![Flag Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/05/29/dining/em-icebox-cake-copy/em-icebox-cake-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Flag Cake
Erin Jeanne McDowell
1285 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,285
45 minutes, plus overnight chilling
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Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets with butter.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add the benne seeds, stirring them until coated. Toast the seeds, stirring frequently, until fragrant and darkened a shade, 2 to 3 minutes. Take care not to burn the seeds and turn down the heat if needed. Scrape onto a plate and let cool completely.
Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, cream together the remaining 8 tablespoons/115 grams butter and both sugars until well combined and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Add the cooled toasted benne seeds and the vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture.
Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the cookie dough at least 2½ inches apart on 1 prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Remove the wafers from the cookie sheet immediately and place on waxed or parchment paper to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough on the second cookie sheet, reusing the first sheet when it’s cool, if needed.
You can get authentic heirloom benne seeds from Anson Mills. They technically say that benne is just another word for Sesame seeds but they are really not the same.
Anson Mills definitely sells retail. I regularly buy rice and benne seeds from them. Look at this page, which coincidently offers another benne seed cookie recipe:https://ansonmills.com/recipes/456
I'm firmly in the 'follow the recipe before you comment' camp, but know that if you only have a jar of pre-roasted and roughly ground sesame seeds that have been languishing in your freezer from a long ago trip to H-Mart, you should absolutely still make this recipe. They may not turn out exactly like Emily Meggett's-- mine don't have the brown rim-- but they will still be utterly delicious in a can't stop eating them kind of way and the future of that jar of sesame seeds will be crystal clear
This is a great, easy cookie. Crispy, not chewy or soft. I used black sesame seeds and melted the butter. It came together in minutes and didn't make too much batter. I'm sure it's extremely versatile and could be used w/ other seeds or nuts. This is a keeper.
I immediately ordered benne seeds from Charleston Specialty Foods. They arrived today (very quick), and I made a batch of these cookes following the recipe exactly. They are delicious! The seeds took a little longer to toast, and in my oven the cookies needed a bit longer, too. My only suggestion is to make sure you keep the cookies on the small size and allow plenty of space. They spread out quite a bit. Thank you Mrs. Meggett.
Or, you can grow your own Benne seeds in the garden. I found them for sale on True Love Seeds. They wrote a little background story to the seeds as well as a link to more history about Benne seeds. If allowed, here is the link. https://trueloveseeds.com/products/benne?_pos=1&_sid=5ff5cfd1c&_ss=r
There's a "retail" page; 8 oz of seeds for $6.50.
I also used Bobs Mill GF and also Miyokos vegan better. Delish!
I used generic bulk sesame seeds and they were still delicious. Fast and easy, not too sweet.
delicious! i would halve the salt next time. this time however i did a drizzle of dark chocolate to balance the saltiness- huge hit. i also chilled the dough to make them less crispy and more cookie like.
I did use benne seeds ("Charleston's Own") and to me they taste exactly like sesame seeds. Nice and crisp, lovely, plain, buttery, but they leave a lot of sesame seeds in in your teeth! My first batch was perfect at 10 mins, the second batch got overdone at 10 mins--so watch carefully.
I sometimes use 25% almond flour, with good results.
Definitely 5 stars! Everyone I share them with loves them. I do too, so I am glad to share. Of course, use hulled sesame seeds. I have made them with benne seeds too and can't tell a difference. Both are delish!
Or, you can grow your own Benne seeds in the garden. I found them for sale on True Love Seeds. They wrote a little background story to the seeds as well as a link to more history about Benne seeds. If allowed, here is the link. https://trueloveseeds.com/products/benne?_pos=1&_sid=5ff5cfd1c&_ss=r
I followed the recipe w white sesame seeds (not benne) , Bob’s red mill GF 1:1 flour, scanted the sugar. As others commented - they spread like crazy !! I had to use a knife to separate the extra biggies. Next time I would a) cut sugar further b) plop smaller daintier dollops of dough further apart on cookie sheet. Family said they were yummy as is. And I’m curious to tinker - add lemon or orange zest, more flour/baking soda for fluffier texture, add ginger? Also try w real benne seeds. TY NYT!
I LOVE sesame so was happy to try this recipe. After making it once I made some adjustments. Rolled cookies into 3/4" balls, then rolled into (more) sesame seeds. After baking them like that, they were more rounded, less crispy than the original recipe. Then I tried pressing them with a glass, which resulted in a beautifully flat and crispy and extra-sesame-y cookie.
These are wonderful cookies, and filling, and they travel well and still taste fresh even after a week and a half. I made them with sesame seeds (and ordered benne seeds from Anson Mills), and I cut the granulated sugar in half, to 50 grams.
Thanks for the tip about ordering the seeds from Charleston Specialty foods. They were shipped quickly. Twenty cookies on each sheet led to some running together but I just cut them apart. Next time I might make fewer, smaller cookies on three sheets.
Bulk sesame seeds are available in Asian markets.
Lovely, buttery plain cookie. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Made these in my high altitude (5043 ft) kitchen. Turned out delicious. Modifications: Bake at 370° Use only 1/4 teaspoon baking soda One cup Plus one tablespoon flour 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla Grease pan with butter very generously Bake for eight minutes These would be delicious with a little lemon peel or flavoring.
I immediately ordered benne seeds from Charleston Specialty Foods. They arrived today (very quick), and I made a batch of these cookes following the recipe exactly. They are delicious! The seeds took a little longer to toast, and in my oven the cookies needed a bit longer, too. My only suggestion is to make sure you keep the cookies on the small size and allow plenty of space. They spread out quite a bit. Thank you Mrs. Meggett.
Very tasty but a bit too sweet and salty. I would cut the sugar down to a quarter cup each and only a quarter teaspoon of fine salt. I did remove them to parchment immediately like the recipe suggests, but they really are too soft to be moved. I think I might wait five or 10 minutes next time. That said, I love sesame seeds and will definitely try this again. I think I might try tahini instead of butter next time for a full sesame taste.
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