Black Sesame Cookies Recipe (Soft and Chewy)
Soft and chewy black sesame cookies with a deep nutty flavor and striking dark color. Works with ground seeds or paste. Includes troubleshooting for grey color, graininess, and spreading.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
- 60 g ground black sesame seeds or 80g black sesame paste
- 115 g unsalted butter, browned and cooled
- 100 g light brown sugar, packed
- 80 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- Flaky salt for topping
- Extra black sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- Brown butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat until golden and nutty smelling, about 5 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.
- Whisk both sugars into cooled brown butter for 1 minute. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and sesame oil. Whisk 1 minute more.
- Stir in ground seeds or paste until fully combined.
- Fold in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until just combined.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Scoop dough into 2-tablespoon balls on parchment-lined baking sheets 2 inches apart.
- Top with sesame seeds and flaky salt. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until edges are set and centers look glossy.
- Cool on pan 5 minutes before moving.
Notes
Grey color is normal for ground-seed versions. For a darker result, use paste or increase seeds to 80g. Pull cookies when centers look underdone. They set fully as they cool. Dough freezes up to 3 months. Bake from frozen adding 1 to 2 extra minutes.