Friday 25 January 2013

Black Sesame Cookies

I've a big fan of sesame, especially black sesame and any form it takes - be it ice-cream, bread (here's my Black Sesame Bread), cake or cookies. When I saw Just One Cookbook's Black Sesame cookies, I immediately put it on my to-do list. There's no better time to make these now because Chinese New Year is round the corner and these are just the kind of cookies I would love to serve because they are different from the norm.


I really adore these cookies - they are nutty, not overly-sweet with a  slight hint salty (from the black sesame seeds). The sweet and salty goes well together forming a very unique aftertaste. Fortunately, my kids have the same kind of taste as I do. My three-year-old, who is the most picky of my three when it comes to baked goods, said that these cookies are absolutely delicious. 



These cookies are very easy to make. Nami from Just One Cookbook used her food processor to mix the ingredients. I didn't have one of those so I used my fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients till the mixture resembled fine grains of wet sand. I mixed the egg and black sesame seeds in using a spatula. You can either grind the sesame seeds or keep them whole. I kept them whole for added texture and added two teaspoons of black sesame paste into the dough.

The only bit of trouble I had was forming it into a log and keeping it round. No matter what I did the bottom was still a little flat. As it was a little out of shape, I used my hands to re-shape it before baking. The hot and humid weather in Singapore also caused the cookie dough to soften very quickly once its removed from the refrigerator so you'll need to cut it up fast. Place it back in the refrigerator if you find that its not holding its shape well after cutting.  


Black Sesame Cookies (40 cookies)
Recipe from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (8 Tbsp, 1/2 cup, 4 oz, 117.4 g)
  • 5.6 oz (160 g) all purpose flour
  • 1.4 oz (40 g) almond meal
  • 2.8 oz (80 g) sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1.4 oz (40 g) roasted sesame seeds (black, white or mixed)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp black sesame paste (optional)
Method
  • Cut the butter into small cubes and keep them refrigerated until ready to use.
  • In the food processor, combine the flour, almond meal, sugar, and salt. If you don’t have a food processor, you can simply use a bowl to mix all the ingredients. 
  • If you want your sesame seeds to be fine texture, add them now. If you prefer to keep the original shape of sesame seeds, add them with egg yolk later on.
  • Take out the butter from the refrigerator and mix together. If you use a regular bowl to mix, use a dough/pastry blender to combine the butter into the dry ingredients. (I rubbed the butter into the other ingredients using my hands till the mixture resembled wet sand).
  • Lastly add egg yolk. (I stirred the egg yolk and black sesame seeds into the mixture with a spoon)
  • If the food processor is small and it doesn’t look like it’s mixed completely, take it out and mix well with a silicone spatula.
  • Form the dough into a ball and cut in half.
  • Roll it to a log approximately 2” across. For me it’s easier to work when the dough is wrapped in plastic wrap. While rolling, unwrap some parts of plastic wrap then roll again. Form a nice shape. 
  • Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Remove the dough from plastic wrap and cut into discs about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick depending on your preference.
  • Place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container. Cookies will last for a day or two.

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I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

And Made with Love Mondays by Javelin Warrior.

26 comments:

  1. Hi Mich
    I wish I would have one or two from you to indulge in first before I start to bake this later on..... I loves sesame seeds be it white or black as the aroma is stunning as well as in taste. Your cookies look very perfectly baked!

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  2. I love the taste of sesame also. This looks like the perfect cookie recipe.

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  3. 3rd one today! Sesame seeds, oh yes, my fav too!

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  4. I need to try black sesame cookies. looks beautiful and yummy.

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  5. Hi Mich! Thank you very much for trying this recipe! I'm really happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed this! :) I love how your cookies look - really beautiful. :)

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  6. Mich, I love sesame too! And I am very tempted now to try out this recipe as well. :)) thanks for the recommendation...will definitely bake it if I have extra time. :))

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  7. Wooo... these cookies look pretty! I still have black sesame seeds and paste in my pantry. Hopefully I still got to make this recipe.

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  8. Hi Mich! Your cookies look really beautiful and delicious! I made mine into rectangles instead so I don't have to think about the not-round edges!

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  9. Hi Mich, your cookies look very tempting and beautifully baked. This type of cookies very addictive, guess hard to stop munching. LOL

    Have a nice day ahead, regards.

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  10. Hi Mich,
    Your cookies looks lovely! Like you, I love sesame seeds, and especially on the crust of breads! I think that with these cookies, I'll have trouble stopping at just two! Thanks for sharing!
    Have a great weekend!

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  11. Mich , those cookies are delicious and very pretty ! Try rolling the dough as you cut it or maybe putting the wrapped dough into a cardboard box ( the one from the center of the paper towel rolls ) before chilling , it keeps the shape nicely ( I've read that tip from Chowhound.com )

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  12. These are nice cookies, i love sesame seeds too...

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  13. Interesting ones Mich. These biscuits must be very tasty with all those seeds. They look pretty too. Have a nice weekend.

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  14. Oh i love all things sesame, and i know i am gonna like these cookies. I have all the ingredients except the paste...will try and hunt for it this weekend.

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  15. Hi Mich! Mmmmm sesame... smells good and healthy too. You know what, I'm beginning to love baking (although I didn't really do it) with all these CNY cookies...

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  16. Nutty and melt-in-mouth...I love these cookies!

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  17. I've got some black sesame seeds that I need to use up and this is a great idea!

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  18. Easy to make and so so beautiful! Thank you for sharing them with me. I would love a few with my cup of hot chocolate!

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  19. I love the combination of sweet and salty and you have made these look so tempting.

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  20. Looks great, I have yet to bake any CNY cookies yet... too busy with reviews! Sigh.

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  21. Hi Mich these are awesome I bookmarked right now because I was searching black sesame recipes, thanks!

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  22. Definitely unique!!
    They look great and I really like your idea of using black sesame (which I happen to have at home)

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  23. These look awesome Mich. I haven't had black sesame ice cream. I see it on the menu all the time but never take the plunge. These are so pretty :)

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  24. Wow, I love the look of these cookies, Mich! They're beautiful and they sound marvelous. I'm a big fan of Nami's blog and I'm so pleased you tried one of her recipes... Sorry for the delay in checking out your cookies - I'm in the process of moving and have been without my laptop for a couple days :( Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful cookies!

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  25. Love these cookies.. flavors new for me

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  26. Oooooo~~!! Looks so good!! Excited to try this~! May I know which step should I add in the sesame paste~? ^_^

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