Sometimes wellness is about detoxifying, cleansing, stretching, pushing… The kind of thing that makes you feel crappy, then glowing and lithe later. But that’s not the only way to interpret wellness. For example: wellness can also be eating a cookie for breakfast. No, really! Just ask cookbook author, TV host, cookie apologist and Glossier Cookie Butter Balm Dotcom fan Eden Grinshpan, who looked compellingly radiant while making her case for a sugary morning pick-me-up.

“When I’m working long days, I know I’m going to have coffee, so I really try to make those moments special by sitting down and enjoying something that makes me happy,” she told ITG. Imagine this: you shut your laptop for 10 minutes, head into your sun-drenched kitchen, and place an empty mug on a pink-swirled marble countertop that looks like a desert geode. The coffee? “Something frothy, creamy, and delicious,” like a cappuccino or a latte. And then, the pièce de résistance: “A buttery, spiced cookie. It is just key! It’s the perfect accompaniment to any coffee break—I love to dip it right in.”

And if Eden could have any cookie, it’s probably going to be the Salted Halvah Chocolate Chip Cookies from her book, Eating Out Loud. As the name implies, the star ingredient is halvah, a middle eastern tahini confection that Eden explained “is almost like a tahini fudge.” It’s super creamy, very earthy, and turns from flaky to gooey and almost marshmallowy in the oven. You can make your own halvah with tahini and a candy thermometer, but you can also buy it online or at your nearest Whole Foods or middle eastern market. If you can’t find halvah easily, Eden also said you can just replace it in her recipe with a mixture of 2 tbsp each of tahini and honey—it won’t be as good, but it’ll work. “I also add cinnamon, because those warm cinnamon notes amplify the warm earthiness from the tahini." And then she finishes them off with a sprinkling of sea salt, which elevates them from sweet treat to buttery, addictive perfection.

So there you have it, folks. Sometimes wellness is bone broth and yoga class. Other times it’s the comfort of a cappuccino and chocolate-studded cookie. Who are we to draw the line? The recipe you’re going to make over and over this fall goes as follows:

The Ingredients

1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup tahini paste
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups bittersweet chocolate chips
½ cup small chunks of halvah
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

The Process

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bwl with a handheld mixer or a spoon), mix together the butter, tahini, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and airy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, add half the flour mixture, and mix to combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix to combine, scraping down the sides with a spatula, if necessary. Use a spoon or spatula to fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour and up to a week.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using your hands, roll a golf ball-sized piece of dough into a ball for each cookie. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and push down a little on each to flatten it slightly. Place a couple little pieces of halvah on top of each cookie and gently press them into the dough. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake until the cookies are lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow them to cool slightly on the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

You can store them for up to a week—like they’d ever last that long! Try to pace yourself. Happy snacking.

Recipe excerpted from Eating Out Loud by Eden Grinshpan. Copyright © 2020 by Eden Grinshpan. Photography by Aubrie Pick. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.