Brown Sugar Benne Cookies Recipes

BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the benne (sesame) seeds on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, until light brown. Watch closes so that they don 't burn.
• In a large bowl mix the brown sugar, melted butter or margarine, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder and toasted sesame seeds together until combined.
• Drop dough by 1/2 teaspoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 4 to 6 minutes, until light brown. Let cookies cool for about 2 minutes before removing from baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

BENNE COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together the butter and the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs. Sift together the baking powder and the flour and mix in. Stir in the sesame seeds and vanilla.
• Drop by teaspoon on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 25 - 30 minutes.

BENNE SEED COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 °F.
• If you're using raw sesame seeds, place the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for about 3 minutes, watching carefully. They should just begin to brown lightly. Set aside to cool completely.
• Lower the oven temperature to 300 °F Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Using an electric mixer, cream the sugar, butter and eggs until very light, about 5 minutes. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir with the spatula until combined. Add the vanilla. Stir in the cooled sesame seeds. Drop the batter by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. It takes just a dab of batter to produce quarter-sized cookies. They will spread into perfect circles during baking.
• Bake until very brown but not burned at the edges, about 14 to 15 minutes. Important: Let the cookies cool completely on the parchment paper, then peel them away from the paper. Store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container. These cookies freeze well in tins. They will crumble in a plastic freezer bag.
• This recipe is one of our Gifts from the Kitchen. Click here to see other Gifts from the Kitchen.

BENNE CRESCENT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Spread seeds on a baking sheet. Toast at 300 degrees for 15 minutes until toasted evenly or golden brown.
• Beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in mixing bowl until creamy. Blend in the vanilla, maple syrup and salt. Stir in the flour and benne seeds and mix well. Roll into cylinder, wrap in plastic film and chill for 1 hour or more.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Slice into 1/8-inch thick rounds (approximately tablespoon size), roll and shape into crescents and bake cookies on nonstick or parchment-lined baking sheet until light brown, approximately 12 minutes. Cool slightly and roll warm cookies in confectioners' sugar.
• *Cook's Note: Buy hulled raw seeds in bulk from a natural foods store.

BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter for about 30 second, so that it is even softer. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda and egg and beat until just combined. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds.
• Drop the dough by tablespoonful onto the baking sheets, making sure to leave at least an inch between the wafers for spreading. Spray your hands or a spatula with nonstick spray and press the cookies down to keep them from doming.
• Bake until golden brown and starting to crisp on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the wafers to cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

THE BEST BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• If your sesame seeds are not toasted, place them on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for 10-12 minutes or until they turn light brown.
• They may burn easily, so watch closely to prevent this from happening.
• Mix the brown sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder, and toasted sesame seeds together until well combined in a large mixing bowl.
• Drop cookie dough by half-teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Make sure that at least 2 inches separate them; they spread A LOT.
• Bake at 375 degrees F for about 5-6 minutes or until edges become light brown. They will appear a little puffy when you take them out.
• Let them sit for 2-3 minutes.
• They should be pretty flat.
• Remove them to a wire rack and allow to cool (be careful--they're pretty crispy and crunchy!).
• Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container.

BENNE' COOKIES

Steps:

• Wash sesame seeds in a fine sieve, then parch in the oven, stirring occasionally, until seeds are thoroughly dry. This takes between 7 and 10 minutes.
• Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg, then add flour (which has been sifted twice) and put the parched seeds in last, mixing well in the batter.(This mixture should be thin enough to drop easily from a spoon. If not, add a tiny amount of water, mixing in well.)
• Grease pans thoroughly then drop a teaspoonful of batter for each cookie as this will spread in the baking, leave about three inches between each spoonful. Cook in moderate oven from five to eight minutes-until cookies are a light brown. (Watch carefully while cooking, to prevent too rapid browning. This amount of batter should make about forty cookies.

BENNE COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets with butter.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add the benne seeds, stirring them until coated. Toast the seeds, stirring frequently, until fragrant and darkened a shade, 2 to 3 minutes. Take care not to burn the seeds and turn down the heat if needed. Scrape onto a plate and let cool completely.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
• In a large bowl, cream together the remaining 8 tablespoons/115 grams butter and both sugars until well combined and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Add the cooled toasted benne seeds and the vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture.
• Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the cookie dough at least 2 1/2 inches apart on 1 prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Remove the wafers from the cookie sheet immediately and place on waxed or parchment paper to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough on the second cookie sheet, reusing the first sheet when it's cool, if needed.

BROWN SUGAR BENNE COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. To make the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly and set aside.2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda until well blended.3. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine the shortening and water, stirring occasionally until the shortening melts. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar. Stir in the sesame seeds until blended. Stir in the flour mixture. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. (If the dough begins to thicken, form the cookies with your hands.)4. Bake until the cookies are set and are no longer shiny, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies firm and cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely (or slip the parchment paper with the cookies onto the rack to cool).Serving Size: 2 cookiesVariationTo make Sweet Pumpkin and Sesame Seed Cookies, follow the main recipe, stirring in 1/2 cup lightly toasted pumpkin seeds with the sesame seeds. (Toast the pumpkin seeds as you did the sesame seeds.) Proceed as directed.From Holiday Baking. Text copyright © 2005 by Sara Perry. Photographs copyright © 2005 by Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.