Sesame seed lovers will swoon over these! I'm so excited to share this family recipe with you. It's over 100 years old and has been made by my family generation after generation. The cookies are tender with crisp, golden edges and taste mildly sweet and nutty. They're fool-proof and easy to make and look so elegant on a cookie platter. Speaking of cookie platters, each year they appear next to my family's Italian Cut Cookies and Strufoli as part of the dessert course on Christmas Eve.
If you or someone you know loves sesame seeds or tahini, I hope you'll give them a try. Merry Christmas, dear friends, from my tiny kitchen to yours!
STORAGE:
- Store in an air-tight plastic container. Separate each layer of cookies with waxed paper. Stack only 3 layers to avoid breaking the cookies on the bottom. They should last about a week.
- Baked cookies freeze well. Freeze on a cookie sheet and then wrap the frozen cookies in foil before putting them into a freezer bag. Thaw on wire racks for several hours before serving.
MAKE AHEAD:
- Cookie dough is freezer friendly. Wrap in aluminum foil, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to one month.
- When baking off different types of cookies, group your cookies by oven temperature. Start with lowest oven temperature cookies first and proceed with higher temperature cookies next. This will avoid having to cool your oven down. Have wire cooling racks in place before you start baking and platters or storage containers ready so you can pack away cookies as you go.
BAKING TIPS
- For extra flavor, toast the sesame seeds in a skillet until fragrant.
- This year I made these using a 2 oz, #40 cookie scoop. I call them "American Size". Traditionally they are shaped like this: Roll into logs the width of your thumb and then cut into 1 inch lengths. Dip into the sesame seeds and gently press flatten them a bit while pressing them onto the sesame seeds. Then place onto cookie sheets.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbs sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup crisco
2 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 - 1/3 cup sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the crisco in tablespoon amounts into the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment on medium-low speed, combine until a crumbly mixture forms. The goal is to have small bits of crisco similar to what you have when making scones or biscuits. Meanwhile, in a small bowl beat the eggs, vanilla and milk. Add to the mixture in the stand mixer. Using a spoon instead of the mixer, combine the ingredients. Use your hands to bring the dough together and lightly kneed it until a cohesive, smooth dough forms.
- Add sesame seeds to a bowl. I don't pour all of them into the bowl but add them as needed so as not to waste them. Using a tablespoon cookie scoop*, roll dough into a ball and then into a log. Press the log into the sesame seeds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave approximately 2 inches between cookies because they spread. If your sesame seeds don't stick to the dough, using a pastry brush dipped in water, brush the dough with the water and then press into the seeds.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown on edges and puffed on top. The amount of baking time varies depending on size of cookie.
*Alternate shaping: Roll into logs the width of your thumb and then cut into 1 inch lengths. Dip into the sesame seeds and gently press flatten them a bit while pressing them onto the sesame seeds. Then place onto cookie sheets.
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