Friday, June 18, 2010

Benne Wafers..Part 2 !

Well I tried another recipe for these thin delicious wafers and this time the results...crispy!
Thanks to a reader's comments, they are supposed to be crisp so I searched to find a different recipe and this one resulted in a wonderful, flavorful, crispy thin cookie. And if you love the flavor of sesame seeds as much as I do, you'll really love these!
I took the suggestion of chilling the dough 30 minutes and it made for a less sticky, easier to manage dough.
The recipe calls for a little lemon juice, which I thought was a bit unusual, but maybe it helped tone down the sweetness of the brown sugar..I don't know, it just worked!
If you're like me and don't live in the South, then you're most likely not familiar with these, so I urge you to give them a try!

Space them at least 2" apart because they really spread.

See what I mean..spread out to a nice crispy cookie. And they get this beautiful shiny top!



Benne Wafers ( adapted from simplyrecipes)
1 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 tbsp. ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 325. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. Toast sesame seeds in a heavy skillet over medium heat til they're golden brown.
2. Beat brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl til fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Beat in the egg.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg/sugar mixture and mix well.
6. Stir in the sesame seeds, vanilla and lemon juice.
7. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. ( Optional, but I did this and it helps firm up the dough a bit and make it a little less sticky).
8. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2" apart.
9. Bake 14 to 15 minutes, or til edges are slightly browned ( which is difficult to tell with the cookie already a brown color! Mine took 14 minutes. If they stay in too long, they get even crispier, and I don't think that's how they should be. At least that's per astheroshe's comments! But, hey, I love crispy! )


2 comments:

  1. OMG I was soooo wrong.:)

    Yesterday, I rec'd a gift/. REAL Benne wafers from SC. They are crisp! Very crisp! They are small the size of a half-dollar, with a sheen to them. The texture is like Chinese rice crackers, and about that width. They snap when you bite :)I promised my SC friend i would master these!

    I will try your recipe....but i would almost swear there was some rice flour in the one i ate..:/

    Great JOB!!

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  2. Yes, give these a try! They are thin, crispy and they do have a sheen to them so I would say they are just like the real thing!

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