Happy New Year everyone! Twenty. Twenty. FOUR. How? When did 2018 end again?
Sadly, it is January. Now me myself, I’m not a huge fan of January. It’s just a kind of depressing time of year. I feel like it’s very repetitive, the same boring schedule every day. In years past, I would be looking forward to snow because we usually get it in January/February. But last year we didn’t get ANY snow. So I don’t even know what to hope for now.
ALSO. Dang, school is really tough. My workload this week has actually been pretty small but it’s still super stressful to be back. I like having deadlines to keep me on track, but I hate not knowing things (like dates). So while deadlines are sometimes nice, they often come with some level of uncertainty as to when said deadlines are, which causes me bucket loads of stress.
Ok wow that got kinda doom and gloom. We’re not here for doom and gloom, we came for COOKIES. So lets talk about that instead.
I have decided to make it a tradition to make a slightly unusual recipe for the beginning of a new year. Last year, I made these apricot and dark chocolate cookies which were a lil funky, but oh so tasty. This year its these cookies.
Black Sesame? In a Cookie?
Yes, that’s right. Now I didn’t used to like sesame. In anything really, and especially not in tahini. But I have changed and now I really like sesame (I still don’t like tahini though to be completely honest). Especially black sesame in a sweet format, because its strangely delicious. To give you an idea, sesame is very nutty. So combined with those juicy raspberries it tastes like a fancy PB and J.
Describe These Cookies to Me
Taste: Like I said above, these taste like a very sophisticated PB and J. It doesn’t taste like peanuts to be clear, but it does taste nutty. Plus you’ve got sweet notes of vanilla, and ripples of refreshing raspberry.
Texture: When developing this recipe, this is where I struggled. I needed enough flour to prevent the cookies from being soggy from the raspberry, but not so much that they’re dry and cakey. I ended up using way less flour then I had originally thought so you’re left with a soft cookie with a crisp outside and gooey ripples of raspberries.
Ease: These may just be the easiest cookie recipe I’ve ever posted. It’s one bowl, no mixer, and comes together in about half an hour. To get that sesame flavor, we make a sesame sugar by pulsing together the seeds and sugar in a food processor, but that’s your only “extra” step. The rest is just melted butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking soda. Oh, and some frozen raspberries.
What Makes These So Great?
First of all, picky eaters (I say this as a former one myself), most likely won’t like the sound of sesame seeds in a cookie. But If you don’t tell them (that’ll be our secret), then I assure you anyone will love these cookies, because they don’t taste like you would expect. Secondly, these cookies are SO easy! The dough is all made in one bowl, with no mixer required, and there’s only a handful of ingredients.
Why Frozen Raspberries
Two reasons. First of all, it’s really hard to find good fresh raspberries this time of year. Secondly (and more importantly) the frozen aspect is vital to these cookies structure. The dough will appear sort of thin and greasy at first because of the melted butter. But once you add the frozen raspberries, the cold helps to solidify the dough without having to chill it! This prevents goopy, over-spread cookies, and gives you soft but structurally sound cookies. Having the raspberries be hard also makes it easier to fold into the dough.
Alrighty that’s just about all I have to say. Writing this now, I’m looking longingly out of my window wishing for snow. Is it snowing anywhere else (probably)? Will it snow here? Who can say, but I really hope it does!!
Black Sesame and Raspberry Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup black sesame seeds
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup frozen raspberries NOT fresh, see above post for why frozen is important
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Set aside
Make the sesame sugar
- Add the sugar and sesame seeds to a food processor and pulse until sesame seeds are broken up and you have a grey, somewhat sandy, sugar with some specks from the sesame seeds. This should only take 15-20 seconds, see above post for a visual. Be careful not to over process or the mixture may turn to a paste.
Make the cookies
- Pour the sesame sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the egg and egg yolk, and mix with a whisk until lightened in color and the mixture falls off the whisk. It may take a little effort by hand, but it should only take about 30 seconds. Add the melted butter and vanilla and whisk to combine. Sift in the salt, flour, and baking soda. Switch to a spatula to fold it in until just combined. Dough will be somewhat greasy. Carefully fold in the frozen raspberries, the cold from them should thicken the dough a little.
- Scoop the dough into balls, roughly two tablespoons in size (I used and ice cream scoop to do this). Place on the baking sheets two inches apart. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges and bottom are browned slightly. These cookies don't spread all that much, so you might want to remove them from the oven at minute 10, carefully bang the tray on the counter a few times, and return to the oven to continue baking. This will help them spread.
- Allow cookie to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before enjoying or moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Cookies stay fresh sealed at room temperature for up to 4 days.