Once again I experimented with black sesame in baked goods, both the powder and paste. Early last week while on a very short “vacation” in Snoqualmie to see the Snoqualmie Falls while the weather was great and the Falls were pleasantly (to me) booming as the lake water and depleting snow melt cascaded over the rocks, I tasted a black sesame chocolate chip cookie. It was quite puffy, but unpleasantly dry – even though fresh – and, to my palate, almost flavorless, but stirred my curiosity about adding chocolate chips with black sesame in a cookie.
By now my followers know that I occasionally play Mahjongg with three Chinese ladies who have made me an honorary Chinese woman. We play only for fun, not for money. Sometimes we go out to an Asia restaurant for lunch, and I usually bake something for our little gifts to each other when we have a play day. I also test cookies for an opinion related to their palates, especially with black sesame since one of them gifted me with a package of black sesame powder. So, you can guess, when I have an inspiration, I experiment, and this particular cookie was what I call Version 1.
Since our Mahjongg games start at 10:00 AM, I set my alarm for 7:30 to bake and cool a test batch of this cookie before we began play even though the cookies would be eaten after lunch. I confess that I had a warm one with the semisweet chocolate chips still melty rather than set. I was happy with the taste, both the black sesame and toasted sesame were evident, which I wanted. I wasn’t sure about the texture, since I’d based the cookie recipe on my “Chews” line but this cookie was soft, not chewy, yet did not have butter in it.
After a delicious lunch at Little Ting’s Dumplings in Shoreline, I asked for opinions on these cookies from my ladies and there was consensus. While the flavor and the lower-sugar content was approved, they all felt that the cookie should “have oil” and be more crispy than soft, “more Chinese.” Since they’re my experts on black sesame as well as, in general, the Chinese palate, I agreed to try another black sesame and chocolate chip cookie experiment soon. I want satisfaction!
P.S. I called this cookie a Softie because it’s not as soft as my Joneses. If a black sesame cookie ever becomes soft enough, frosted and decorated with some Jonesing, and if it’s up to my standards as a member of my Jones’ Line, I will proudly announce it as such.
Ms Chef in Seattle 