Traditional Benne waffles from South Carolina, thin, crispy, toasted sesame biscuits.
Please give a warm welcome to one of my dearest friends, Steve-Anna Stephens, who is guest authoring this post with one of her favorite recipes for the Southern classic, Benne Waffles. Steve-Anna sent us a tin of these cookies and we devoured them. So good! ~ Elise
Every year when I was a little girl growing up in Alabama, our family received a Christmas present in the mail from Charleston.
While everyone else was busy treating themselves to homemade Christmas fudge and stocking up on candy, I secretly and systematically emptied the tin of Benne waffles. As far as I remember the round flat biscuits were stacked in paper liners around the tin.
Instead of eating a whole stack of cookies from top to bottom, I would eat one from each stack on top, hoping no one would notice how many were actually gone.
What draws me then, as now, is the combination of three flavors: the nutty flavor of the toasted benne (sesame) seeds, a hint of salt, and the caramel-sweet flavor of the brown sugar—a chewy, crunchy dessert trifecta.
Sesame cookies, or benne cookies as we call them in the South, are a classic South Carolina tradition. It is believed that enslaved Africans brought bene seeds to colonial America sometime in the 17th century.
After trying several recipes in search of one that lives up to my memory (including a number of recipes from my stash of southern cookbooks), my favorite comes from Gullah Net. In South Carolina, communities of people descended from enslaved Africans are referred to as Gullah communities.
Ben waffles
ingredients
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1 cup sesame seeds, toasted
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1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
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4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
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1 egg, lightly beaten
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1/2 cup all-purpose flour
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1/4 tsp. Salt
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1/8 tsp. baking powder
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1 teaspoon. freshly squeezed lemon juice
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1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
method
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Preheat the oven and prepare the baking tray:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat sheets or lightly oil.
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Roast Sesame:
In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, toast the sesame seeds until golden brown.
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Make Cookie Dough:
In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter for a few minutes.
Beat the egg.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder, then add these dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture and mix well.
Stir in the toasted sesame seeds, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
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Cool dough (optional):
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This will make it easier for the biscuits to fall onto the trays.
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Bake:
Place teaspoons at a time on the prepared baking sheets, leaving room for the cookies to spread. Bake at 325°F for about 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Cool on the baking sheets for a minute or two, then transfer to a rack to continue cooling.
Recipe Source: Gullah Net
Links:
Benne waffle cans from Olde Colony Bakery
