Best 8 Sesame Seed Benne Wafer Cookies Recipes

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Searching for a delightful and crispy cookie recipe to satisfy your sweet cravings? Look no further than sesame seed benne wafer cookies! These thin and delicate treats, originating from the Southern United States, are renowned for their unique flavor and texture. Made with a blend of simple ingredients, these cookies offer a delightful combination of nutty sesame seeds, sweet benne seeds, and a hint of vanilla. Whether you're a seasoned baker or just starting out, this comprehensive guide will take you through the steps of creating perfect sesame seed benne wafer cookies. Learn how to achieve the perfect crispiness, find tips for storing and serving, and discover variations and flavor combinations to tantalize your taste buds. Get ready to embark on a culinary journey that will leave you craving more of these delectable cookies.

Here are our top 8 tried and tested recipes!

BENNE WAFERS (CHARLESTON'S CLASSIC SESAME SEED COOKIES)



Benne wafers (Charleston's Classic Sesame Seed Cookies) image

Benne wafers are traditional cookies from Charleston, SC made with benne (sesame) seeds. Bite-sized and crunchy, they make excellent tea cookies and are ideal for wedding or shower favors or Christmas gifts! This easy, old fashioned Southern recipe will give you that unique, traditional South Carolina Lowcountry flavor you're looking for!

Provided by Caroline Lindsey

Categories     Dessert

Time 40m

Number Of Ingredients 7

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (firmly packed)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup benne or sesame seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • If using sesame seeds, rather than authentic benne seeds, toast seeds in dry skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until well mixed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Make it extra fluffy to add volume to the dough so you get the full number of cookies out of it! Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to combine after each egg.
  • Sift together flour and baking powder. Stir dry ingredients into butter-sugar mixture. Stir in benne or sesame seeds and vanilla extract.
  • Drop dough by scant 1/2-teaspoons-full (I did a little less than 1/2 teaspoon to make them more bite-sized, since the dough spreads quite a bit) onto parchment paper about 1 inch apart. If desired, spoon dough into a ziplock bag and trim off the corner, or into a pastry bag, and pipe tiny amounts onto the parchment paper instead of using spoons.
  • Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies onto a rack to cool.
  • Store in an airtight container or separate into baggies as gifts or favors.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 258 kcal, Carbohydrate 33 g, Protein 3 g, Fat 13 g, SaturatedFat 7 g, TransFat 1 g, Cholesterol 50 mg, Sodium 25 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 23 g, ServingSize 1 serving

BENNE WAFERS



Benne Wafers image

Since I live in the South people refer to these cookies as Benne Wafers, they are actually Sesame Seed Cookies. Toasting benne (sesame) seeds develops their flavor and also gives these cookies a slightly crunchy texture.

Provided by Holly

Categories     Desserts     Cookies     Drop Cookie Recipes

Yield 36

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 cup sesame seeds
¾ cup butter, melted
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder

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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 106.7 calories, Carbohydrate 12.6 g, Cholesterol 15.3 mg, Fat 6 g, Fiber 0.6 g, Protein 1.3 g, SaturatedFat 2.8 g, Sodium 51.8 mg, Sugar 8.9 g

BENNE WAFERS



Benne Wafers image

Provided by Kardea Brown

Categories     dessert

Time 45m

Yield 24 wafers

Number Of Ingredients 9

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
Nonstick cooking spray, for your hands

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.

SESAME SEED COOKIES



Sesame Seed Cookies image

In South Carolina and Georgia, these popular cookies are known as "benne wafers," taking their name from the West African word for sesame.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories     Food & Cooking     Dessert & Treats Recipes     Cookie Recipes

Yield Makes about 48 cookies

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup hulled sesame seeds, toasted

Steps:

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line four baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda, and set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until combined. Add reserved flour mixture, and beat until combined. Add toasted sesame seeds, and beat until incorporated.
  • Using a spoon, drop cookie batter, about 1 tablespoon at a time, onto prepared baking sheets, allowing at least 2 inches between cookies for spreading.
  • Bake until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

SESAME COOKIES (BENNE WAFERS)



Sesame Cookies (Benne Wafers) image

I think this recipe was attached to a box of Benne Wafers that my parents brought me back from Charleston, SC back in 1991. I have never made them myself, but I remember the wafer to be very tasty.

Provided by AcadiaTwo

Categories     Drop Cookies

Time 30m

Yield 72 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 8

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sesame seeds (toasted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Steps:

  • Cream butter and sugar together.
  • Then mix with other ingredients.
  • Drop teaspoon sized balls on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet about 2" apart.
  • Bake in a 325° oven for 7-10 minutes.
  • Makes 6-dozen.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 50.3, Fat 2.6, SaturatedFat 1.3, Cholesterol 10.2, Sodium 21.6, Carbohydrate 6.4, Fiber 0.2, Sugar 4.5, Protein 0.6

BENNE COOKIES



Benne Cookies image

Emily Meggett, who published her first cookbook, "Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes From the Matriarch of Edisto Island," at 89, learned how to make these crisp wafer cookies from her grandmother who learned from generations before. Benne seeds, sesame seeds that enslaved Africans brought with them to the southeastern shores of America, have long been a staple in Gullah Geechee cooking. They are an important component in rice dishes and savory crackers and are the stars of these buttery wafers. Regular sesame seeds will work fine, especially if you toast them in butter, but Mrs. Meggett suggests you try to buy benne seeds, an heirloom seed that is available online. They have a nutty, almost burned honey flavor and bring out the umami in the cookies.

Provided by Kim Severson

Categories     snack, cookies and bars, dessert

Time 1h

Yield About 40 cookies

Number Of Ingredients 9

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon/129 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
1 cup/140 grams benne seeds or sesame seeds
1 cup/125 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup/100 grams granulated sugar
1/4 cup/55 grams packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

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.

BENNE SEED WAFERS



Benne Seed Wafers image

Crisp, chewy, nutty and caramelized benne wafers (aka sesame seed cookies) are perfect for your holiday or Kwanzaa celebrations. For a more traditional type of cookie, leave them plain. If you feel like dressing them up, drizzle them with melted chocolate. Both ways are equally delicious. -April Wright, Whisk It Real Gud

Provided by Taste of Home

Categories     Desserts

Time 50m

Yield 8 dozen.

Number Of Ingredients 10

1 cup sesame seeds
1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips
2 teaspoons shortening or coconut oil

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Place sesame seeds on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until fragrant and lightly browned, 10-15 minutes; cool., Reduce oven temperature to 300°. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until crumbly. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Gradually beat into sugar mixture. Add cooled sesame seeds and stir to combine., Roll level teaspoons into balls. Place 2 in. apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Reduce oven temperature to 275°; bake until set but still soft, 18-20 minutes. Cool on pan 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. , For optional chocolate drizzle, in a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate, uncovered, at 50% power until melted, stirring every 30 seconds, 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Add shortening and stir until melted. Drizzle over cookies; let stand until set.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 32 calories, Fat 2g fat (1g saturated fat), Cholesterol 4mg cholesterol, Sodium 9mg sodium, Carbohydrate 4g carbohydrate (3g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 0 protein.

BENNE CAKES (SESAME COOKIES)



Benne Cakes (Sesame Cookies) image

I have adjusted the flour amount due to the review stating that they flattened out. Benne cakes are a food from West Africa. Benne means sesame seeds. The sesame seeds are eaten for good luck. I am posting this recipe as a effort to broaden my recipes to include different foods from different regions of the world. Hope you will all enjoy these.

Provided by Jellyqueen

Categories     Drop Cookies

Time 35m

Yield 2 dozen

Number Of Ingredients 9

1 cup brown sugar, finely packed
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted sesame seeds

Steps:

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  • Lightly spray cookie sheet with oil.
  • Mix together the brown sugar and butter, and beat until they are creamy.
  • Stir in the egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
  • Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sesame seeds.
  • Drop by rounded teaspoons onto the cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are browned.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1540.2, Fat 81.6, SaturatedFat 23.2, Cholesterol 166.8, Sodium 636.9, Carbohydrate 185.4, Fiber 17.9, Sugar 106.4, Protein 29.5

Tips:

  • Use high-quality sesame seeds for the best flavor and texture.
  • Toast the sesame seeds before using to enhance their flavor.
  • Be careful not to overmix the batter, as this can result in tough cookies.
  • Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking to prevent spreading.
  • Bake the cookies until they are golden brown and crispy.
  • Let the cookies cool completely before serving.

Conclusion:

Sesame seed benne wafer cookies are a delicious and easy-to-make treat that is perfect for any occasion. With their crispy texture and nutty flavor, these cookies are sure to be a hit with everyone who tries them. So next time you're looking for a sweet snack, give these cookies a try.

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