Black Sesame Shortbread
Updated February 12, 2025
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus chilling and cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
¾ cup/100 grams roasted black sesame seeds (see Tip)
⅓ cup/80 grams granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 cup/132 grams all-purpose flour
½ cup/114 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, for sprinkling
Nutritional analysis per serving
9 grams carbs; 10 milligrams cholesterol; 96 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 6 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 43 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein; 3 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a food processor, process the black sesame seeds, sugar and salt until the mixture forms a mass around the blade, about 3 minutes. The fat from the seeds should release, and the blend should go from the texture of wet sand to on the verge of becoming pasty. Scrape the bowl and add the flour. Pulse until the flour is evenly incorporated with the seeds into a sandy mixture.
- Step 2
Add the butter and vanilla, and pulse until the mixture forms a mass around the blade. Transfer to a sheet of plastic wrap and firmly squeeze, and roll into a 2-inch-diameter log. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 ½ hours or up to 3 days.
- Step 3
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees with racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 4
Cut the chilled log into ⅓-inch-thick slices and place on the prepared sheets, spacing ½ inch apart. If any bits of dough crumble off while slicing, pat them back into the rounds. Sprinkle the tops with the white sesame seeds.
- Step 5
Bake, switching the positions of the sheets halfway through, until the edges are brown and the tops golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets on wire racks. The shortbread will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Black sesame seeds, particularly ones from Japanese brands, are often sold toasted. If you can find only raw black sesame seeds, toast them by stirring them in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant and popping, 2 to 3 minutes. Cool completely before grinding. Taste the black sesame seeds before baking to make sure they’re not rancid; they should be nutty and delicious.
Private Notes
Comments
I just recently discovered a trick to make sure your chilled dough remains "round" (see link below) Use a tube from a paper towel. It is unfortunate that recipes do not include this easy and helpful hint. How to Bake Perfectly Round Cookies - Kitchen Conundrums with Thomas Joseph https://youtu.be/L2cXkLdJaG8
Watch the NYTcooking YouTube channel for a walk through of the recipe. Not sure why video is not in this story. https://youtu.be/LPnNW4_50VU. I followed the recipe exactly -- measuring ingredients by weight and cookies came out exactly as pictured. For those complaining that the dough fell apart -- make sure in the first step that you process the seeds and sugar/salt until you get nice clumps. You want the oil from the seeds to come out and bind everything together.
A tasty and delicate-textured cookie...thanks Genevieve. When baking these in Denver (altitude 5280 ft) you need to reduce the baking time to about 17 minutes and add about 4 teaspoons of a liquid (I added an extra half tsp of vanilla extract and a Tbsp of water) to avoid excessive crumbliness. It's difficult to tell when the edges and top are browned because of the black coloring from the sesame seeds, and in my opinion that is too long (one tray came out overdone and slightly bitter-tasting).
Would a hand mixer work for this, or is the dough too heavy? Or maybe a blender?
I made these exactly as written and they were fantastic! Also, they are supee easy. I only got 16 cookies from the batch, but they baked up beautifully in 18 minutes. I served them at a family dinner with some earl Grey ice cream (pirchased) and the combo was a bit hit.
For me, these came out with the texture of sand. Completely crumbled when picked up. The taste was fine but I had to throw the whole batch out!