Tahini (sesame paste) elevates these beyond the average cookie. I don’t think it’s necessary to use an expensive chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa in cookies. A slightly sweeter plain chocolate is fine and I like to leave the chunks quite large. I also use strong white bread flour in my cookies as it has a higher gluten content and gives a slightly chewier finish, but if you only have plain (all-purpose) flour they’ll work just fine, too.

Method:

• Heat the butter and tahini in a saucepan until melted, stirring to combine, then set aside to cool slightly.
• Beat in both the sugars using a wooden spoon, then beat in the egg. Combine the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda and beat into the wet ingredients until combined. Finally, fold in the chocolate chunks. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes.
• Preheat a fan oven to 160˚C (320˚F/gas 4) and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Scoop heaped spoonfuls of the mixture and roll them lightly in your hands (you should get 12 heaped spoonfuls in total).
• Place the sesame seeds in a bowl and one at a time, dip each cookie dough ball into the seeds. Arrange them on the parchment, well spaced apart (you may need to bake them in batches) and press down lightly to flatten.
• Bake for 10–12 minutes until spread and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from California (Hardie Grant)

First published in the JC November 1 2019