Black Sesame Brownie Cookies

Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and I’ll be serving up my ideas for the holiday over the next week. These black sesame brownie cookies are a really easy dessert you can have at your small gatherings. One of the things I’ve learned writing this blog is that black sesame is a really popular flavor. Even my mom can’t get enough of it, and she usually doesn’t like my desserts. (She thinks they’re too sweet lol). But she loves these cookies, and I think that’s a ringing endorsement if you ask me. If you’re looking for another yummy black sesame dessert, check out my black sesame raspberry bars!

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Black sesame seeds – Adds the black color and earthy flavor to these cookies. You can substitute black sesame seeds with black sesame powder.
• All purpose flour – The main dry ingredient in these cookies.
• Baking powder – This is a leavening agent that helps give the cookies some airiness.
• Granulated sugar & light brown sugar – Both sugars add sweetness and moisture to these cookies. Light brown sugar has more sweetness and moisture than granulated sugar because it has molasses. I use both sugars because it provides the perfect balance of sweetness and moisture.
• Eggs – Adds richness to these cookies and acts as a binder for these cookies.
• Vanilla extract – Adds flavor to these cookies. Substitute with 1 vanilla bean or an equal amount of vanilla paste. I usually use vanilla paste because it has more flavor.
• Salt for seasoning
• White chocolate – Adds flavor and moisture to these brownie cookies. I wrote some tips below on how to properly melt white chocolate, so make sure to check out the tips!
• Unsalted butter – Adds a yummy nutty flavor to the cookies.

Making my black sesame brownie cookies

First mix your dry ingredients. Toast black sesame seeds for 30 seconds to 1 minute over medium heat until you can smell a toasted aroma. Next using a spice grinder or food processor, break down your black sesame seeds until they are in powder form. Add to a small mixing bowl. Add flour and baking powder to the bowl. Mix and set aside.

Now for your wet ingredients! Add granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt to another bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk for ~2 minutes until thick and creamy (see picture above for reference). Set aside. Add white chocolate to another bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once all the butter melts, lower the heat to low and cook until the butter turns a golden color. Pour browned butter over the white chocolate and mix until all the chocolate melts. If there are a few stubborn chocolate pieces, heat in the microwave in 10 second increments until all the chocolate melts. Once all the white chocolate melts, pour mixture into the wet ingredients from step 4. Whisk everything together until well combined.

Sift the dry ingredients from step 3 into the wet ingredients. Mix until combined. Be careful not to over mix the dough. I personally like to use a spatula for this part to ensure I don’t over mix the dough. Cover and cool in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Using a medium sized (~1.5 tbsp) cookie scoop, scoop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Make sure cookies are at least 3 inches apart. The cookies will spread quite a bit, so make sure there is enough space between each one. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges start to turn a golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Tips on how to make the perfect black sesame brownie cookies

1. Use a spice grinder to break down your black sesame seeds – I mentioned this in my last black sesame cookie recipe, but I would highly recommend you use a spice grinder/coffee grinder for breaking down the black sesame seeds. The food processor doesn’t quite get you to the fine powder you want, so you end up with an inconsistent black color. Another option is you can use black sesame powder.
2. Tips on melting white chocolate – White chocolate is not like regular chocolate. It is actually made of sugar, cocoa butter, milk products, vanilla, and a fatty substance called lecithin. Therefore, it doesn’t melt like regular chocolate. When I was testing this recipe, I tried melting the white chocolate and butter in the microwave together, but the butter and white chocolate kept separating because the white chocolate kept getting too hot. I would get blobs of white chocolate in pools of butter (ew). I found the best way to get them to combine is to melt the butter and then pour it over the chocolate. If there are stubborn pieces of white chocolate, then you can use the microwave in small time increments to melt those down.
3. Why do you need to sift the dry ingredients? – Black sesame tends to clump up so you get an inconsistent black coloring if you don’t sift them into the wet ingredients.
4. Be careful not to over mix the batter – After you add the flour, make sure to stir only until just combined. As you mix the flour into the wet ingredients, gluten will start to form with each subsequent mixing motion. Gluten formation will make your cookies tough.
5. Why do you need to chill the dough? – Chilling the cookie dough is important because it helps to solidify the fat (ie. the butter). This is important because as the cookies bake, the fat will take longer to melt. The faster the fat melts, the more the cookie will spread.
6. Add optional mix ins – I did not include this in my recipe, but feel free to add mix ins like nuts and chocolate. Add the mix ins after you finish making the dough.
7. Use an oven thermometer for even temps – This is perhaps my #1 tip for baking in general. Most ovens, even nice ones, don’t have accurate temperatures. The oven I’ve been using has a 25 degree discrepancy between what it says on the oven and the internal temperature. So an oven thermometer has been a life saviour for me.

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