Falling for Tahini

By: Ariel Rabinovich

This past fall, I had the privilege to organize and co-lead the first cooking class under the JLL (Jewish Life & Learning) program at the Siegel JCC with my childhood friend, Amy Zitelman, co-founder and CEO of Soom Foods. Soom Foods was founded by Amy and her two older sisters and is the leading brand of Tahini in the US. Soom is the tahini of choice of award-winning restaurants and is sold in over 4500 stores including Whole Foods Market and online at Amazon.

On November 21, 2024, over 40 participants from across the community gathered at the Siegel JCC around tables brimming with butternut squash, citrus, flour, sugar, chocolate, and—of course—tahini. While sharing the family story behind starting Soom Foods, Amy kicked off the class by showing participants how to break down a butternut squash like a pro and the secret to mincing garlic and cleaning leeks. The energy, enthusiasm, and delicious food were abundant! 

Participants had their chance to create a perfectly balanced roasted butternut squash and leek fall dish drizzled with a citrus tahini sauce and topped with za’atar roasted walnuts. We then transitioned to the second part of the class where we made the most decadent tahini and chocolate chunk cookies.

We hope you will join us for future classes but in the meantime, I highly recommend recreating the delicious double chocolate chunk tahini cookies we made in class! 

Double Chocolate Chunk Tahini Cookies

Serving: 36 cookies

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 stick (½ cup) butter, softened
• ½ cup + 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup Soom Chocolate Tahini
• 1½ tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and Soom Chocolate Tahini, and mix until well incorporated.
3. Add in vanilla and the eggs one at a time, stirring until mixture is creamy.
4. In a separate medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and sea salt until combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and combine just until there is no more visible flour in the dough or on the bottom of the bowl. Fold in semi-sweet chocolate chunks into the batter.
6. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Flatten dough slightly.
7. Bake cookies for 13–16 minutes. While cookies cool on baking sheet for 2–3 minutes, sprinkle with a pinch of coarse sea salt before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.