Sesame Wafers Recipes

BENNE WAFERS (CHARLESTON'S CLASSIC SESAME SEED COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• If using sesame seeds, rather than authentic benne seeds, toast seeds in dry skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until well mixed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Make it extra fluffy to add volume to the dough so you get the full number of cookies out of it! Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to combine after each egg.
• Sift together flour and baking powder. Stir dry ingredients into butter-sugar mixture. Stir in benne or sesame seeds and vanilla extract.
• Drop dough by scant 1/2-teaspoons-full (I did a little less than 1/2 teaspoon to make them more bite-sized, since the dough spreads quite a bit) onto parchment paper about 1 inch apart. If desired, spoon dough into a ziplock bag and trim off the corner, or into a pastry bag, and pipe tiny amounts onto the parchment paper instead of using spoons.
• Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies onto a rack to cool.
• Store in an airtight container or separate into baggies as gifts or favors.

BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the benne (sesame) seeds on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, until light brown. Watch closes so that they don 't burn.
• In a large bowl mix the brown sugar, melted butter or margarine, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder and toasted sesame seeds together until combined.
• Drop dough by 1/2 teaspoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 4 to 6 minutes, until light brown. Let cookies cool for about 2 minutes before removing from baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

SESAME WAFERS

Steps:

• Sift flour and baking powder.
• Cream butter, sugar,egg and vanilla.
• Add sifted flour and baking powder.
• Mix to combine.
• Stir in seeds.
• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
• Spray with veggie oil.
• drop by small teaspoonfuls, leaving room for spreading.
• Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Cool on sheet, then remove to rack to cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container.
• (can use other types of seeds- flax- black sesame or white sesame).

WILDFLOWER-HONEY SEMIFREDDO WITH HONEY SESAME WAFERS

Steps:

• Make semifreddo:
• Sprinkle gelatin over 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and let stand to soften.
• Beat cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks, then chill, covered.
• Stir together honey, sugar, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons water in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Boil, undisturbed, until mixture registers 238°F on thermometer (soft-ball stage; you may need to tilt pan to get temperature; see cooks' note, below), about 4 minutes.
• Beat yolks in a medium bowl with cleaned beaters at high speed until they are thick and pale, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and pour hot honey mixture in a slow stream into yolks (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl). Reserve pan. Immediately add gelatin mixture to hot honey pan, swirling until dissolved, then beat liquid gelatin into yolk mixture and continue to beat until mixture is pale, thick, and completely cool, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Fold one third of whipped cream into honey mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined, then fold in remaining whipped cream gently but thoroughly.
• Divide mixture evenly among ramekins, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze until frozen, at least 1 hour.
• Make sesame toffee:
• Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Stir together cream, sugar, honey, and salt in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is golden and registers 260°F on thermometer (hard-ball stage; see cooks' note, below), about 6 minutes.
• Remove mixture from heat and immediately stir in sesame seeds, then pour evenly onto parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and spread into a very thin layer (about a 9-inch round) with an offset spatula. Cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes (candy will be slightly flexible), then chill on sheet in the refrigerator until hard, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove toffee from parchment and break into very small pieces (less than 1/4 inch) with your hands or a rolling pin.
• Make honey sesame wafers:
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, then add honey, beating until combined. Beat in egg white until combined well, then reduce speed to low and add flour and salt until combined. Chill batter, covered, until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Using offset spatula, spread half of batter (about 1/3 cup) into a very thin, sheer 14- by 11-inch rectangle on 1 sheet. Using tip of spatula or a butter knife, section off 12 squares by scraping knife through batter to make a 1/4-inch-wide space between batter sections. Sprinkle half of sesame toffee evenly over batter. Repeat with remaining batter and brittle on second sheet. Bake wafers, switching position of sheets and rotating 180 degrees halfway through baking, until golden (some parts may be pale golden), about 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature on sheets on racks, about 10 minutes. Peel parchment off wafers.
• Make orange topping:
• Peel and cut any white pith from oranges with a sharp knife. Cut oranges lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, discarding white pith from center, then cut slices into 1/4-inch dice.
• Assemble dessert:
• Fill a large bowl with cool water and dip 1 ramekin (with semifreddo) into water 3 seconds.
• Run a sharp paring knife around edge, then invert ramekin onto a dessert plate, gently releasing semifreddo. (It may be necessary to run knife around more than once and gently pry semifreddo out slightly; if necessary, smooth top and sides with knife.) Repeat with remaining ramekins.
• Spoon diced orange over and around each semifreddo and serve each with 1 or 2 honey sesame wafers.

THE BEST BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• If your sesame seeds are not toasted, place them on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for 10-12 minutes or until they turn light brown.
• They may burn easily, so watch closely to prevent this from happening.
• Mix the brown sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder, and toasted sesame seeds together until well combined in a large mixing bowl.
• Drop cookie dough by half-teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Make sure that at least 2 inches separate them; they spread A LOT.
• Bake at 375 degrees F for about 5-6 minutes or until edges become light brown. They will appear a little puffy when you take them out.
• Let them sit for 2-3 minutes.
• They should be pretty flat.
• Remove them to a wire rack and allow to cool (be careful--they're pretty crispy and crunchy!).
• Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container.