Sunday, September 19, 2010

Benne Seed Cookies

I didn’t know that bene means sesame in Gambia and Senegal. It’s spelled benne in the southeastern area of the US, and it’s pronounced ‘bennie.’ I learned those facts and several others from The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking by Joseph Dabney. I received a review copy of this book which describes the culinary, agricultural, hunting and gathering, and social traditions of the southeastern coastal plain region from South Carolina’s northern coast to Darien, Georgia also known as the Lowcountry. In addition to historical information, the book includes recipes for classic dishes like boiled peanuts and peanut soup, country captain with chicken and shrimp, Vidalia onion and tomato pie, and a few different versions of grits. In the benne seed chapter, it's explained that the seeds were brought to the US by African slaves during the colonial period and are now a legacy Lowcountry plant. Over time, the seeds came to be used in candies, cakes, cookies, breads, salads, and seafood dishes. The cookie recipe shown here is from Clementa “Ment” Florio from Charleston, and it was also featured in Southern Living magazine in 2005. The cookies are made from little, teaspoon-sized balls of dough packed with toasted sesame seeds. Because they’re so small, the recipe makes a lot of cookies, but their small size also makes them very snack-worthy.

To start, a half cup of sesame seeds were toasted in a dry skillet. Then, softened butter was mixed until creamy, and sugar was slowly added. The toasted sesame seeds, an egg, and vanilla were incorporated. In a separate bowl, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt were sifted together and then stirred into the butter mixture. The dough was chilled for an hour before being rolled into half-inch wide balls and placed on a baking sheet. The dough balls were flattened with a floured, flat-bottomed glass before baking for about ten minutes.

These simple butter cookies are light in texture with some crunch from the sesame seeds, and their innocent, little size makes you want to grab one after another. It’s nice to learn a bit about the history of a place while enjoying a time-honored recipe. In fact, I look forward to more of this style of learning with Carolina gold rice and a seafood stew.



24 comments:

  1. What a wonderful sounding book, and I have to say I am developing a great appreciation for sesame seeds, they are just so versatile and I cannot wait to try them in this cookie recipe.

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  2. I was wondering what benne was, Now I know. Want to know what's in Indonesian language? Wijen :) pronounce wii ... jen, like Jenny.

    Thanks for the info Lisa !

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  3. These look really good. I have never had them before but they look like a great change up from the everyday cookie.

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  4. Those look marvelous! I love those gorgeous cookies.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. Those are the cookbooks I like the most, with a bit of folklore and history mixed into it. Sesame seeds, called soomsoom in Hebrew are used copiously in Israel both in savory and sweet foods. The cookies look lovely

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  6. Initially I was like what is benne seed? Great looking cookies...love the idea of bite size :-)

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  7. I do love it when I hear of different names for foodstuff we know & love. Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing this cookie recipe, they do look a bit addictive :)

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  8. Nice looking cookies, they seem like they'd be relatively healthy compared to some. I love sesame seeds!

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  9. I love sesame seeds and would love these cookies, scrumptious!

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  10. I enjoyed some of these at an outdoor market in S. Carolina a few years ago without realizing at first what bene seeds were. After one bite, I realized they were sesame seeds and knew immediately why I loved these cookies so much: I love anything with the distinctive nuttiness of sesame seeds.

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  11. I didn't know benne seeds mean sesame seeds too. I wonder if they taste similar to the Asian ones. Your cookies are gorgeous!

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  12. They look like melt-in-the-mouth cookies. :D

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  13. They look so perfectly delicate Lisa! I do love sesame seeds and find them so moreish! :D

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  14. I've always wanted to make these, Lisa. You did such a super job with them too!

    The Dabney book sound intriguing. I love books that explain the history as well as the recipes.

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  15. Oh my!! Just looking at the pics I can feel how soft and crunchy these are. Yummy!

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  16. I just learned something new..benne means sesame seed....
    Love these cookies...buttery and melt-in-mouth!

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  17. These are wonderful...wish I had a few right now with my coffee :)

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  18. Benne Cookies are something I need to add my tried-and-true Southern recipes list. I've got the cheese crackers and rosemary cookies down pat, but I haven't tried these yet. And if this recipe was in Southern Living, you know it has to be good. =)

    PS - I'm also going to have add this cookbook to my shopping list.

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  19. I love the idea of sesame seeds in cookies! I love them in crackers. The book sounds really interesting too.

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  20. Now that you've been benne cookies, it's time for you to try a peanut stew. :)

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  21. Guess what? I have a lb of raw sesame seeds in my pantry. I know what to do with them now!!! :D

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  22. excellent--i know we're supposed to learn at least one new thing every day, and now i can check that off today's to-do list. these cookies look like a tasty treat!

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  23. I love the idea of having sesame seeds in cookies and they look delicious too!

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  24. I love reading about origins of certain foods and recipes, thank you :)

    and those cookies look really delicious :)

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