Benne Cheese Wafers Food

BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter for about 30 second, so that it is even softer. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda and egg and beat until just combined. Add the flour and mix until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds.
• Drop the dough by tablespoonful onto the baking sheets, making sure to leave at least an inch between the wafers for spreading. Spray your hands or a spatula with nonstick spray and press the cookies down to keep them from doming.
• Bake until golden brown and starting to crisp on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the wafers to cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

BENNE WAFERS (CHARLESTON'S CLASSIC SESAME SEED COOKIES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• If using sesame seeds, rather than authentic benne seeds, toast seeds in dry skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until well mixed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Make it extra fluffy to add volume to the dough so you get the full number of cookies out of it! Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to combine after each egg.
• Sift together flour and baking powder. Stir dry ingredients into butter-sugar mixture. Stir in benne or sesame seeds and vanilla extract.
• Drop dough by scant 1/2-teaspoons-full (I did a little less than 1/2 teaspoon to make them more bite-sized, since the dough spreads quite a bit) onto parchment paper about 1 inch apart. If desired, spoon dough into a ziplock bag and trim off the corner, or into a pastry bag, and pipe tiny amounts onto the parchment paper instead of using spoons.
• Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove cookies onto a rack to cool.
• Store in an airtight container or separate into baggies as gifts or favors.

BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place the benne (sesame) seeds on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, until light brown. Watch closes so that they don 't burn.
• In a large bowl mix the brown sugar, melted butter or margarine, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder and toasted sesame seeds together until combined.
• Drop dough by 1/2 teaspoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 4 to 6 minutes, until light brown. Let cookies cool for about 2 minutes before removing from baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

THE BEST BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• If your sesame seeds are not toasted, place them on an ungreased baking sheet and toast for 10-12 minutes or until they turn light brown.
• They may burn easily, so watch closely to prevent this from happening.
• Mix the brown sugar, melted butter, egg, vanilla extract, flour, salt, baking powder, and toasted sesame seeds together until well combined in a large mixing bowl.
• Drop cookie dough by half-teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Make sure that at least 2 inches separate them; they spread A LOT.
• Bake at 375 degrees F for about 5-6 minutes or until edges become light brown. They will appear a little puffy when you take them out.
• Let them sit for 2-3 minutes.
• They should be pretty flat.
• Remove them to a wire rack and allow to cool (be careful--they're pretty crispy and crunchy!).
• Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container.

BENNE CHEESE WAFERS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread the sesame seeds on a baking sheet. Bake them for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are toasted golden but not brown. Transfer to a bowl and cool.
• Using a wooden spoon, beat the butter and cheese together in a bowl until they are well blended. Blend in the Worcestershire sauce. In another bowl, stir together the flour, cayenne, mustard, salt and sesame seeds. Gradually stir into the butter mixture to make a stiff dough, then knead to blend all the ingredients evenly.
• Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll them into marble-sized balls. Place them about an inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with the tines of a fork in a crisscross pattern.
• Bake them for 12 minutes, or until they are crisp but not brown. Cool on racks. Store in airtight container.

BENNE WAFERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• To toast the sesame seeds, spread them in a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool and leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, place the brown sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and beat on low speed until thoroughly combined. The dough will be wet and sticky. Fold in the toasted sesame seeds with a rubber spatula.
• Using a teaspoon, scoop and drop balls of the dough onto the baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. (They will spread a lot.) You should end up with about 24 balls per sheet. Bake until the edges of the wafers are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.