Chinese Black Sesame Cookies

This super easy crunchy black sesame cookie has an amazing nutty aroma from the black sesame seeds. You only need 6 ingredients to make them. They are vegan and dairy-free.

Why you’ll like this recipe

1. Super easy
These black sesame cookies are such a breeze to put together. With only six ingredients and most of them you probably already have in your pantry. If you don’t have black sesame powder, you can easily grind it up using a blender at home
2. Love the taste and texture
These cookies are mildly sweet and it’s typical for most Asian-type cookies. If you have a sweet tooth, you may not find them sweet enough and you can adjust the amount of sugar accordingly. The texture is crunchy but it’s not tough kind of crunchy!
3. Shelf-stable
These cookies can be kept in an air-tight container for a month if they last that long in your house. They are considered “dry cookies (kue kering)” and therefore pretty shelf-stable, making them perfect to be kept in a cookie jar at room temperature

Ingredients and substitutions

1. Black sesame powder
This is available in most Asian grocery stores. If you can’t find any, simply purchase black sesame seeds and you can toast them and grind them at home using a blender
2. All-purpose flour
Any flour with low or medium gluten content is suitable for this recipe
3. Powdered sugar or icing sugar
I do not recommend substituting it with regular granulated sugar. If you don’t have any, you can put regular granulate sugar in a food processor and pulse it a few times into a fine powdery texture
4. Creamy peanut butter
The addition of peanut butter enhances the flavor of the cookies. Black sesame pairs well with peanuts. You can also use other nut butter like almond butter or seed butter. My favorite is with creamy peanut butter
5. Oil
I use neutral-tasting oil like avocado oil. Feel free to use any oil of your choice
6. Salt
A small pinch of salt helps to bring out the flavor of the cookies

Chinese Black Sesame Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings 30 cookies (depending on the size)

5 from 4 reviews

REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

0.5x1x2x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 100 g all-purpose flour
• ▢ 60 g powdered sugar
• ▢ ¼ tsp salt
• ▢ 80 g ground black sesame
• ▢ 20 g creamy peanut butter
• ▢ 66 g cooking oil

Decoration:

• ▢ White sesame seeds

Instructions

 

Toast the sesame seeds: (can be done the day before)

• If you get a black sesame powder from a store, you can skip this step
• Toast the black sesame seeds on the dry pan over medium-low heat until you start smelling the nice nutty aroma, about 5 minutes or so. Take care not to burn them. Let them cool down completely before grinding into a powder. If you grind them when they are warm, they will turn into black sesame paste

Prepare the cookie dough:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven. 330 F (170 C) for convection oven. Position the rack in the middle. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper
• Combine all the ingredients, except for the oil, in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. It is important not to add all the oil at once. You may need more or less. Gradually add 1/2 of the oil into the dry and start mixing with your clean hand. Most likely, the mixture feels dry and won't come together just yet. Add another 1/2 of the remaining oil and see if you can form a soft crumbly dough. It feels soft and moist and if you squeeze it, it holds the shape, but if you push the dough it will crumble. This is the texture we want. Add the oil if the dough still feels dry and won't come together

Shaping:

• Scoop about 10 grams of cookie dough. Squeeze the dough and then roll into a round ball. This way, the cookies won't crumble easily. Dip the top into some white sesame seeds. Place it on the prepared baking pan. Continue with the rest of the cookie dough. These cookies won't spread or expand much

Baking:

• Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes and golden brown at the bottom. They should feel dry to the touch. Let them cool on the pan completely before storing in an air-tight container

Storage:

• Cookies can be kept in an air-tight container for about two weeks or so. They taste the best the first week. They also freeze well. They can be kept frozen for up to one month. Simply thaw at room temperature before serving

Marv’s Recipe Notes

The recipe is adapted from here with some modifications.

*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*

Nutrition Facts

Chinese Black Sesame Cookies

Serving Size

 

1 cookie

Amount per Serving

Calories

59

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

4

g

6

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.4

g

3

%

Trans Fat

 

0.01

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

2

g

Sodium

 

23

mg

1

%

Potassium

 

20

mg

1

%

Carbohydrates

 

5

g

2

%

Fiber

 

0.4

g

2

%

Sugar

 

2

g

2

%

Protein

 

1

g

2

%

Vitamin A

 

0.3

IU

0

%

Calcium

 

27

mg

3

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I’d love to see your photos/videos on Instagram

How to bake Chinese black sesame cookies

1. If you get a black sesame powder from a store, you can skip this step. Toast the black sesame seeds on the dry pan over medium-low heat until you start smelling the nice nutty aroma. Take care not to burn them. Let them cool down completely before grinding into a powder. If you grind them when they are warm, they will turn into black sesame paste

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven. 330 F (170 C) for convection oven. Position the rack in the middle. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper. Combine all the ingredients, except for the oil, in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

3. It is important not to add all the oil at once. You may need more or less. Gradually add 1/2 of the oil into the dry and start mixing with your clean hand. Most likely, the mixture feels dry and won’t come together just yet. Add another 1/2 of the remaining oil and see if you can form a soft crumbly dough.

4. The dough feels soft and moist and if you squeeze it, it holds the shape, but if you push the dough it will crumble. This is the texture we want. Add the oil if the dough still feels dry and won’t come together

5. Scoop about 10 grams of cookie dough. Squeeze the dough and then roll into a round ball. This way, the cookies won’t crumble easily. Dip the top into some white sesame seeds. Place it on the prepared baking pan. Continue with the rest of the cookie dough. These cookies won’t spread or expand much

6. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. They should feel dry to the touch. Let them cool on the pan completely before storing in an air-tight container

Did you make this Chinese black sesame cookie recipe?

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