Cherry season is ending and I miss it already.
Fortunately, you can get dried cherries that taste amazing. No, their texture is nothing like the fresh ones, but the flavour is there and you can still pair them with their one true love: dark chocolate.
These cookies start with a tahini cookie base, which is similar to a peanut butter cookie, but they are nut-free and tahini happens to go oh-so-well with coconut (flour and oil). The tahini paste also holds together really nicely without gluten or starch, so you can keep things relatively low-carb and grain-free, if that’s your thing.
I love having something sweet after a meal, whether it’s a small piece of fruit or a bite of dark chocolate. To be honest, I always keep a big bar of extra-dark chocolate in my drawer for when cravings hit. It keeps me from going for the quickest sugar hit I can find. (It’s also nice to be that person with chocolate when your coworker is having a rough day.)
These low-allergen cookies make a great grab-and-go bite for work or school. You can throw one in your bag and for a treat after lunch. They’re also a big hit if you’re entertaining; so far, everyone who has tried these is a fan, and they’re safe for people with most dietary restrictions.
I recommend you go with a thicker tahini, like this one, so that they don’t fall apart. Initially, I made them with a runnier tahini and they were tasty, but they lost their integrity pretty quickly. On that note, it’s important to soften the coconut oil so it’s a smooth, buttery consistency. Just don’t melt it the whole way, as they can get a bit messy. If, for whatever reason, they do melt and spread too much, throw them in the fridge to firm up.
For the chocolate, just pick your favourite clean dark chocolate bar and chop it up, or buy a junk-free bag of chunks, like these. Avoid ingredients you haven’t heard of before and stick with things that have cocoa butter, cocoa powder and natural sweeteners (ideally, not cane sugar, but it’s still better than corn syrup!).
A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top brings out the flavours of each ingredient.
Chocolate cherry tahini cookies
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: cherries, chocolate, dairy-free, dinner party, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, paleo, tahini, vegan, vegetarian
Servings: 12
Ingredients
¼ cup coconut oil softened
½ cup tahini
2 flax eggs (2 Tb ground flax + 5 Tb water)
⅓ cup coconut sugar or maple sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tb coconut flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup dark chocolate chunks
⅓ cup dried tart cherries
Pinch flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the flax egg by combining the ground flax and water; let it sit for 10 minutes.
Combine the coconut oil, tahini, sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer or hand mixer.
Mix in the flax eggs.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine with the mixer.
Fold in the chocolate and the cherries.
Roll the dough into heaping tablespoon-sized balls and flatten gently onto the cookie sheet so they are approximately 1 cm thick.
Sprinkle a pinch of flaky salt on each cookie.
Bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies get slightly golden around the edges. Let them cool 5-10 minutes and remove from the baking sheet to cool the rest of the way.
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