a single layer to avoid any cookies breaking. Cookies will keep well for up to 2 months. Once ready to eat, simply thaw out at room temperature and enjoy.
More holiday cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cream Pies with Fluffy Peanut Butter Filling
- Soft Brown Butter Ginger Cookies with Lovely Lemon Icing
- Grain Free Chocolate Orange Pinwheels
- Death by Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Healthy Homemade Fudge Striped Shortbread Cookies
- Old Fashioned Iced Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
I hope you love these coffee tahini date chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Coffee Tahini Date Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup good-quality tahini (I use Soom)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional, but recommended: 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules or espresso powder
- For the mix-ins:
- 5-6 ounces good quality dark chocolate bar, coarsely chopped (about 1 heaping cup chocolate chunks)
- 6 large Medjool dates, chopped* (or sub ½ cup raisins or dried cherries!)
- For topping:
- Fancy Maldon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add in softened butter, tahini and brown sugar; mix on medium high until well combined, about 1-2 minutes. Switch mixer to medium low speed; add in egg, pure maple syrup, vanilla and instant coffee; beat for 1 minute or until well combined, smooth and creamy. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Next add in the chocolate chunks and chopped dates; mixing until well incorporated.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to grab the dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Place dough on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches apart between each dough ball. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just barely golden brown. A slightly underbaked cookie is always best so they stay nice and chewy!
- Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack. This allows them to set up a bit and harden slightly around the edges. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 20 cookies. Sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
103 comments
Can I substitute vegan butter for the salted butter and vegan egg replacement for the egg?
I haven’t tried it, but let me know if you give it a shot!
Would it change consistency if I dropped the dates/raisins or cherries? It sounds so good but not a fan of those mix ins!
Nope feel free to leave them out!
These are delicious! I made them exactly as written except that I used Bob’s Red Mill GF flour. They came out beautifully and oh so yummy! Thank you!
I’m glad that worked out well! So delicious 🙂
These look so good.
Can I substitute the brown sugar for coconut sugar? Thanks!
Oh yah, I also subbed coconut sugar for the brown sugar and reduced it by a quarter. It turned out just fine to my taste!
Yes that should work!
These are amazing! I will probably use less chocolate next time, and I added extra coffee. SO. GOOD. A new favorite recipe sure to be revisited soon.
So glad you loved them!!
These cookies are delicious! I made a double batch so I could freeze some dough and bake some right away. I used a combination of unsalted butter (added an extra 1/4 tsp of salt), ghee and coconut oil. I also added. 1/4 c of brewers yeast for some added nutrients. Lastly I added allll the mix ins (choc chips, dates and walnuts). Texture is soft and a little crumbly- Yum!! Thank you for this tasty recipe!!
Perfect! I’m glad that all worked out well 🙂 such a great treat!
I love the coffee flavor, oatmeal and chocolate chunk combination! I didn’t have dates and used dried cranberries and it worked well! It was my first time using tahini and I’m a fan!
Perfect! So glad you loved them!
Great recipe! Love the addition of the tahini!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Finally got to make these, they are one of the best cookies I’ve ever had!! So many good complimentary flavors going on
So glad you loved them!
Oh my these are delicious! Probably one of my new favorite cookies. I really love dates and tahini and adding them to a cookie is so creative! Also the espresso powder is a must
GLad you loved them!
Very good! Mine came out more chunky (photos look more flat). I’ll say that there’s no way I could’ve used half a cup of chocolate chips!! I felt like half a cup was stuffing these cookies already hahaha and more than 6 dates could totally be used in my opinion. Yummy and very intricate, unique concept. Thanks for sharing!!
Feel free to flatten them just a bit before baking! And I do love a super chocolate-y cookie 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
So much flavour jam packed into this cookie! They come out in the perfect shape and have a really unique flavour! Will def be making these again!!
Absolutely! Glad you loved them 🙂
A friend used this recipe and I tasted them— so good! I love the addition of dates and never would’ve thought to put tahini in a chocolate chip cookie but it works!
Abolutely! Such a great dessert 🙂
Is there nutritional information for this recipe?
Hi! Loved the taste of these so much, however I found my dough to be very crumbly and hard to stay together when forming into the balls and they didn’t flatten out at all like in the pictures… I had double checked to make sure I had followed the recipe correctly too. But great flavour combinations regardless!
Oh no, I’m so sorry you had this issue. May I ask what kind of tahini you used? I always use Soom!
Another cookie winner! This was so flavourful and unique! Don’t skip out on the espresso powder, tastes so good with it. My cookies didn’t rise as much as yours, though, do you have any tips for that? I followed instructions and when I rolled my cookie balls they were quite fluffy and light feeling.
Thanks!
Hmmm double check your measurements and try again! Or you can always add in 1/4 cup more oats if you prefer a thicker cookie.
Incredible! Thank you!!
Glad you loved them!
I was excited to experiment with tahini and this recipe knocked out of the park! I used an “instant espresso” that gave the cookies such an amazing flavored paired with Theo’s dark chocolate sea salt and dates. Would 100% make again as it is such a unique cookie recipe!
SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS – this has become a staple in our home when we have lots of dates to use up
I tried this recipe yesterday. I used Lior tahini and substituted dulce de leche for the maple syrup. I also used caramelized white chocolate which I thought brought out the coffee and tahini flavor so nicely. Reading the recipe, I thought a tablespoon of espresso power was wildly excessive and was worried it would ruin the flavor but I used the full amount and was surprised it blended so nicely with the other flavors and didn’t taste bitter at all. It was soooo good.
However I had the same issue others did with the dough being crumbly and not spreading. I had to completely flatten out the cookie balls before putting them in the oven because there was literally zero spread. I assume this is because I chilled the dough for several hours before baking and figure the oatmeal soaked up all the moisture, which is what oatmeal tends to do. If I do the recipe again I may add another egg as a binder and possibly increase the amount of wet ingredients, as I like to chill my cookie dough before baking.
Hi! SO happy you enjoyed them 🙂 Love those additions! And yes chilling the dough will definitely make them spread less; sometimes I let them come back to room temp after chilling so that they can spread more. Excited for you to make them again!
I just realized that the dough was also probably too dry and crumbly because I didn’t include the chopped dates, which probably add moisture to the dough.
Ahh, got it. Possibly! Hope they spread better next time 🙂
I tried this recipe yesterday. I used Lior tahini and substituted dulce de leche for the maple syrup. I also used caramelized white chocolate which I thought brought out the coffee and tahini flavor so nicely. Reading the recipe, I thought a tablespoon of espresso power was wildly excessive and was worried it would ruin the flavor but I used the full amount and was surprised it blended so nicely with the other flavors and didn’t taste bitter at all.
Sorry…..I meant to post that as a comment and not a reply, and didn’t mean to double post…
I would love to see these with a gluten free flour mixture! They look awesome.
These are delicious. You can really taste the coffee flavor with the 1 tbsp of espresso powder. I used sweet cream butter with some extra salt instead of salted butter and they turned out great. For the mix ins, I used deglet noor dates and chocolate chips—I’d consider adding pecans next time. I feel like these would be great with extra crunch!
Absolutely! Sounds amazing!
Can we use almond flour instead of all purpose flour?
I wouldn’t recommend it – sorry! Check out the full post for more cookie recipes to try using alternative flours.
These look great, but I don’t have salted butter – how much additional salt (additional to the 1/4 tsp) should I add?
They’ll be just fine without extra salt 🙂
These were incredible! The sea salt on top made them extra special. The richness from the chocolate paired with the chewiness from the dates is such a good combination. Also they came out looking like professional cookies. Super fluffy! Highly Recommend!
Love that! One of our favs, too 🙂
This is a delicious cookie!! So yummy with the addition of coffee and tahini!! I was out of egg so I had to use flax egg. My dough seemed a bit dry—not sure if I had something added wrong so I added about a TBS of almond milk and it worked perfectly. I only added in chocolate chips but I bet dates add another layer of goodness. These are super YUMMY!!
Hmm the flax egg could’ve dried the dough out a bit, but I’m glad the extra milk worked out well! Perfect treat 🙂
I am an absolute chocolate chip cookie snob, and these are my go-to recipe. I’ve even subbed the all purpose flour for chickpea flour and they were still perfect. 10/10
Amazing! I’m glad the chickpea flour works out well, too!
These cookies are delicious! I had made them a few months ago and had the craving for them again today. They did not disappoint! The oats & dates make the little treats seem so healthy. Thanks for sharing such awesome recipes. I’ve made several of your recipes and enjoyed every one.
Love it! Glad you enjoyed!
What a fun option to a traditional oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. These are great! I don’t like coffee, but I like a little coffee flavor in some cookies, so I used half of the espresso powder. I could taste the coffee, but it wasn’t obvious to my coffee-drinking husband. I love the dates, and would use more of them the next time and cut back on the chocolate. I used a #50 scoop and made 36 cookies.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Replaced maple syrup with honey (the only thing i had at home) and didn’t add coffee, but they were delish and I already baked them a couple of times. I also added in pecans and they tasted great
Perfect! Such a great treat 🙂
Love these cookies! The only thing I did different was add some extra coffee to the recipe because I love a strong coffee flavor. Great recipe!
Love it! Glad you enjoyed!
GREAT cookie!! The first time I made them I feel like I chopped the dates too small. I personally like to taste the dates and like them in bigger chunks! So yummy
Perfect! So glad you love them!
Turned out very crumbly, dry, and more of a baked granola type of texture rather than a cookie. Not sure what happened in the process that make them turn out so differently from the pictures, but was pretty disappointed with this recipe. Also can’t actually view the ratings or other comments, so can’t see if others had this issue with the recipe
sorry you had that issue. May I ask what kind/brand of tahini you used? Many people LOVE this cookie recipe and have had great success so I’m surprised they would turn out crumbly given the ingredients and measurements! Let me know so I can help troubleshoot 🙂 Also, if you click “Show Comments” below the recipe you’ll be able to see everyone’s comments!
I’ve made these twice now and the second time I left the dates a little bigger and put in walnuts. To say the least, they were devoured! I delivered some to some family and they have all asked for the recipe 😂
So happy they were a hit! One of our favs, too 🙂
THESE ARE SO GOOD! Some of the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever eaten. I’m just pondering why my cookies ended up not spreading as much as yours. They came together easily and have great chewiness in the center, but they spread maybe about half an inch all around and came out with these high mounds. I keep trying to recall if I accidentally added too much flour or oats, but then again the cookies weren’t dry or crumbly at all. This never happened to me before.
So glad you loved them! Hmmm it may have been if there was too much of a dry ingredient, otherwise try gently pressing down on the tops next time.
Made them vegan by swapping out the butter for vegan butte, the egg with a flax egg (2 tbsp of ground flax mixed with 6 tbsp of warm water) and dairy free chocolate chips. They turned out so good my parents couldn’t tell they were vegan. Such a good cookie if you are looking to switch up the regular chocolate chip cookie.
So glad to hear those swaps worked! Glad you guys enjoyed them 🙂
Thnks for tge receipe but may i ask why to add all this amour of sugar and maple??? As far as dates and chocolate can five enough sweetenest, if i skip them will it still taste good??
I like a sweeter cookie, and wouldn’t recommend leaving out the brown sugar, since it would really change the texture of the cookies. These Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies have less sugar, so they might be a better option for you!
Made these for 2 baby showers and they are always a hit!! So many complimentary flavors. Don’t forget the coffee and maldon salt!
Really interesting flavour combinations and the texture was just right, not too crunchy, not too soft! Mine didn’t flatten like the pictures so I would recommend flattening them before you cook them. Also I would add a tad more coffee as I didn’t really notice the coffee flavour come through.
So glad you enjoyed them, Lorna! And good to know about the flattening + coffee. Good call to do both!
These didn’t hold their shape for me. Still tasted great! Wish I knew what to change…
Hi! Do you mean they flattened out? Did you follow the recipe/instructions precisely?
Wow very good cookies. They taste great so good we could say if there was a coconut used. I did not have tahini. I did not even know what that was…I did have some sesame seed that I reduced to powder with coffee grounder. It still came out perfectly delicious. I will keep this recipe as one of the favorites for my family.
Glad to hear that worked well and that you guys love them!
This is the absolute best cookies recipe I have EVER made!!! It has become a family favorite and I think it is going to become our official family cookie recipe. It has all of our favorite things….coffee, oatmeal., tahini, dates, and chocolate. 🙂
T
OMG! These are amazing! I used gluten free flour and for half of the cookies, substituted white chocolate and macadamia nuts for the chocolate/walnuts. They were all yummy!
Nice — love those subs! I’m so glad you loved them!
Excellent!!! So glad to have found this website!!
Yay! Happy you loved these, Rondi! And glad you’re here 🙂
It’s delicious
These are fantastic!!! I followed the recipe exactly with the addition of chopped pistachios. They are so wonderful! They have a great texture and better flavor. Thank you!!
Oooh I bet pistachios would taste amazing in here! Such a good idea 🙂 Glad you enjoyed these!
These cookies were so delicious! Followed recipe exactly. We may add more dates and less chocolate chips next time because we love the taste of dates, but there’re is no need to adjust the recipe because it is perfect as is for all bakers trying this recipe for the first time. Thanks for the recipe; it’s a keeper! 🍪
Has anyone replaced the tahini with almond butter?
I haven’t tried it! It might work but the texture might be slightly different.
I have made this recipe multiple times. Absolutely fantastic as written!
Tonight I was craving a chocolate oatmeal cookie but was missing the tahini… only had a jar of Soom salted dark chocolate tahini which I used but tweaked the salt & sugar to account for what was in the chocolate tahini. Added dried tart cherries & pine nuts. Unbelievably decadent treat. Adding them to my holiday cookie list!
Thank you. I appreciate the creativity and inspiration you share.
Yay! I am so glad that you are loving this recipe ❤️
Delicious! I love how the tahini balances the sweetness of the chocolate. I didn’t use dates. I did use a heaping tablespoon of instant coffee, which really gave the cookies a punch. I chilled my dough for 30 minutes because I wanted thicker, chewier cookies. So good!
Perfect! Such a great treat.
I made these cookies exactly as-is and didn’t have any issues with dough or cookie texture (I did flatten a bit before baking), but I really do not like the taste of these and 3 of the 4 people with me also weren’t fans. I love the flavors of coffee, chocolate, dates, and tahini separately but together I found the dough and cookie to be too bitter and really unpleasant. I love Ambitious Kitchen’s other cookie recipes and will make any of those next time!
So delicious! I will definitely be making these again. I didn’t add coffee because my kids were eating them. They were still amazing, but I can imagine coffee would take them to the next level.
Oh absolutely, but I am so glad you and the kids enjoyed these cookies. Next time you can make a special batch, just for you with the coffee 😉
I put the cookies onto a baking sheet and put in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking and the cookies do not flatten with baking.
YUM! So glad these turned out great for you, Cara!