Holiday: Benne Seed Cookies - Southern United States

[Guest guest]

@@@@@

Benne Seed Cookies - Southern United States

 

1½ cups sesame seeds

One 1-pound package light brown sugar, (2½ cups,

packed)

1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

 

 

 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

 

2. If you?re using raw sesame seeds, place the seeds

in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in the oven

for about 5 minutes, watching carefully. They should

just begin to lightly brown. Set aside to cool

completely.

 

3. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F. Line cookie

sheets with parchment paper.

 

4. 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 a spatula until combined. Add

the vanilla. Stir in the cooled sesame seeds. Drop the

batter by ½ teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie

sheets, 1 inch apart. It takes just a dab of batter to

produce quarter-size cookies. They will spread into

perfect circles during baking.

 

5. Bake until very brown but not burned at the edges,

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.

 

MAKES ABOUT 12 DOZEN

 

Author: Christmas with Paula Deen

Formatted by Chupa Babi: 11.29

 

Benne seed is another name for sesame seed. This is an

old favorite low-country recipe given to my friend

Martha Nesbit by a Savannah caterer, the late Sally

Sullivan. It makes dozens of tiny, crisp brown-sugar

cookies about the size of a quarter. For a sweet gift,

fill an oversize teacup or mug with cookies, wrap in

cellophane, and tie it with a beautiful ribbon.

Present it with a special tea (there are wonderful

specialty Christmas teas available at this time of

year).

 

 

-----

 

 

 

______________________________\

____

Be a better pen pal.

Text or chat with friends inside Mail. See how.

http://overview.mail./