Toasted Sesame Cookies

Ever since I made raw granola bars, I’ve had this huge container of sesame seeds in my freezer and no clue what to do with it. I found this Toasted Sesame Cookie recipe in my wonderful baking book – The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts – where I get all of my pie recipes. The recipes in the book serve mostly as a basis for my own recipes but because a lot the recipes are illustrated, it makes it easier for me to make adjustments (or take out unnecessary steps and/or ingredients). I’m definitely a visual person so this cookbook is perfect for me! If you’re new to baking, I definitely recommend it!

Ingredients:

¾ cups sesame seeds

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

½ cup margarine or butter (1 stick), softened

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon water

1 large egg

Directions:

In a pan, cook sesame seeds until the seeds change color (about 3 minutes). You’ll start to smell the nuttiness of the seeds. Stir frequently so they don’t burn!

In a mixer or large bowl, add flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, vanilla extract, salt, and WATER. Using a mixer, blend all ingredients at low speed.

Once it starts to come together, add in ½ of the sesame seeds and mix it together with a wooden spoon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Shape about 2 teaspoons of the dough into a 1 ½ – 2 inch oval. The easiest thing to do is to get a small spoon to measure out the dough and then roll into a ball and flatten a bit. This part of the recipe is a bit time-consuming!

Once you’ve formed the ovals, put the top half of the dough into the remaining sesame seeds.

Place ovals about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. The bottom of the cookies may cook faster than the top so keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Once done, remove cookies and place on a wire rack.

This recipe is great because you’ll probably have all of the ingredients save the sesame seeds. While they ARE cookies, sesame seeds are rich in iron, magnesium, and calcium so you can feel good about eating them. They also include sesamin, which are phytoestrogens with antioxidant and anti-cancer properties.

The cookies aren’t too sweet and have a great texture thanks to the sesame seeds. It’s great with a cup of flavored tea.

Enjoy!

Tags: baking, Good Housekeeping, recipe, sesame cookies