The original recipe is called Toasted Sesame Cookies by Sarah Kieffer, from her book ‘100 Cookies.’ I went with black sesame oil and even though it had a toasty fragrance, I am unsure if it is the toasted variety. So I was in no position to call this recipe ‘toasted’ like Sarah does. Sarah is the expert and I am merely trying out her wonderful recipe.
Sarah is considered a cookie expert and has been written about by the New York Times and her books are best sellers. Check out her blog called the Vanilla Bean Blog. This recipe is one of her famous pan-banging cookies because the cookies have a distinctive rippling appearance due to the pan being lifted and dropped while baking.
See notes on her cookies from a previous post about Sarah’s Chocolate Chip Cookies.
It is recommended that chocolate be included in this cookie but is an optional ingredient. Curious about the full impact of the sesame flavour, I left out the chocolate. And this cookie is a very tasty cookie with an unusual and delightful hit of sesame. The center is soft and the outsides are thinner and more crispier. Altogether a wonderful taste and texture experience.
Ingredients for Cookies (makes 10 large cookies)
- 170 g butter
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 100 g brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 TB sesame oil (toasted, if accessible)
- 1 TB water
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 249 g cake flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 85 g chopped bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
- black and white sesame seeds for rolling
Method to make Cookies
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and position rack in the middle.
- Line 2 or 3 baking sheet pans with aluminium foil, with the dull side facing up.
- In a bowl, measure out the flour, salt, bicarb and baking powder, and lightly whisk to combine.
- In another bowl, beat butter till pale and creamy, using an electric beater or stand mixer.
- Add sugars and beat till creamy and well combined. (2-3 minutes)
- Add egg, water, vanilla and sesame oil and beat on low till well combined.
- Add flour mixture and lightly beat till combined.
- Add chocolate and mix to combine. (optional)
- Lay out sesame seeds on a flat plate.
- Form dough into 85 g balls and roll in sesame seeds.
- Place 4 balls, well spaced, on each baking sheet.
- Bake one sheet at a time.
- Bake for 9 minutes till cookies lightly puff in the center.
- Lift pan about 10 cm high and drop gently onto rack.
- Repeat lifting and dropping action in another 2 minutes.
- Do this a few more times within the total 15 – 16 minute baking time.
- The cookies would have spread out, appear pale in the center but golden brown toward the outside.
- Let cookies cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.
- Continue baking another sheet.
