Black Sesame Butter Cookies

Chinese New Year 2023

Sunday, January 22, marks the Lunar New Year. In 2023, it means ringing in the Year of the Rabbit. I wanted to make a cookie for the occasion but didn't want to do a roll-out sugar cookie and use a rabbit cookie cutter.

My first experience with the Chinese New Year was when I lived in Hawaii as a teenager. It was a great experience, so I wanted to create something unique to represent the year of the rabbit.

The lucky colors are red, pink, purple, and blue. So I added a blue towel to my feature picture. Blue is associated with calmness, wisdom, and self-expression.

What are Black Sesame Seeds

There are three colors of sesame seeds, white, yellow, and black, and they all come from the same plant. The differences come from the hulling process.

"Black Sesame Seeds are derived from the Sesame flowering plant known as Sesamum indicum, belonging to the genus Sesamum. It is a tall, upright-growing annual plant having deeply veined leaves and pink or white flowers.

The seeds tend to burst out of the seed capsules when they are ripe. Because of this tendency to scatter, the sesame seeds are harvested while they are still green.

Black sesame seeds are rich in nutrients such as calcium, iron, and magnesium. They are also a great source of fibre and protein."

Black seeds are suppose to be more expensive. However, they are rich in antioxidants, help maintain blood pressure, and the oils help with skin and hair. (zizira.com)

How to Roast Black Sesame Seeds

The easiest way is to buy them already roasted. I found mine at the local Asian store right here in Lancaster. But they sell them on Amazon.

You can also buy regular black sesame seeds and roast them yourself. Put them on a cookie sheet pan and put the pan into a preheated oven at 325°F(165°C or 170°C) for 5-7 minutes. Keep an eye on the seeds; they are small and will burn quickly. But you may want to opt for toasting them on the stovetop.

Take a non-stick frying pan and heat it over medium heat. Add the black sesame seeds and keep stirring them for 2 to 3 minutes. If you smell a nutty smell and/or they start popping, pull them off the heat and move them onto a flat plate so they can cool.

The reason for roasting or toasting the black sesame seeds is they developed a richer, bolder taste. This is perfect for making cookies.

Ingredients

• Butter unsalted 
• Powdered sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Vanilla bean paste
• All-purpose flour
• Kosher Salt
• Roasted black sesame seeds 

Making Black Sesame Butter Cookies

Not too much prepping with this recipe. First, weigh or measure the powdered sugar and set it aside. Now weigh or measure the flour and salt, running a whisk to blend.

Mixing the Cookie Dough

Add the measured powdered sugar to whatever you use for sifting. I have an old fashion crank type. I sift it right on top of the cubed butter.

Start on a low mixer setting, or the sugar will fly everywhere. Once the sugar is incorporated into the butter, turn the speed to a medium setting and mix for about 3 minutes. See how fluffy it looks.

Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl and turn the mixer back to a medium-low speed and add the vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract. Once blended, add the egg. Gradually add your flour mixture for about a minute.

Scrape down the sides and add the roasted black sesame seeds. Just mix until you see black seeds throughout your cookie dough. It takes about 30 seconds or less.

Move the cookie dough to a microwave-safe bowl and let it rest while you get the piping bag ready.

Assemble the Piping Tip and Bag

The piping bag, tip, and coupling can be found on Amazon; a 16" piping bag, large 1B tip, and large coupling. The coupling 6 pack is assorted sizes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.

I like this tip because it is large, and the top is pretty open, which works well with cookie dough.

I cut about 2 ½" off the tip part of the piping bag. This will give enough room for the tip to go through the bag and have ⅓ of the tip poking out the end.

Unscrew the coupling and add the tip on top of the inside coupling. Put both pieces down through the inside of the bag. Push the tip through the end that you cut off and make it snug.

Take the outside coupling and go over the tip and the bag and screw it onto the inside coupling. So the piping bag will be between the two parts of the coupling.

Piping the Cookies

Put the cookie dough in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds. Next, pull it out of the microwave and spoon about half of the cookie dough into the prepared piping bag.

Grab one of the parchment-lined cookie sheet pans and hold the piping bag straight up and down with the tip close to the parchment paper. Squeeze the bag and go into a circle ending in the middle of the rosette.

If it didn't work, scoop it up, drop it back into the piping bag, and try again. LOL, there is no right or wrong. I got nine cookies to a sheet pan.

Stick the whole pan into the refrigerator for 15 minutes at least. You want the butter to firm back up, so they keep its shape while baking and does not flatten out.

Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 11-13 minutes. Mine were perfect at 12 minutes. Keep an eye on them. You do not want to overbake these sweet cookies. Move to a cooling rack right out of the oven.

If you can wait, butter cookies always taste better the next day. But that may be a hard thing to do!

Storage

Store these cookies in an air-tight container for at least a week.