I am literally swimming in sugar and butter this week as Christmas baking kicks into high gear. Next up on my cookie list are these black sesame chocolate chip cookies. They have the earthiness of black sesame seeds combined with the chocolatey-ness of chocolate chip cookies. I love how dark these cookies look, and yes it might be an unconventional choice for the cheeriness of Christmas, but the taste more than makes up for it.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Black sesame seeds – Adds color and the smoky, earthy flavor of black sesame seeds.
- All purpose flour – AP flour is the main dry ingredient in these cookies. Make sure to use a spoon to scoop your flour into the measuring cup. Using your measuring cup to scoop out the flour will compress the flour which results in more flour in the dough. Too much flour causes the dough to not spread properly.
- Baking soda – Baking soda helps the cookies rise and give it that airiness.
- Butter – Adds a bit of a nutty flavor to the cookies. Those nutty flavor is further enhanced by browning the butter.
- Granulated sugar & light brown sugar – Both add sweetness to these cookies and help the cookies spread/rise. Granulated sugar helps the cookies spread, and brown sugar helps the cookies rise. Brown sugar also adds a bit more sweetness and moisture to these cookies because it has molasses.
- Eggs – Adds richness to these cookies. Make sure to use room temperature eggs for this recipe.
- Salt – The salt helps balance out the sweetness of these cookies.
- Vanilla extract – I am now a vanilla paste convert, but vanilla extract works for these cookies. You can also use 1 vanilla bean.
- Chocolate chips – Use a lot of chocolate chips because they’re just that good lol. I like to use chocolate chips that are on the more bitter side because I think it helps balance out the sweetness from the sugars. I would recommend using any kind of chocolate chips you choose!
Making my black sesame chocolate chip cookies
First toast the black sesame seeds for 20-25 seconds. Pour black sesame seeds into a spice grinder or food processor. (I recommend a spice grinder.) Pulse until it has fully broken down into powder. Pour into a bowl. Add all purpose flour and baking soda to the bowl. Mix until combined and set aside.
Next, brown butter in a small sauce pan. Heat butter over medium high heat until the butter melts and then lower it to low. Cook the butter until golden brown and small brown solids start to appear. Remove from the heat and set aside. Combine granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the brown butter. Whisk with a stand mixer or hand mixer until just combined. Add the eggs and whisk until a smooth, creamy mixture forms (picture 2 above). Next, add the salt and vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Add the dry ingredients from step 2 to the bowl and mix with a spatula until just combined. Lastly, add the chocolate chips and mix until just combined. Let the cookies rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Use a 2 tablespoon (medium sized) cookie scoop to scoop your cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Make sure there are 2 inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are light brown. Rest for 10 minutes on the baking sheets and then another 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.
Tips on how to make the perfect black sesame chocolate chip cookies
- Use a spice grinder if you have one – I would highly highly recommend you use a spice grinder to break down your black sesame seeds. A food processor works okay, but you can’t really get that powder you want. The powder is what gives the cookies their grey color. Another option is to buy black sesame powder.
- Be careful about over mixing your dough – 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.
- Why it’s important to rest the dough – Resting 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.
- 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.
- Use a cookie scoop for even sized cookies – Not only does a cookie scoop make your cookies look uniform, they also help your cookies bake evenly. I used a medium sized (~2 tbsp) cookie scoop for this recipe.
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Black Sesame Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup black sesame seeds powdered
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter browned
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- First toast the black sesame seeds for 20-25 seconds. Pour black sesame seeds into a spice grinder or food processor. (I recommend a spice grinder.) Pulse until it has fully broken down into powder. Pour into a bowl.
- Add all purpose flour and baking soda to the bowl. Mix until combined and set aside.
- Brown butter in a small sauce pan. Heat butter over medium high heat until the butter melts and then lower it to low. Cook the butter until golden brown and small brown solids start to appear. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Combine granulated sugar and light brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the brown butter. Whisk with a stand mixer or hand mixer until just combined.
- Add the eggs and whisk until a smooth creamy mixture forms (picture 2 above). Add the salt and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients from step 2 to the bowl and mix with a spatula until just combined.
- Let the cookies rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Use a 2 tablespoon (medium sized) cookie scoop to scoop your cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Make sure there are 2 inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are light brown.
- Rest for 10 minutes on the baking sheets and then another 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
118
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe like this before, so when I saw you post this I basically rushed to make it. Needless to say, it was so good, I made it twice in a week. First time with regular flour and second time with Bob’s 1-1 Gluten Free Flour. Both were delicious! The gluten-free version had a grainier texture, which might have been from the flour or me adding extra black sesame, because I’m just obsessed with black sesame haha! Thanks also for posting all the helpful tips. It drives me nuts when recipes are super minimal, and I love being able to understand what all the steps do. 🙂
Thank you so much Michelle! I am absolutely obsessed with black sesame too!
I made this yesterday, but the black sesame flavor wasn’t as strong as I was hoping for. If I were to double the black sesame powder, what changes to the recipe would you recommend to account for the change in wet vs dry ingredients? My cookies came out on the drier side already, so I’d want to make adjustments that result in a chewier cookie if anything.
Hi Jess. I would say 1/4 cup more light brown sugar and 1/4 cup more butter. These are estimates, so you will need to experiment for yourself to see if these amounts work. Essentially, you want to go for a wetter dough and adding more brown sugar and butter is a way to do that. Let me know how it goes!
I have made black sesame chocolate chip cookies before. Compared to that recipe, I appreciate that this recipe’s sweetness. However, the black sesame flavor isn’t as strong as I would like. I would double or triple the amount of black sesame.
Hi Diane. Thanks for trying the recipe! If you double or triple the amount of black sesame you might need to add more sugar to ensure you still get the same texture. A cookie’s texture is created with a balance of wet and dry ingredients. You can also add an egg yolk or 1-2 tbsp more butter to try to balance out wet and dry ingredients without increasing the amount of sugar. Let me know if you try this recipe again!