Benne Wafers are another word for thin, crispy cookies made with sesame seeds. This recipe creates delicious, crunchy cookies that are great with milk!
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Until today, I’ve never really considered sesame seeds an ingredient if you know what I mean. A topping? Sure. But a full-on ingredient… not really.
I’m excited though, because this recipe for Benne Wafers from the Central African Republic really showed me the beauty of sesame seeds. When the sesame seeds toast, they have a beautiful flavor that’s all their own.
The seeds in these cookies make them a great middle ground for people that don’t have a huge sweet tooth. They taste a bit toasty and savory, but the cookie batter makes them sweet and delicious!
What Are Benne Wafers?
Benne wafers are cookies that originated in Africa, but are now very popular in America as well. To make these cookies, toast sesame seeds and then combine them with a buttery cookie dough. When the cookies bake, the bottoms get very crispy and crunchy!
What Ingredients Are Used to Make this Recipe?
Sesame seeds
Egg
Butter
Flour
Brown sugar
Salt
Baking powder
Vanilla
How Are Benne Wafers Made?
First, you’ll need to toast your sesame seeds for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Melt butter in your microwave and use an electric hand mixer to combine with sugar in a large bowl.
Add egg and mix again.
Combine flour and baking powder into the dough and hand mix until a dough is formed.
Add the toasted sesame seeds.
Use a small cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough. I placed my cookies on an open air cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.
Bake at 375 degrees for 14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool and then enjoy!
Where Did this Recipe Come From?
Benne wafers originated in Africa and are very popular in the Central African Republic. However, when slaves were transported to America, they brought their favorite recipes with them. These slaves began making their benne wafer recipe Now, benne wafers are a popular snack in South Carolina (for example, the Olde Colony Bakery is home to the Charleston Version of Benne Wafers!
Thanks for reading! If you want more cookie recipes, check out my other blog posts:
- Fast and Easy Maple Cookies
- Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Cookies from Argentina)
- Sheqerpare Cookies from Albania
- Algerian Shortbread Cookies with Raspberry Filling
Benne Wafers (Sesame Seed Cookies)
Equipment
- Oven Mitt
- Electric Hand Mixer
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place sesame seeds on a cookie sheet and toast for about 15 minutes, checking and stirring them every 5 minutes or so. Keep a close eye on your sesame seeds as they burn easily.
- Remove the sesame seeds from the oven and place them aside to cool.
- Bump oven up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt butter and use an electric mixer to combine with sugar.
- Add egg and mix with electric mixer again.
- Add flour and baking powder and use a spoon to mix by hand.
- Line an open air cooking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 12 cookies onto your cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 14 minutes. Your cookies will start to brown and be very thin and wafery!
- Allow to cool fully and enjoy!
- Leave a comment on this post letting me know what you think.
Lisa says
Fabulous, everyone loves them
The Foreign Fork says
So glad to hear it Lisa. Thanks for the review!