Chocolate Desserts & More

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

•1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
•1/2 cup chopped walnuts
•1/2 cup all-purpose flour
•1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/2 cup tahini
•4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
•2/3 cup granulated sugar
•2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
•1 large egg
•1 large egg white
•1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•2 cups rolled oats
•1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

Directions

1) Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350 °F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk oats, whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat tahini and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended into a paste.
2) Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; continue beating until well combined—the mixture will still be a little grainy. Beat in egg, then egg white, then vanilla. Stir in the oat mixture with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
3) With damp hands, roll 1 tablespoon of the batter into a ball, place it on a prepared baking sheet and flatten it until squat, but don't let the sides crack. Continue with the remaining batter, spacing the flattened balls 2 inches apart.
4) Bake the cookies until golden brown, about 16 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Cool on the pans for 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the pans cool for a few minutes before baking another batch.

Tips: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze for longer storage if you are making them for another time. Whole-wheat pastry flour, lower in protein than regular whole-wheat flour, has less gluten-forming potential, making it a better choice for tender baked goods. Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. Look for it in natural-foods stores and some supermarkets.

Servings & Time: 1 hr and 15 min for around 12 each batch