Whether you’re ready for fall or hanging onto the last days of summer, we’ve got just the salad for the season! This lemony chopped cauliflower salad has the bright, crunchy, refreshing elements of summer coating a comforting fall veggie. The best part? It’s studded with pops of sweet dates!

Made in 1 bowl in just 10 minutes, it’s a quick & easy side perfect for late-summer picnics or pairing with your favorite protein for a simple lunch or dinner.

Cauliflower Salad with Dates & Pistachios from Minimalist Baker →

The perfect late-summer weeknight dish is here: Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans! It’s a go-to in our kitchen when we’re craving something simple yet nourishing. Featuring salty kalamata olives, burst cherry tomatoes, creamy white beans, and our BFF kale, it’s a vibrant dish packed with textures, flavors, protein, and fiber. 

Vegan, gluten-free optional, and just 10 ingredients and 25 minutes required. Let’s make dinner!

This simple dish begins with getting your favorite pasta cooking on the stovetop.

Garlicky Cherry Tomato Pasta with White Beans from Minimalist Baker →

Into okra, but not when it’s slimy? Us too. Inspired by an amazing charred okra dish at Launderette, we’re bringing you a reliable roasted okra recipe that’s not only easy to make, but has no sliminess in sight. 

The result is super delicious and requires just 3 ingredients and 25 minutes. Let us show you how it’s done! 

How to Make Crispy Oven Roasted Okra

What’s the secret to the BEST oven roasted okra that isn’t slimy at all?

Crispy Oven Roasted Okra from Minimalist Baker →

Simple methods and BIG flavor collide in this Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas! It’s zesty and sweet, full of crunch, and packed with wholesome ingredients. With minimal cooking required, it’s the perfect meal for summer or a quick meal prep session.

Just 10 ingredients and 30 minutes stand between you and this satisfying, flavorful, healthy meal!

How to Make This Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad

This quinoa kale salad comes together in a few simple steps that flow seamlessly:

1. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in hot water if they’re especially dry and hard.

Lemony Quinoa Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas from Minimalist Baker →

Hold onto your sprinkles, folks! This recipe takes the cake, literally. We’ve taken our crowd-favorite funfetti cupcakes and made them undetectably gluten-free! Your friends and family will be begging for the recipe for these soft, fluffy, perfectly moist, incredibly delicious gems!

The catch? There is no catch. They’re made in 1 bowl with just 10 ingredients! What are you waiting for? Let’s bake some cupcakes!

Gluten-Free Funfetti Cupcakes (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker →

Let your tastebuds transport you to a tropical destination with our new NO-BAKE Coconut Lime Energy Bites! What started as a cake quickly turned into these tasty little treats because who wants to turn on their oven during summer?

These 7-ingredient, flavor-filled bites are the perfect mid-day treat for summer & beyond. They’re tangy, coconutty, and ridiculously easy to make. Let us show you how!

These naturally sweetened coconut lime energy bites begin with our favorite fiber & mineral-rich sweetener: dates!

No-Bake Coconut Lime Energy Bites from Minimalist Baker →

Whether you’re a gardener, farmers market goer, or just love summer produce, this is the dish for you! A summery zucchini pesto pasta with caramelized roasted zucchini, burst cherry tomatoes, sweet + tender red onion, and protein-packed chickpeas. We may or may not have gone back for thirds in the test kitchen!

Just 9 ingredients and simple methods required for this saucy, satisfying, irresistible vegan meal, friends.

Zucchini Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes & Chickpeas from Minimalist Baker →

Why choose between spicy, savory, and sweet when you can have them ALL? All the taste buds light up with this Caribbean-inspired bowl featuring roasted plantains and tofu coated in the magic of jerk seasoning and paired with a sweet, crunchy mango cucumber salad and creamy sauce. It’s a big bowl of YUM!

We can’t wait for you to try this satisfying, protein-packed, plant-based meal. Let us show you how it’s done!

Jerk Tofu & Roasted Plantain Bowls from Minimalist Baker →

It’s no secret we love spicy, smoky entrées here at MB (exhibits a, b, and c). And what’s the perfect side to accompany them, you ask? Mango cucumber salad! It’s fresh, crunchy, sweet, bright, and quick & easy to make! 

Just 7 ingredients and 10 minutes required for this versatile side. Let us show you how it’s done!

How to Make Mango Cucumber Salad

This is one of those recipes that came to be by looking at the ingredients we had around, giving a new combo a chance, and being very pleased with the result!

Easy Mango Cucumber Salad from Minimalist Baker →

When you’re craving cheesecake and you’re craving it now, look no further! These NO-BAKE chocolate cheesecake cups come together fast with simple methods and just 7 ingredients you may have around right now!

This decadent dessert has alllll the rich, chocolaty flavor you know and love (swoon!), but it comes together in just 5 minutes.

No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake Cups (5 Minutes!) from Minimalist Baker →

For those days when you’re needing an extra skip in your step, try this Mocha Chia Pudding! It’s a rich, creamy, chocolaty, energizing, fiber-packed breakfast or snack.

It’s also easy to make with just 1 bowl, 7 ingredients, and 5 minutes hands-on prep time required! We think it’ll become a new grab-and-go, meal prep-friendly staple in your kitchen. Get your coffee brewing, let’s make chia pudding!

Creamy Mocha Chia Pudding from Minimalist Baker →

Looking to add a burst of flavor to your favorite breakfasts and desserts? Say hello to Raspberry Compote! This simple, 2-ingredient, 15-minute berry sauce adds delicious, tart-sweet flavor to everything from cheesecakes to pancakes & waffles, crepes, ice cream, and so much more.

Whether you have an abundance of fresh raspberries or want to make a warm sauce with frozen berries during the cooler months, this recipe has you covered.

Easy Raspberry Compote (Naturally Sweetened) from Minimalist Baker →

Weekend flavor meets weeknight ease: 30-minute Tuscan-style shrimp pasta! This CREAMY, dairy-free dish is rich, garlicky, and bursting with bright tomato flavor.

It’s impressive enough to wow any guests but simple enough that you’ll want to make it again and again! Let us show you how it’s done!

How to Make Dairy-Free Shrimp Pasta

This EASY shrimp pasta starts with cooking your favorite pasta (we like gluten-free fettuccine) and soaking some cashews for dairy-free creaminess.

Creamy Tuscan Shrimp Pasta (Dairy-Free) from Minimalist Baker →

Friends, prepare to level up your muffin game with these undetectably vegan and gluten-free lemon poppy seed muffins! They’re perfectly sweet, tender, FLUFFY, and bursting with bright, lemony goodness. 

Made in just 1 bowl, they’re just as fun to make as they are to eat! Let’s get baking!

How to Make Vegan Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These super FLUFFY muffins begin with using an electric mixer to cream together the vegan butter, cane sugar, and lemon zest.

Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Vegan) from Minimalist Baker →

If you’ve ever eaten at a classic Italian restaurant, you may have had the delicious lentil soup known as “zuppa di lenticchie.” It’s a simple, nourishing, and comforting soup that just so happens to be VERY quick & easy to make. The perfect soup for when you Just. Need. Soup! We get it. 

Just 9 ingredients and simple methods required for this vegan version, friends.

Italian Lentil Soup (Zuppa di Lenticchie) from Minimalist Baker →

Is this a safe space to admit we have a problem? Specifically an insatiable appetite for adding sweet potato to desserts? First we made brownies, then blondies, then truffles. And now? Pot de crème! Which is really just a thick, silky smooth pudding (YUM!).

This super chocolaty, 5-ingredient, French-inspired wonder dessert feels elegant and indulgent! No one will know it’s vegan, nutrient-rich, and so simple to make. Get your sweet potatoes ready…let’s make pot de crème!

Chocolate Pot de Crème (with a Secret Ingredient!) from Minimalist Baker →

Chocolate, banana, and pecans…this flavor combination is meant to be. And in a muffin? Truly magical! These FLUFFY banana nut muffins are vegan, gluten-free, and generously studded with pecans and chocolate chips. Hubba hubba!

Bonus? They’re easy to make with just 1 BOWL and a handful of simple, wholesome ingredients. It’s muffin time, friends!

These vegan + gluten-free chocolate chip muffins begin with the egg-free binders: mashed banana and flax eggs.

1-Bowl Banana Chocolate Pecan Muffins (Vegan + GF) from Minimalist Baker →

We love a classic (tomato-based) chili, but a CREAMY chili? It’s hard to say no to! Mix up your chili rotation with this creamy vegan white bean chili with spicy green chiles, sweet corn, and nutrient-packed spinach or kale. 

It’s a cozy, subtly spiced, nourishing meal that comes together in just 30 minutes. Let us show you how it’s done!

This EASY vegan white bean chili starts with a simple yet flavorful base of sautéed onion, garlic, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

Creamy Vegan White Bean Chili from Minimalist Baker →

Whenever I mention “Chocolate Chip Cookies,” this recipe seems to come up in the conversation. I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies all of my life, and am always happy to add new ones to my repertoire. I’ve made them with various kinds of flours, different types (and sizes) of chocolate, some with nuts (or cocoa nibs), and others without. In some cases, the salt in the chocolate chip cookies may be in the butter, or sprinkled on top. Or there might be a double-dose of chocolate in them.

But I haven’t done too much tinkering with the butter, because to me, that’s one thing that’s non-negotiable in chocolate chip cookies. But when I heard about tahini, my loyalty to butter was put into question.

You (and I) can relax, because these chocolate chip cookies do use butter, but get an underlying richness from sesame paste, a common ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking that I always keep on hand. So although I thought I’d done everything possible that a man could do to a chocolate chip cookie, and then some, I was finally ready to tackle a batch of these chocolate chip cookies.

The recipe is adapted from Modern Israeli Cooking by Danielle Oron, that also was in the New York Times. In addition to having everything on hand, they were easy to mix up, and the soft sesame paste made a dough that was hard not to snack on before the cookies went into the oven.

I prefer to chop chocolate for chocolate chip cookies, rather than use conventional chocolate chips. I have nothing against chocolate chips, but most are made of what’s called baking-resistant chocolate, which is designed to hold their shape once baked. I like big, oozing chunks of chocolate in my chocolate chip cookies, and I don’t care so much what they look like, so much as how they taste.

So I took a knife to a block of chocolate and made my own. Some makers are now producing what are called chocolate “chunks” which may or may not have similar qualities, but chopping a block of chocolate, while a bit messy, puts me in one of my happy places. And I’m happy to make my own chips, or chunks, I should say.

These cookies were some of the best chocolate chip cookies that have ever come out of my oven, and I don’t say that lightly. The tahini gives them a gentle savory taste, with a faint musky flavor that pairs remarkably well with dark chocolate and a touch of salt, so don’t be afraid to use a very strongly flavored chocolate. I futzed with the original recipe a little, to make them chewier, and couldn’t resist adding even more chocolate. But can you blame me?

Print

Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies

Adapted from Modern Israeli Cooking: 100 New Recipes for Traditional Classicsby Danielle Oron

I used chopped chocolate, rather than chocolate chips, for these cookies since I wanted large chunks of oozing chocolate rather than little bits of chocolate here and there. (But feel free to use chips if you'd like.) Normally when I chop chocolate for cookies, I add any small bits and pieces on the cutting board along with the bigger chunks. But for these, I wanted distinct, more assertive pieces of chocolate, so I sorted through and just used large chunks, saving the smaller bits for another baking project. I baked these cookies in a larger size, then tried them in smaller portions, and give baking times for each. Whichever size you bake them in, since everyone's oven is different, it's important to use visual clues rather than rely on precise minutes and numbers to tell when they're done. Keep an eye on them during the final minutes of baking; the cookies are done when quite pale in the center and browned around the edges. Note that the dough is best when it rests in the refrigerator overnight. You could bake them sooner, if you just can't wait.

Servings 18

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (115g, 4 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (120ml) tahini well stirred
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (90g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (150g) flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 2 cups (280g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
• flaky sea salt such as Maldon or fleur de sel

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, tahini, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy. (The dough can also be made in a large mixing bowl, stirred with a spatula.)
• Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add the egg, the yolk, and vanilla, and continue to mix for another minute, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl during mixing, to make sure the eggs are getting incorporated.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and kosher or sea salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just combined, then add the chocolate chips. Do not overmix. Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Form the cookies into rounds using an ice cream scoop, or your hands. For small cookies make each 1 1/2-inch (3,5cm), for larger cookies, make them 2-inches (5cm) round. Place them evenly spaced on the baking sheets, 3-inches (8cm) apart). Bake one sheet at a time, so you can keep an eye on them, in the middle rack of the oven.
• Bake the cookies, turning the baking sheet in the oven midway during baking, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but still pale in the center. For small cookies, about 12 minutes, for larger cookies, about 14 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle cookies with a bit of flaky sea salt, and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. Bake the remaining cookies the same way.

Notes

Storage: These cookies will keep for two or three days at room temperature, but are definitely better the same day they're baked. The unbaked dough can be refrigerated for up to one week, and frozen for up to two months.

Notes: Nut and seeds butters, such as peanut and almond, have different oil content than tahini, and I don't think they could be swapped out. (If you do try it with another nut or seed butter, let us know how they come out in the comments.) For those looking for a chocolate chip cookie without tahini, check out these Salted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies or my recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies in Ready for Dessert.

 

 

Related Posts and Recipes

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Tahini and Almond Cookies

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How to Make Tahini

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Gluten-free baking and Substitutions

If you love chocolate covered caramels, but not the complicated methods usually required to make them, then this recipe is for you! These EASY vegan sea salt caramels come together with just 6 ingredients and there’s NO candy thermometer in sight.

The secret? Tahini! It adds a decadent flavor to these bite-sized delights for the ultimate salty-sweet treat. Perfect for keeping in the freezer or gifting over the holidays…though we’re not sure how many of these tasty treats will make it to the gift box 😉.

Chocolate Tahini Caramels (No Candy Thermometer!) from Minimalist Baker →