Benne Wafers are thin, crispy cookies made with sesame seeds. This recipe creates delicious, crunchy cookies that are toasty, sweet and great with milk!
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Crisp, nutty, and delicately sweet, benne wafers are a thin cookie that may just surprise you. These cookies come from Africa and are made with a simple, sweet dough, covered in toasted sesame seeds, which gives them a beautiful rich flavor that’s not overly sweet, but still tastes indulgent.
This region is known for desserts that are delicious, without being overpowering (like Caakiri, Shortbread Cookies with Jam and Banana Fritters) and Benne Wafers are no exception. These cookies are so delicious that once the recipe came to America, they became a popular treat in the South as well, particularly Charleston.
I tested these recipes probably about 5 or 6 times before I was finally happy with the results. You can rest assured knowing that you are making a heavy researched recipe that is going to turn out great!
Recipe Origins
Benne wafers originated in the Central African Republic, where “Benne” means sesame and the seeds represent good luck and prosperity.
When slaves were transported to America, they brought sesame seeds with them, making sesame seeds popular in coastal areas like South Carolina and Georgia. Today, these sesame seed cookies remain a popular snack in the area.
I had had this recipe on the blog for years, but I had made it in my first year of blogging and didn’t quite know how to perform recipe research yet. Once I visited Charleston in 2024, I realized that we needed to make some adjustments! I took a bag of benne wafers home and compared my cookies to theirs every time a fresh batch came out of the oven. Finally, we got it right!
Why Make This Recipe
- Irresistibly Flavorful: If you’ve only ever used sesame seeds to add a dash of flavor to your stir fry, this recipe will give you a whole new appreciation for them. Toasted sesame seeds give these cookies a rich, nutty taste that’s both unique and addictive.
- Simple Ingredients: You probably have all the ingredients for the dough in your pantry already. The base of these cookies is simple, allowing the flavor of the sesame seeds to really shine.
- “Visit” Charleston or Central African Republic: These cookies celebrate culture and history. Every batch honors the African roots of benne (sesame) seeds and the generations who carried their traditions forward through food.
Key Ingredients for Benne Wafers
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Unsalted butter: Butter gives these cookies a light texture and a subtle buttery flavor. The milk solids in butter is what makes the edges crispy. I tried it with margarine, but the cookies turned out a bit softer, which we don’t want with these crunchy cookies!
- Brown sugar: For sweetness. I tested these cookies with white granulated sugar and the taste was just not right, plus they spread too much! I use light brown sugar, because it allows the flavor of the sesame seeds to really shine through.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise, giving them a cookie texture versus a cracker
- Sesame seeds: The star of the show! Your sesame seeds provide not only flavor but also structure to the cookies. Toasting the sesame seeds is vital to the recipe as it really pulls out the flavor of the seeds.
How to Make this Recipe
Step One: Toast the sesame seeds in a non-stick skillet, stirring frequently, until they are brown and emit a nutty aroma.
Step Two: Mix the unsalted butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer.
Step Three: Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar. Then add your dry ingredients together, and mix with the butter and sugar mixture.
Step Four: Add the toasted sesame seeds into the batter and mix by hand.
Step Five: Drop the dough onto parchment paper, leaving plenty of room for the cookies to spread.
Step Six: Bake until brown on the edges but not burnt. Allow them to cool for a few minutes, then cool further on a cooling rack.
Expert Tips
- Be careful when toasting your sesame seeds. They can go from toasted to burnt very quickly! Do not walk away!
- The longer you bake the cookies, the crispier they will be, but be sure not to burn them.
- When you pull your cookies from the oven it is important to slide the parchment paper off the hot baking sheet, so the cookies don’t continue to cook, but then give the cookies time to cool before you try to remove them from the parchment paper. Once fully cooled, they should be crisp enough to snap.
- I tested this recipe with a 350F degree baking time and a 375F. 350 degrees gave the cookies enough time to spread and caramelize without burning!
Recipe FAQs
Not exactly. While both use sesame seeds and both are considered cookies, benne wafers are much thinner and crispier, with a caramelized, nutty flavor that comes from brown sugar and butter. They’re lighter than traditional sesame cookies.
Your cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them from becoming stale, rather than crispy. They’ll stay fresh for about a week.
I have not tested a gluten free or dairy free version of this recipe. You could try your favorite 1:1 substitute. The gluten in these cookies comes from the flour and there is dairy in the butter.
Did you enjoy this recipe for Benne Wafers? If so, check out these other recipes I’ve chosen just for you:
- Fast and Easy Maple Cookies
- Alfajores Argentinos
- Albanian Shortbread Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies with Jam
If you tried this Benne Wafers Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Benne Wafers
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a dark baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a nonstick skillet, add 1 cup sesame seeds over medium heat. Toast the sesame seeds, stirring frequently, until they are brown and emit a nutty aroma.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add ½ cup unsalted butter and 1 cup brown sugar. Use the paddle attachment to mix until fully combined. The combination will be very light in color.
- Add 1 large egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix again.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon baking soda and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Then add the dry mixture into the wet mixture in the stand mixer.
- Finally, add the toasted sesame seeds and mix again until evenly distributed.
- Drop cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet in balls of 1 tsp. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes, until the cookies are brown on the edges and bottom but not burnt (the longer you bake them for, the crispier they will be).
- Once cooked, remove them from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet. Allow the cookies to cool and harden. They should snap when broken. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Brown sugar: For sweetness. I tested these cookies with white granulated sugar and the taste was just not right, plus they spread too much! I use light brown sugar, because it allows the flavor of the sesame seeds to really shine through.
- Be careful when toasting your sesame seeds. They can go from toasted to burnt very quickly! Do not walk away!
- The longer you bake the cookies, the crispier they will be, but be sure not to burn them.
- When you pull your cookies from the oven it is important to slide the parchment paper off the hot baking sheet, so the cookies don’t continue to cook, but then give the cookies time to cool before you try to remove them from the parchment paper. Once fully cooled, they should be crisp enough to snap.
- I tested this recipe with a 350F degree baking time and a 375F. 350 degrees gave the cookies enough time to spread and caramelize without burning!
Lisa says
Fabulous, everyone loves them
The Foreign Fork says
So glad to hear it Lisa. Thanks for the review!