These black sesame and almond cookies are a twist on the classic Chinese almond cookies. They are not overly sweet, and the fun design is easy to make!
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My holiday season is not complete without baking copious amounts of baked goods for friends and family. I just love the sweet scents that swirl around my kitchen and the warmth that comes from the oven. One of my favorite things to bake around the holidays are cookies because they are easy to share. I bake enough to give to my neighbors and some of my favorite farmers at the farmers market.
Even when I’m visiting my family in England, I will bake cookies at my in-law’s’ house. I usually find a recipe from a British cooking magazine and enlist my mother-in-law’s assistance in the kitchen. We make a great team! After we bake the cookies, we’ll share them amongst family and friends. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to share some holiday cheer through cookies!
This year, I am excited to partner with Nielsen-Massey Vanillas in their first #BaketoShare campaign to spread holiday joy through baking. While researching holiday trends, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas surveyed 1,000 Americans and found that Gen-Xers and Millennials are most likely to bake during the holidays to spend time with loved ones. The insights that Nielsen-Massey Vanillas gathered from their research led them to launch the #BaketoShare campaign.
BLACK SESAME & ALMOND COOKIES
To inspire you to #BaketoShare this holiday season, I developed this black sesame and almond cookie recipe. The cookies are a twist on one of my favorite cookies from childhood, Chinese almond cookies. Instead of a plain almond cookie, I combine almond cookie and black sesame cookie dough bases to make a simple and fun design.
The design for these black sesame and almond cookies is based on a technique I learned from my friend Irvin Lin’s dessert cookbook, Marble, Swirled and Layered. For each cookie, you combine small pieces of almond and black sesame cookie dough and roll them together into a ball. Then, you flatten the dough slightly and cut the dough in half. The cut that you make is perpendicular to the dividing line between the almond and black sesame doughs.
Finally, flip one half of the cookie over and press the 2 halves together again. You should now have a design that looks slightly checkered. It is a simple but effective way to make the cookies visually appealing.
To flavor the almond cookie base, I used Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and Pure Almond Extract. The vanilla is a great all-purpose extract that brings out the sweetness of the cookies. The Pure Almond Extract is made from pure oil of bitter almonds and it gives the almond cookie base a light nutty flavor.
For the black sesame cookie dough, I used only the Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract. That way, you can taste the difference in flavors between the almond cookie and black sesame cookie bases. I also used Dutch-process cocoa powder to give the black sesame cookie dough better color contrast. Ground black sesame looks peppery and pale grey when incorporated into baked goods. Mixing in the Dutch-process cocoa makes the color of the dough darker and evenly distributed.
NIELSEN-MASSEY VANILLAS HOLIDAY FLAVORS BUNDLE
When you are ready to make these cookies, pick up a Nielsen-Massey Holiday Flavors Bundle on Amazon! The Holiday Flavor Bundle features 3 popular holiday flavors: Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, Pure Peppermint Extract, and Pure Almond Extract. The extracts come in 2- or 4-ounce sizes.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE BLACK SESAME & ALMOND COOKIES
Black Sesame & Almond Cookies
This recipe makes about 5 to 6 dozen cookies. If you want to make fewer cookies, you can halve the recipe.
You can also make the dough a day ahead. Shape the dough into disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. When you are ready to make the cookies, let the dough sit on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes to warm up before shaping. The dough is easier to work with when it is closer to room temperature.
Ingredients
Black Sesame Cookie Dough
- 2/3 cup (100g) black sesame seeds (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons (16g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks/225g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups (290g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (220g) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Almond Cookie Dough
- 1 1/3 cups (160g) almond flour
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks/225g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract
- 1 3/4 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (220g) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Glazed Almonds
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 egg
Instructions
Black Sesame Cookie Dough
- Working in 2 batches, grind the sesame seeds in a spice grinder for about 20 to 30 seconds. I use a coffee grinder that I dedicate to grinding spices (see note 2 about cleaning the grinder).
- Transfer the ground sesame seeds, cocoa powder, butter cubes, and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix the ingredients on low until the sesame seeds and cocoa powder are incorporated into the butter, about 30 to 45 seconds. Then, increase the speed to medium-low and mix for 2 minutes.
- Add the Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract to the batter and mix until just combined.
- Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder directly into the mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients on low again until most of the flour is incorporated. Then, increase the speed gradually to medium-low and mix until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to another bowl and wipe out any dough residue from the mixing bowl.
Almond Cookie Dough
- Add the almond flour, butter cubes, and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix the ingredients on low until the almond flour is incorporated into the butter, about 30 to 45 seconds. Then, increase the speed to medium-low and mix for 2 minutes.
- Add the Pure Almond Extract and Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and mix to combine the extracts to the batter.
- Sift the flour, sugar, and baking soda directly into the mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients on low again until most of the flour is incorporated. Then, increase the speed gradually to medium-low and mix until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl.
Prepare the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Position the oven racks to the upper and lower third positions.
- Line several large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Assemble the Cookies
- Lightly beat an egg in a small bowl. Add the almonds to the bowl and toss to coat the almonds with the egg. Set it aside.
- Prepare the cookie dough to bake 2 dozen cookies at a time. Scoop out 24 pieces each of almond cookie dough and black sesame cookie dough that are about 11g to 12g (about a heaping teaspoon-full). You should end up with 48 small balls of dough total. Roll each piece into small balls that will be about 1-inch in diameter.
- Take a piece of the almond dough and a piece of black sesame dough and squeeze them together so that they stick. Roll these 2 pieces of dough together so that you get a giant ball. Try to make sure that the line separating the dough is as straight as possible.
- Lightly flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. The cookie will look circular with one semi-circle being the almond cookie base and the other semi-circle the black sesame cookie base.
- Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough in half, making the cut perpendicular to the dividing line between the 2 doughs. Refer to the photos or video in the post for reference.
- Take one half of the cookie and flip it over. Press the 2 halves together so that they adhere. You should now see that the doughs of the same color are connected diagonally. Transfer the dough to the lined baking sheet and gently flatten the cookie so that it is about 2 inches in diameter.
- Continue shaping the cookies, until you fill your baking sheets with cookies. Make sure to leave a 1.5-inch gap between the cookies, as they will spread a little.
- Use a fork to remove 24 almonds from the bowl, shaking off any excess egg wash. Top each cookie with an almond.
Bake the Cookies
- Bake the cookies for about 12 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly golden. If you are using baking sheets that have a light color (like aluminum baking sheets), add an extra minute or 2.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. The cookies are very soft when they come out of the oven and they will harden as they cool.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Continue assembling and baking the cookies until you have baked all the dough.
- Store cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
- I typically use raw black sesame seeds. I like to toast my sesame seeds for 3 minutes on medium heat so that they release more aroma. Then, I’ll let them cool on a plate before transferring them to a coffee grinder.
- To clean the grinder after you grind the sesame seeds, add about 2 tablespoons of any rice into the grinder. Grind up the rice and pour out the contents into the trash. Take a slightly damp paper towel or napkin and wipe the inside of the grinder clean. The rice helps to remove the oils and odor inside the grinder. Rinse the lid of the spice grinder.
- I don’t usually chill the doughs before shaping the cookies, as I find the doughs are easier to work with when they are softer. If you find the black sesame cookie dough is getting a little too soft, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before working with it again.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 to 6 dozen Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 136Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 16.3mgSodium: 60mgCarbohydrates: 13.8gFiber: 0.7gSugar: 6.8gProtein: 1.7g
Jess says
These cookies came out great! Had a bunch of slivered almonds laying around so I decided to make my own almond flour. I also left out of the cocoa powder, because I didn’t have any, so the black sesame dough was light gray instead of Lisa’s nice dark brown color. Really tasty and a great way to use up the black sesame paste I had in my fridge. Thanks Lisa!
MJ says
Hi: I’ve already got ground black sesame (powder). Would you say the measurement is the same? Thx!
MJ says
hi again, black sesame batter says baking powder, and almond batter says soda. Is that correct? Thx!