Black and White Sesame Seed Cookies

From the kitchen of Carly

Buttery shortbread studded with toasted black and white sesame seeds, creating a nutty, slightly sweet cookie with beautiful contrast. Tender crumb, crispy edges, and seeds that add texture and depth to every bite.

Black and White Sesame Seed Cookies

Black and white sesame seeds coat these buttery sugar cookies in a striking contrast that tastes as good as it looks. The dough is tender and snaps cleanly when you bite through, with a delicate crumb that comes from cake flour and a measured hand with the mixer. The sesame seeds stay glossy and distinct because you toss the black ones in a whisper of oil before dipping, a small trick that keeps them from dulling.

Prep
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Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 3/4 tspbaking powder
  • 3/4 tspkosher salt
  • 3 cupcake flour, plus more
  • 1 1/4 cupchilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 cupgranulated sugar
  • 1 largeegg
  • 1 largeegg yolk
  • 1/2 cupblack sesame seeds
  • 1/4 tspvegetable oil
  • 1/2 cupwhite sesame seeds
  • 4 cuppowdered sugar
  • 1 tspfresh lemon juice
  • 1 pinchkosher salt
  • 1A 3"-diameter cookie cutter

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk the baking powder, salt, and 3 cups of cake flour together. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl until well combined (the butter doesn't need to turn fluffy), around 3 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat just to combine. Drop the speed to low and gradually work in the dry ingredients. Split the dough in half and shape each half into a 3/4 inch thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, around 2 hours.

  2. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and bring up to 325°F. Let 1 disk of dough sit at room temperature until slightly softened, around 5 minutes.

  3. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, shifting often on the sheet and dusting with extra flour as needed to keep things from sticking, until around 1/4 inch thick. Punch out rounds with a cookie cutter and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each 1 1/2 inches apart. Pat the scraps into a 3/4 inch thick disk. Chill for 15 minutes.

  4. Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges turn golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool. Cut out and bake the scraps, then continue the entire process with the remaining disk of dough.

  5. Make-ahead: the dough can be made 1 month ahead and frozen. The baked cookies hold 2 weeks ahead, wrapped tightly and frozen. Thaw before decorating. Build the frosting: toss the black sesame seeds with oil in a medium shallow bowl to coat the seeds (this keeps them jet-black and shiny in appearance). Place the white sesame seeds in another medium shallow bowl.

  6. Whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, salt, and 1/3 cup of water together in a large bowl until smooth. Transfer half of the icing into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8 inch tip. (A large resealable plastic bag with a small opening cut in 1 corner works equally well.)

  7. Working with 1 cookie at a time, pipe icing down the center and then around the edge of half of the cookie to outline a semicircle. Pipe more icing inside the border to fill, then use a small offset spatula to spread evenly across that half. Working quickly so the icing stays wet, dip the frosted side into the white sesame seeds, patting gently to make them adhere and allowing the excess to fall back into the bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes so the icing sets.

  8. Repeat the process on the other half of each cookie, dipping that side into the black sesame seeds instead. Let stand at least 20 minutes before serving.

  9. Make-ahead: cookies can be fully frosted and decorated 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Don't overwork the dough once the eggs go in. Stop as soon as the dry ingredients are incorporated, or the cookies will be tough instead of tender.
  • Roll dough between two sheets of parchment instead of on a floured surface if you're short on patience and counter space. Flip and peel as you go, and you'll have less sticking and less cleanup.
  • Toss the black sesame seeds with oil right before assembly so they stay jet-black and gleaming. Skip this step and they'll look dusty and matte.
  • Chill rolled-out rounds for 15 minutes before baking. This prevents them from puffing up or spreading unevenly in the oven.

Variations

  • Skip the frosting and seed garnish for plain butter cookies. They're crisp, elegant, and let the sesame flavor speak for itself.
  • Swap lemon juice for a drop of almond extract in the powdered sugar glaze to deepen the nuttiness of the sesame.
  • Brush cookies with a thin egg white wash before baking and press seeds directly onto the unbaked dough. No frosting needed, and the cookies bake right into a seed crust.
  • Make lemon icing instead of plain powdered sugar glaze by whisking in 1 teaspoon lemon zest and an extra squeeze of juice.

Make ahead and storage

Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Undecorated dough disks freeze for 1 month; baked undecorated cookies freeze for 2 weeks. Thaw before frosting and garnishing.