New! Black Sesame Butter Cookie in 3 Forms

3 variations of my newest Butter Cookie. Plain. Mini teacake with powdered sugar. Sprinkle-topped.

In the last post, I wrote about my first foray into the use of black sesame powder and black sesame tahini. There was the delicious Black Sesame birthday cake for one of my Chinese lady friend’s birthday celebrated at our occasional afternoon of Mahjongg. The reviews have come in from their family members regarding slices of the cake sent home: everybody loved it. I’d promised to experiment with a cookie for my next offering and these cookies were the result. I’m very happy to say that Black Sesame Butter Cookie and Black Sesame Teacake Minis have now joined my Butter Cookie and Mini Teacake lines as a flavor alternative.

My Chinese ladies prefer low sugar in general, so my intent was to create a crispy and low sugar butter cookie using the black sesame powder. Since I didn’t have any black sesame seeds, I roasted some regular sesame seeds and added them for a depth of nutty flavor and texture. They were a hit with all three of the ladies, along with advice to take the savory/low sugar recipe with me to China later this year when I hope to find an angel investor. (I wondered whether Sugar Bowl Bakery might be interested as they don’t have this type of cookies amongst those they send nationwide. It’s a keeper.)

For St. Patrick’s Day, for the Eid, for the Spring Equinox and Nowruz.

I decided to use the first batch of this experiment to make three different types of cookies with the dough. I tasted the plain version as soon as the cookies had cooled on the rack and found that it met my requirements perfectly. Taste: check. Crunch: check. Novelty: double check. I made the next batch with sugar crystals, nearly always a feature of butter cookies from my kitchen and usually my favorite since I have a sweet tooth and also love the crunchy tops. Obviously the green sugar was for the Occasions Of The Day. The choice to make a small batch of Mini Teacakes was more out of hope than demand and I’m pleased with the result. It’s an unexpected single bite of surprise, both savory and sweet. It’s a winner and I’m excited to share it with family who particularly want Teacakes. I may feature it at Christmas this year, although that’s a decision for December. The roasted sesame seeds will stay in my recipe, too.

I’m not sure where I will go next with experiments featuring black sesame. I’m happy with a cake and a cookie trio. Maybe a muffin?