Late winter afternoons are the perfect time to turn on the oven and bake some cookies. This cookie is like three cookies in one: nuttiness from the tahini, texture of the oatmeal and a chocolatey, salty finish makes this a new favorite in our house. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup Soom Tahini, well stirred *

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg + 1 yolk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 cup All-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 cup quick oats

• 1 3.5 ounce Kaoka Fleur de Sel Dark Chocolate bar *

• Maldon Sea Salt, for finishing *

*Items with an asterisk can be found at The Cheese Shop of Salem.

Directions

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the butter, tahini and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, the yolk and vanilla and continue mixing until fully in incorporated, about 1 minute.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. On low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough for 6 hours or overnight. (Can be baked without chilling, but adjust baking time slightly)

3. Heat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 1 ounce scoop and form dough into balls, spacing them evenly on the baking sheet, 3 inches apart.  

4. Bake the cookies 16-19 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown around the edges, with the center still pale in color. Remove from oven, allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

5. While cookies are cooling, break apart the chocolate bar into a microwave safe bowl. Add  1 teaspoon instant espresso powder and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Microwave until melted. Dip half of each cookie into the melted chocolate. Allow chocolate to cool for about 5 minutes, then sprinkle the chocolate with sea salt.  

   Makes 18 cookies