Benne (Sesame) Seed Wafers

What are benne seeds? Sesame seeds by another name. They came to America from Africa and the Nigerian name for them, "benne", stuck. Today, benne wafers--thin cookies/crackers made with sesame seeds--are closely associated with Low Country cooking, a style of cooking centered in Charleston, South Carolina. And they're often served at Kwanzaa too. From James Beard

These little crispy cookies are deceiving. They look very plain but have a surprisingly crunchy texture. The nutty sesame seeds are very aromatic and make these cookies interesting to bite into. Not only are the cookies crispy, the seeds themselves are as well so, long after you've finished one you find yourself still crunching seeds.

The cookie batter is a cinch to mix together and the cookies bake for less time since they are smaller. They're great anytime and kids seem to really like them. You could make them more colourful by adding some flax seeds and/or black sesame seeds. Try them out and see which mixture works for you!

Recipe: Benne (Sesame) Seed Wafers