These 3-Seed Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies are extraordinary, and I am SO excited to be sharing this cookie recipe with you today!

Table of Contents

• The Story Behind the Recipe
• Developing This Recipe for Tahini Seed Breakfast Cookies
• Ingredients
• Adaptations/Variations
• How to Make Tahini Seed Chocolate Chunk Breakfast Cookies
• Tips for Success
• How to Store
• Can I Freeze Tahini Breakfast Cookies?

• Jump to the Full, Printable Recipe
• Read Comments & Reviews

The Story Behind the Recipe

Every August for the past 10 years, our family has headed up to Salt Spring Island in British Columbia for a week of relaxation and fun. It’s the most gorgeous place, tightly packed with tall evergreens along narrow winding roads that open up to blue water vistas.

My kid is there for pretty much solely for a week in the lake at the center of the island, and to catch up with friends who return to the same place every year, too. But for me, one of the best things about Salt Spring is that it’s a straight-up foodie paradise.

One of the reasons for that is that there are farm stands along the sides of the roads everywhere, and in August, these stands are usually overflowing with the locals’ garden abundance.

While some farm stands are what you’d expect – a cart and a roof with maybe some eggs in an ice chest, flowers, a few squash and other vegetables – some are a full-on experience.

Last year, we discovered a huge covered farm stand tucked up a hill on the side of the road. Once we’d parked, climbed up, and picked out homemade cupcakes, we turned around and were greeted by the stunning blue of the bay below us. A long, rustic slab of wood served as a bar facing the view, with stools lined up underneath. We sat down, enjoyed our cupcakes, sipped coffee, and enjoyed the quiet and the scenery.

This past August, I decided to head out by myself late one morning to see what types of squash and other goodies I could find at the local farm stands. After a few stops, I entered the gate of Stowel Lake Farm, crunched up the gravel drive, and parked, then wandered up the flagstone path surrounded by flowers that are always buzzing with butterflies and bees. As usual, this farm stand had gorgeous plants, lots of produce, and a few baked goods.

And it was here that their Tahini Seed Cookies stopped me in my tracks.

There was one left. It was huge, glorious-looking, and mine. Forgetting about everything else, I tucked my four dollars into the honor slot, grabbed the cookie, and carried it back to my car. I quickly decided I was going to wait to find the perfect oat milk latte before I ate it, so I ventured down the road and, as luck would have it, found a coffee stand pretty quickly. They made me the most excellent latte, and I sat down at one of their umbrella-covered tables and dug into the latte and the cookie.

Ohmygosh. This cookie.

It was a vanilla-and-sea-salt-laced cookie PACKED full of seeds, a hint of cardamom and tahini, and a glorious chocolate chunk now and then.

I immediately knew I wanted to recreate these cookies at home, but there is no recipe like that out there – all I had to go on was the list of ingredients on the side of the cookie jar. Stowel Farm’s website mentions their popular cookies, but no recipe.

Soooooo … I set out to recreate this incredible seed cookie that I just had to have in my life year-round. And that’s how these Tahini Seed Chocolate Chunk Breakfast Cookies came to be!

I have to note that it took me awhile to realize that these tahini cookies are actually what’s considered to be a breakfast cookie. Which makes perfect sense because I have found myself grabbing one or two for breakfast – and felt great about it because of all of those glorious fiber-and-protein-and-omega-packed seeds. They’re excellent for a satiating snack, too!

Developing This Recipe for Tahini Seed Breakfast Cookies

I knew straight away that this was not going to be a normal cookie recipe. For one, these cookies clearly didn’t have any flour (and were labeled at the farm stand as gluten-free, too). But thankfully, the cookie jar at the farm stand listed the ingredients in the cookies (just not the quantities), so I had somewhere to start.

I stirred together some rolled oats with a bunch of seeds (sunflower seeds, pepitas [pumpkin seeds], and sunflower seeds), along with some dark chocolate chunks, vanilla, salt, and cardamom. Then I added what seemed like a good amount of tahini along with some honey.

The “dough” was not dough-like at all, but I persevered, scooping balls onto my baking sheet, then pressing them gently flat.

I shrugged and baked them, figuring it was going to be an epic fail.

I pulled them out of the oven, and they had actually puffed up a little and held together! From there, I let them cool all of the way on the cookie sheet.

Then I lifted one up, and it miraculously held together! I knew that the tahini and honey would act as a binder, but I was still floored that it actually worked. Better yet, the cookie was delicious!

I went through many iterations of this cookie before I settled on the recipe I’m sharing here today. This, in my opinion, has the perfect amount of vanilla and cardamom, holds together well, and tastes amazing!

The inspiration cookies had coconut, by the way, but when I tried adding coconut, the cookies suddenly had a moist quality that had them falling apart by day two. I didn’t feel like it added much to the flavor, so I continued developing the recipe without coconut. I have a hunch that toasted coconut flakes might work, though, I just haven’t tried it yet.

Ingredients

Okay, so what do we have in these little gems?

• Tahini – You want a runny, creamy tahini that you can stir together well so that it is nice and homogenous when you add it to your cookies.
• Honey – Any honey will work, use your fave.
• Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract is what I use. I want to try these breakfast cookies with vanilla bean paste or fresh vanilla bean but haven’t yet.
• Cardamom – Ground cardamom goes perfectly with the sesame taste of tahini and the mellow sweetness of the vanilla.
• Kosher salt & flaky sea salt – Kosher salt for in the cookies, flaky sea salt like Maldon for sprinkling over the top.
• Oats – I like to use thick rolled oats which I think stand up to the seeds well and add to the hearty quality of these breakfast cookies.
• Pepitas – Also known as pumpkin seeds, these green seeds are so good for you and just so good! I use raw, unsalted pepitas.
• Sunflower seeds – At the time I was testing this recipe, I had the hardest time finding raw sunflower seeds! So I used roasted, salted sunflower seeds. I’m sure raw sunflower seeds will work just as well.
• Sesame seeds – You’ll want raw sesame seeds. They’re found in the spice section of most grocery stores.
• Chocolate chunks – I like dark chocolate chunks for these tahini cookies, but you can use whatever chocolate chips or chunks you like.

Adaptations/Variations

• I plan to test this recipe with other nut butters and seeds/nuts, but haven’t yet. I suspect cashew butter/cashews will be lovely.
• Make ’em vegan: Honey is not vegan, but you can swap in pure maple syrup for a fully vegan version of these breakfast cookies.

How to Make Tahini Seed Chocolate Chunk Breakfast Cookies

I think you’re going to LOVE how easy these breakfast cookies are to make.

Preheat your oven, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grab a medium-sized bowl. Add the tahini, honey, vanilla, cardamom, and kosher salt to the bowl and mix it together until well combined.

Now, pile in all the seeds and the chocolate chunks. Stir until completely combined. The mix will be somewhat loose and will require a bit of muscle to get everything combined.

From there, scoop balls onto your baking sheet. I like to use a two-tablespoon cookie scoop.

Space them about two inches apart, and flatten them gently with your fingers. They’ll be a little fragile, just press the sides back in as you go.

I like to add a couple of extra chocolate chunks to the top of each cookie for presentation, but that’s totally optional.

Then, bake them until the edges are golden. Pull them out of the oven, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if you like, and let them sit until completely cool on the cookie sheet. They’ll adhere together as they cool.

Tips for Success

• Mix the wet ingredients together first. This helps to make sure all of the flavors of the vanilla, salt, and cardamom are evenly distributed.
• Let them cool completely on the baking sheet! This is where the magic happens – they bind together the rest of the way while cooling off.

How to Store

Store your tahini seed cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Can I Freeze Tahini Breakfast Cookies?

Yes! Not only can you freeze these tahini seed cookies, they’re absolutely delicious straight out of the freezer. Just keep them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to one month.

I hope you love this unique cookie recipe as much as we do! It’s been so fun to discover a new way to make delicious cookies that are so chockfull of good stuff that we feel good about eating them. AND after talking about them, I’m off to my freezer to snatch one up and eat it with my coconut creamer coffee! 🍪✌️

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Tahini Seed Chocolate Chunk Breakfast Cookies Recipe

Densely packed with seeds, dotted with chocolate, held together with tahini and honey and flavored with vanilla and cardamom. I LOVE these slightly sweet, full of flavor, seedy-in-the-best-way, healthy cookies!

Keyword breakfast cookies, flourless seed cookies, seed cookies, sunflower seed cookies, tahini cookies

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 14 minutes minutes

Servings 15

Calories 146kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup tahini mixed well
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raw unsalted pepitas
• 1/2 cup roasted salted sunflower seeds raw will work too
• 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup chocolate chunks or chocolate chips; plus a few more for topping if desired
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes for sprinkling on top; optional

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add the tahini, honey, vanilla, cardamom, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to a medium bowl. Stir together until completely combined.
• Add the dry ingredients except for the flaky sea salt, which you'll sprinkle on after they bake. Mix with a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined.
• Scoop rounds of the cookies onto your baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. I like to use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, and as I'm scooping, I really try to push the cookie dough together to help it stick together.
• With your fingers, gently press the edges of the cookie together while pressing down to flatten it. You might have a few errant seeds fall out; this is okay and normal! Just do your best to push it back into the side of the cookie.
• If desired, top each cookie with two or three more chocolate chunks.
• Bake for 10-13 minutes, until ever so slightly puffed and the edges of the cookie are turning golden.
• IMPORTANT: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet until completely hardened and cool, about one hour. They harden and stick together as they cool.
• Remove the cookies from the parchment and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days.

Notes

Total time does not include one hour cooling time. 

Storage & freezing notes

Store your tahini seed cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Not only can you freeze these tahini seed cookies, they’re absolutely delicious straight out of the freezer. Just keep them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to one month.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 8IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Tahini Seed Chocolate Chunk Breakfast Cookies appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

Table of Contents

• The Story Behind the Recipe
• Why Massage Kale?
• Massaged Kale & Chickpea Salad Ingredients
• How to Make Kale Chickpea Salad
  • First, Massage the Kale
  • Toss the Chickpeas in Dressing
  • Assemble the Salad
• More Kale Salad Recipes

• Jump to the full, printable recipe
• Read reviews and comments

The Story Behind the Recipe

See, I used to be unsure about the whole massaged kale thing – I mean, I’ve always liked unmassaged kale just fine.

But I’m doing this culinary certificate thing and one of the early assignments was to try kale three different ways: unmassaged, massaged with lemon juice and olive oil, and massaged with avocado.

Lo and behold, I had to admit that I really, really adore massaged kale salad – especially massaged kale salad with avocado.

Why Massage Kale?

Massaging kale takes care of a couple of things:

1. It breaks down the fibers, making it easier to chew and digest.
2. It takes away some of that bitter “green” taste that some kale-haters dislike.

A side benefit to massaging your kale salad is that you’re seasoning/dressing your salad at the same time you are massaging it. Win-win!

When you massage kale for salad, you add de-ribbed leaves to a large bowl along with a fat, an acid, and salt.

• Fat: Helps tenderize and coat the kale leaves
• Salt: Aids the tenderizing process
• Acid: Really helps break down those fibers.

Then, you squeeze, massage, and toss around the kale until tender and perfect!

Massaged Kale & Chickpea Salad Ingredients

This chickpea kale salad massages the kale with avocado, tops it with a simply dressed chickpea salad, and then it’s plopped with a few slices of avocado for good measure. Plus, I like a few sunflower seeds for crunch.

• Kale – I like curly kale for this kale chickpea salad, but any kale will do.
• Avocado – use half for massaging the kale, and the other half sliced on the salad.
• Lemon juice – some for massaging, some for dressing the chickpeas
• Salt & freshly ground pepper – some salt for massaging, plus, of course, loads of flavor!
• Chickpeas – One can or about 1 1/2 cups cooked
• Olive oil, dijon mustard, and pure maple syrup – To finish out the chickpea dressing. So good!
• Red onion – for a little pizzazz and color
• Sunflower seeds – I love a sprinkling of salty roasted sunflower seeds for crunch.

How to Make Kale Chickpea Salad

First, Massage the Kale

To massage your kale, strip out the ribs and tear your kale into bite-size pieces. Add to a large bowl along with the avocado, lemon juice, and a bit of salt.

And then, with clean hands, squeeze and rub and manhandle the kale until it’s reduced in size and tender. This process usually takes just a couple of minutes. 

Unmassaged (left); massaged (right)

Your kale enjoyed a nice little trip to the spa before you chomp it down. Massaging for the win!

Toss the Chickpeas in Dressing

Mix the chickpeas with the onion, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, pure maple syrup, and salt and pepper.

Assemble the Salad

Divide the kale between plates, top with chickpeas, and arrange the remaining avocado over the salads. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve!

More Kale Salad Recipes

I love kale salad! Here are a few more kale salad recipes on Kitchen Treaty:

• Lemon Garlic Kale Salad with Almonds – a wonderful salad with a make-ahead option
• Winter Kale Salad – super hearty, cobb-ish salad.
• Rainbow Kale Salad – so colorful!
• Kale Caesar Salad with Kalamata Caesar Dressing – love this one so much.

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Massaged Kale & Chickpea Salad

The 10-minute meal I can't stop making: Kale massaged with avocado then topped with a simple chickpea salad and more avocado. (More avocado is always a good thing, am I right?)

Course Salad

Keyword salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Calories 482kcal

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 medium ripe avocado halved, divided) (you'll massage half with the kale, the other half will be sliced for the salad
• 1 medium bunch curly kale rinsed, dried, and stems removed) (about 8 cups loosely packed
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice from approx. 1 medium lemon, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt divided
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1 1/2 cups cooked)
• 1/4 cup diced red onion about 1/4 medium onion
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons roasted salted sunflower seeds

Instructions

• Squeeze half the avocado out of its shell and into a large bowl. Mash with a fork. Add the kale, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. And, with clean hands, dig in! Squeeze and rub the kale until it's reduced in size and tender, 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
• To a medium bowl, add the chickpeas, onion, olive oil, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, Dijon mustard, pure maple syrup, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir until well-combined.
• Divide kale between three plates. Top with chickpeas. Slice remaining avocado and arrange on top of the salads. Sprinkle sunflower seeds over the top. Serve immediately.

Notes

You can make the chickpea salad ahead of time, but due to the avocado and the fact that it usually does not keep well, I recommend doing the massaged kale and avocado right before serving.

Meat option:

Top meat-eaters’ portions with some cooked, cubed chicken.

Vegetarian (dairy) option:

Top individual portions with 2 tablespoons each crumbled feta.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 541mg | Potassium: 1275mg | Fiber: 22g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 13526IU | Vitamin C: 139mg | Calcium: 432mg | Iron: 7mg

The post Massaged Kale & Chickpea Salad appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

Homemade granola has been a favorite thing of mine for ages, but I’d never really ventured into making homemade granola bars until I started whipping up these bad boys. Why, oh why did I wait so long? Rhetorical question – I’m not really sure. But I am definitely happy I finally started.

(more…)

The post Chewy Blueberry Sunflower Seed Granola Bars appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

I first heard of it a few years ago when my friend, whose daughter is allergic to peanuts, started sending Sunbutter sandwiches to school as a substitute for peanut butter. And because I’m being kind of a weenie about introducing nuts to my own child, I bought some Sunbutter to see how she liked it.

She loves it – and so do I. This Sunbutter hummus might be the first of several Sunbutter recipes you see around here, because it’s kind of got my wheels turning. Sunbutter oatmeal cookies? Sunbutter no-bakes? Sunbutter, cheddar, and apple tortilla wraps? I must try them all. And then some.

(Note: I realize it sounds like it, but this is not a sponsored post! The Sunbutter people know nothing of me. I’m just kind of obsessed with the stuff right now.)

This recipe is simply an adaptation of my favorite classic hummus recipe. Instead of tahini, I used Sunbutter. And then I sprinkled the top with salted, roasted sunflower seeds.

I loooove this hummus. It still tastes like the real deal, but the sunbutter and sunflower seeds give it an unmistakenly sunflower-seed vibe. We dip carrot fries into it, spread it on rosemary crackers, and use it as a sandwich or wrap spread. And my toddler has been known to just eat hers plain by the palm-full.

And because I’m using Sunbutter on so many other things, I’m much more likely to have it in the refrigerator than the tahini it replaces. Bonus!

More Hummus Recipes

• Simple & Easy Classic Hummus
• Pumpkin Hummus
• Big-Batch Make-Ahead & Freeze Hummus
• Loaded Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
• Jalapeno Black-Eyed Pea Hummus
• Green Hummus
• Olive Hummus
• Roasted Beet Hummus

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Sunflower Hummus Recipe

A twist on classic hummus, this recipe substitutes Sunbutter – sunflower seed butter – for the tahini.

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2 cups

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 can garbanzo beans aka chickpeas drained, liquid reserved
• 1/4 cup [url href=”http://www.sunbutter.com/products-creamy.php” target=”_blank”]creamy Sunbutter[/url]
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• Olive oil and salted roasted sunflower seeds for garnish

Instructions

• Add everything except the liquid from the garbanzo beans into your blender or food processor.
• Pulse, adding a tablespoonful of bean liquid at a time to help get things moving. Continue pureeing for a minute or so until completely smooth.
• Scoop into a bowl, top with sunflower seeds and a liberal drizzle of olive oil, and serve.
• Keeps refrigerated for 3 – 4 days.

The post Sunflower Hummus Recipe appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.