The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Tahini and Spelt.

Last updated on February 12th, 2024 at 12:44 am

Everyone loves a good chocolate chunk cookie recipe, right? Crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside, these sourdough chocolate chunk cookies are the ultimate crowd-pleaser. The tahini gives a wonderful nutty flavour and the chopped chocolate fills them to the brim with melty chocolatey goodness!

Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookie with Tahini Recipe Inspiration:

I was first introduced to chocolate chip cookies with tahini by my friend Bonnie Stern (you can find her recipe here). The combination of sesame and chocolate is very common and really amazing, but the pairing in cookie form is something I had never tasted before. After trying her cookies I set out to make a version using whole grain flour and sourdough. This formula for sourdough chocolate chunk cookies is adapted from baker David Lebovitz and you can find his recipe here.

What is Tahini?

Tahini is a paste or “butter” made from ground, usually toasted, hulled sesame seeds. On its own, it has a rich, nutty, and slightly bitter flavour, but it is a great versatile ingredient to elevate your cooking. It is typically used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and North African food dishes and is most commonly found in dips like hummus, salad dressings, and sauces to accompany both vegetarian and meat dishes. We love using tahini in this recipe because of its subtle flavour and its nutritional value. Tahini is a wonderful source of calcium, manganese, potassium, and phosphorus. It also has relatively high levels of protein which makes it a useful addition to vegetarian and vegan diets.

Ingredients and Their Functions:

Eggs:

For our family, quality and ethically sourced products are important. Over the years, we have developed great relationships with our local farmers and always choose Ontario fresh, free-range eggs. A great way to tell if your egg is fresh is to place the whole egg in a bowl of water and see if it sinks to the bottom. As an egg ages, the air pocket inside of the shell grows and the egg will eventually tilt upwards or float. Fresh eggs are rich in healthy fat, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. So be a good egg and choose fresh, local eggs when you can.

Fat:

The fat in the butter and in the tahini is necessary for giving the cookie a tenderness and wonderful flavour. The moisture from the fat also helps bind and hold the cookies together. We use 84% organic butter for these cookies and a single source Soom Tahini but you could substitute any butter (if using salted, drop the salt from the recipe) or another nut or seed butter as a substitute for the tahini.

Flour:

If you look up cookie recipes online you will find loads of different information about what flour to use in your cookies. Some call for bread flour, others all-purpose flour, and you can even find lots of heritage grain flour recipes. Our sourdough chocolate chunk cookies call for a blend of all-purpose, bread and freshly milled spelt flour. The whole grain spelt adds health benefits, as well as a lot of flavour. The bread and all-purpose are there to balance each other so that the dough has good gluten development without being overly tough.

Sugar:

Sugar plays an important role in your cookies. Sugar gives sweetness and helps with the structure of your sourdough chocolate chunk cookie. The brown sugar is good for moisture retention and texture, while the white sugar helps your cookies spread (as the sugar melts) and the colour due to caramelization during baking.

Chocolate:

While you can use chocolate chips in your cookies we chose Valrhona Caraïbe baking chocolate that we chopped into chunks. When you chop the chocolate for your sourdough chocolate chunk cookie, you get all sizes of chocolate laced throughout the dough, which gives you that gooey, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate experience.

Valrhona has been long considered the Cadillac of chocolates by chocolatiers and pastry chefs around the world. We consider this type of cookie a luxury treat, rather than a day-to-day staple so we opt for the higher quality (and yes more expensive) chocolate, but you do you.

Note: Valrhona Caraïbe chocolate is “A grand cru blend this chocolate is aromatic with a long finish, its fruity and barely sweet taste reveals the delicate flavours of almonds and roasted coffee.” – Valrhona-chocolate.com

Sourdough:

For this recipe, we are using a slightly overripe levain fed at 100% hydration. You can see in the video it is a little over-ripe for bread but perfect for the cookies. You can also use sourdough discard but keep in mind the consistency of your sourdough starter. If it is old and very liquid you may need to add a touch more flour to your sourdough chocolate chunk cookies.

What You’ll Need:

• Ingredient bowls
• Measuring spoons
• Digital scale OR cup measures
• Stand mixer with a whisk and paddle attachment OR a set of hand beaters.
• Spatula
• Silicone baking sheets or parchment paper
• Ice cream scoop

Baker’s Percentage:

Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Tahini and Spelt Recipe Card:

The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Tahini and Spelt.

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Matthew James Duffy
• Total Time: 0 hours
• Yield: 12 Cookies 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Everyone loves a good chocolate chunk cookie recipe, right? Crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside, these sourdough chocolate chunk cookies are the ultimate crowd-pleaser. The tahini gives a wonderful nutty flavour and the chopped chocolate fills them to the brim with melty chocolatey goodness!

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 103g AP Flour 
• 103g Spelt Flour 
• 3g Baking Soda 
• 41g Sourdough Discard 
• 62g Butter ( Room Temperatuer)
• 62g Tahini
• 82g Sugar
• 70g Brown Sugar 
• 62g Eggs
• 3g Salt
• 131g Dark Choco Chip 

For Topping

• Maldon salt
• Topping Chocolate (Chopped) 

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, tahini, and sugar.
4. Add the egg, then mix until fully combined.
5. Add the sourdough discard; gently mix it into the batter.
6. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt mixture, then mix it into the batter being careful not to over-mix the cookie dough.
7. Add the chocolate chips and mix them in just to combine.
8. Transfer the cookie dough to the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
9. Scoop the cookies (if weighing, I portion them into 60-gram balls) with a spoon and place them onto a Silpat or parchment paper–lined baking tray.
10. Bake the cookies for 12 to 13 minutes, then remove them from the oven and gently place a few additional chocolate chunks.
11. Put the cookies back into the oven for another 2 to 3 minutes and bake until fully cooked. The cookies should be golden brown but still very soft to the touch.
12. Sprinkle the top of the baked cookies with some sea salt flakes.
13. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for 3 to 4 minutes before removing them and placing them onto a cooling rack.

Notes

• You can substitute other nut or seed butters in place of the tahini. 
•  Once your ingredients are incorporated it is important to GENTLY mix in the chocolate to not over-mix.
• You can use only all purpose flour or substitute another heritage grain for the spelt. 
• While we prefer chopped chocolate chunks, you can use chocolate chips.
• For this recipe we are using a slightly overripe levain fed at 100% hydration.  

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 12-15 mins
• Category: Sourdough
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Baking

If you liked this recipe for sourdough chocolate chunk cookies, check out our recipes for Sourdough S’more Cookies and Sourdough Macadamia Nut and White Chocolate Cookies.