Charleston is one of my favorite places to visit. If you have been to Charleston, then you are familiar with the benne wafer, a sweet, buttery, crunchy wafer-like cookie made with benne (sesame) seeds. Every time I return from Charleston, I always have bags of benne wafers I purchased at the Charleston City Market to give away to friends, and of course, to indulgence myself!
I tried a few different recipes online, and thus far my favorite has been from Caroline at "Pinch Me I'm Eating". Hers reminded me exactly of what I bought the last time I was in Charleston. It is important to read her instructions first. Helps you prepare. For example I decided to use a piping bag from my cake decorating kit for the dough since it is a tiny amount - 1/2 tsp. Makes the work go much quicker. Though, admittedly I also cheated and made a few large cookies because, yeah, sooo good.
In addition, I recommend watching each batch the first time around. On my favorite cookie sheets, large aluminum Nordic Ware, with using parchment paper, they took exactly 8 minutes. However on a older nonstick pan, still using parchment paper, they didn't even take 5 minutes. I got rid of the old pans after that. I think they definitely had seen better days, but at least I had one more use out of them.
Another thing to note is I did get the perfect cookie and about the same amount. I do believe it does have a lot to do with the creaming of sugar and butter for an extended time. I had it just under medium on my mixer for about 5 minutes. I also made sure my butter was not just soft, but room temperature.
You need to toast the sesame seeds for this recipe. I found some online already toasted. They were perfect. Saves time and tastes just as good as doing it yourself. You can buy benne seeds, which again, are where sesame seeds originated from. There are still a few growers, and benne seeds are supposed to have a bit more robust flavor. That being said, it is the reason you toast the sesame seeds, and I find they work just perfect.
So, if you want to try something new, or if you want to reminisce with some southern sweetness, try this recipe. It won't disappoint. Also, Caroline has a few other recipes (hello skillet cornbread heaven!) I have tried and absolutely loved them all. They remind me of comfort and home.
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