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Benne Cookies
Kim Severson, Emily Meggett
229 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
229
1 hour
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In a large bowl, gently mix everything except the butter. Over medium-high heat, heat the butter in a large frying pan until it is foaming. (A nonstick pan is good for this purpose but cast iron can work well, too.)
Working in batches if necessary, and adding more butter as needed, use a large spoon or measuring cup to place a scoop of the rice mixture in the pan. Press down with the back of a spatula to form a patty. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden and crisp on the bottom. Gently flip patty and cook another 3 minutes or until golden. Keep warm on a paper-towel-covered plate or pan in a warm oven.
I used brown rice, basil instead of mint, and minced red onion instead of chives. Left out the zucchini and instead sprinkled patties with sliced cherry tomatoes. Yum! Also found that packing rice mixture tightly in a small [1/2C] measuring cup delivered a better, more easily flattened and turned, cake to the frying pan.
To cook these rice cakes, I used a parchment lined baking sheet in a 450-degree oven for about 15-20 minutes each side- basically until brown and crisp. These were delicious and with a salad made a perfect meal for the unseasonably warm spring weather.
These are similar to Thai snack cakes made from plain cooked sticky rice shaped and stuck on a stick like a kebab. The rice cake is dipped once or twice in beaten egg seasoned with fish sauce and sometimes chopped scallion, and then toasted or grilled. These can be dipped in sweet Thai "chicken sauce" or any spicy sauce you enjoy.
These are simple to make, and simply delicious! I used leftover Uncle Ben's brown rice, and the cakes still turned out fine. Can anyone tell me how important -- or unimportant -- the zucchini is to this recipe? We could not detect it in the finished rice cakes, but are they important for their moisture or for some other reason?
I think the primary function is nutritional. Can be made without too -- in fact makes it easier to turn (the batter isn't as "loose")
Made with parmesan, spinach and green onion. Top with a splash of Sri Racha. Really good.
I have been making these for years, just like my mother did. I am not gentle with the mixing as I like them to be lighter. One especially tasty variation was to use leftover wild rice pilaf and leftover alder planked salmon. Rice cakes are a favorite savory breakfast.
can it be cooked in a waffle iron ?
I make rice cakes without cheese and they hold together.
Minced onion instead of zuchinni
Use 1/2 cup measure for molding cakes
Instead of adding bread crumbs, which might dry out the cakes, try adding a bit more egg. I added an additional, roughly 1/2 of a beaten egg; the cakes held together and turned well. (The cakes weren't smooth and regular in shape, but I figured they weren't supposed to be.)
The ingredients only need to be what you have on hand and like.
These are delicious. They didn't hold together for me in the skillet, though, had to add a couple Tbsp of flour.
These were delicious! Substituted fresh oregano for mint. The mixture is very loose. We used english muffin rings sprayed with cooking spray to form cakes.
I replaced the basil with some leftover sausage. Divine!!
I made this into a vegan recipe and used garbanzo beans mashed up instead of cheese. Added a little oatmilk and gf flour. Served it with a salad of baby greens, steamed beets and cucumber, topped with a nondairy yogurt dressing made with olive oil, lemon, S&P. Next time I'll add avocado to the salad. I might play with spices too and try smoked paprika. Oh and because I'm on a sort of a cleanse, I used brown rice and it still tasted delicious!
I skipped the zucchini and mint, but did add parsley and these were a hit. Super easy.
Like others, I riffed on the main idea and used what I had in terms of veggies, herbs, and cheese. I noticed that the second batch held together better - next time I will let the batter rest for a bit before frying.
I cooked this exactly as shown. I plated a couple of the cakes topped with carne con chili, green onions, some grated cheddar, some chopped jalapenos, and a bit of sour cream. It was a big hit as an appetizer.
Edgar Cayce said to make them with spinach and serve with decaf coffee for breakfast. He claimed this would somehow make the rice non-acid-forming.
Hey, recipe looks great. Can say all the signing in does make it annoying. I'm about to try the recipe though.
Loved this recipe! The mint gave it an unexpected flavor that we, who aren't mint lovers, really enjoyed. I did cut the mint to 2 T because that was all I had, but for us it was enough. The batter is delicate, but I packed it into a 1/3 c. measuring cup and then put it on a flat grill (for maneuverability), then I used a fish spatula to turn it. Fish spatulas manage delicate turns much more readily. I found they didn't hold together as well when I tried to turn them too early. Yummm!
Good base recipe. Add another egg if cakes aren’t holding together.
I made these pretty much as written, but coated them in panko and baked them for about 30 minutes at 400 (convection). They were delicious, without the additional fat needed to fry them. Crispy and so flavorful! I loved these.
About half of the cakes crumbled and half were fine. The firmer cakes cooked for a full 4 min per side. I also turned the heat up to my stove’s equivalent of medium high. My cakes were more deeply golden (ok, darkish brown) than the picture. FWIW, I substituted steamed cauliflower that had been squeezed with a cheesecloth for the zucchini. The rice cakes were delicious. (How can it go wrong with all that butter and salt?)
Like many others I used the herbs I had on-hand rather than those in the recipe. The cilantro and chives were substituted and made wonderfully tasty cakes. I omitted the zucchini b/c it's often pretty watery. It worked well. The cakes were soft on the inside and crisped up nicely.
I had some leftover roasted vegetables in the freezer and a cup of leftover rice. I thawed out about a half cup of the vegetables and squeezed out the leftover moisture before adding it to the rice, cheese, and egg. I seasoned with salt, pepper, and Penzey's Northwoods seasoning. I also added a couple teaspoons of flour to help it hold together a bit more. It was delicious! I ate it with chili crisp and an over medium egg. This will be something I make again!
These were delicious! I made these to use up some too wet rice made the day before. Since I had it in the fridge I also added a cup of quinoa with finely chopped kale instead of the zucchini. I used half cheddar and half Italian mixed cheeses to use those up, and added some fresh finely chopped basil and parsley along with a bit of pesto. To taste the mix before shaping into Pattys I put a dollop on a plate and microwaved it, then added more seasoning. I’ll use this recipe base again
Used spinach instead of zucchini and Gruyere instead of cheddar. No mint (not my favorite). Maybe dill next time. Delish. Made half the recipe and ate it all myself.
These are the perfect side dish or leftover lunch. Quick, adaptable and everyone loves them. I promise you they will cook up perfectly despite appearance when you put in pan. I use zucchini, parsley and shredded Mexican cheese blend.
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