Toasted Sesame Seed Cookie

I don't spend much time thinking about celebrities (granted, I did stand near Kevin from This is Us the other day and may have told every person I know). And even though I can't give you the name of any professional athlete, I am still a fan of some people. These people just spend  more time with butter and sugar and chocolate and proudly know the difference between a good and bad baking sheet.

So I think it's safe to say I was pretty pumped when I found out I was going to spend the afternoon with Edd Kimberr, the winner of the first season of The Great British Baking Show. I was even more pumped when I arrived and realized that I also got to meet a few local bakers that I have followed for years: Zoe of Zoe Bakes and Sarah Kieffer of The Vanilla Bean Blog. 

So I did what any sane baker would do and slipped Edd a box of my favorite cookies: my chocolate chocolate chip cookie and my new toasted sesame cookie. He could be a fantastic actor but I'm pretty sure he loved them :). 

Speaking of sesame, I think sesame seeds make everything better. Maybe not bagels, though. Sesame seed bagels fall to the bottom of my list right after poppy seed. And halva? No, thank you, I try to avoid ingesting sawdust. 

But hand me a bottle of sesame oil, a plate of sesame balls, an entire pan of sesame rice krispie treats, and a stack of these chewy, buttery, sesame-y cookies and I'm good to go.

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Toasted Sesame Seed Cookies

225 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.
300 grams sugar
1 large egg + 1 yolk
225 grams all-purpose flour
65 grams toasted sesame seeds*
45 grams toasted sesame seed flour*
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt

*I use a mix of white and black sesame seeds. Toast the seeds in a pan on medium heat until they become fragrant and golden brown. To make the flour, grind the toasted sesame seeds until fine.

Make the cookies: Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and egg yolk and beat for 8 minutes or until very light and fluffy. 

On low speed, add the flour, sesame seeds, sesame seed flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; beat just until the dough comes together, ~1 minute.

Cover and the chill the dough for a minimum of 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Using a size 20 scoop, bake for 13 minutes.

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Sesame Rice Krispie Treats

Before creating my emotionally divisive Mochi Treat recipe, I had never made rice krispie treats at home. Yes, I had made gigantic batches of them every week at Wilde Roast while helping out in the kitchen but never at home.

Here's the thing: I love them. I love marshmallows. I love homemade marshmallows, I love jet-puffed marshmallows. I love mini ones and jumbo ones. I especially love flaming marshmallows over the fire. I am also supported by my wonderful husband who may or may not also have an unhealthy obsession with marshmallows. I truly believe that if he could have it his way, he would eat an entire tub of marshmallow creme at every meal.

And you know what? These are one of the easiest things to make...only second to that dessert of cookie dough you may have eaten out of the refrigerator the other night...

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Sesame Rice Krispie Treats

Make the rice krispie treats: Prepare a 9x13 (or square) pan with parchment paper. Melt the marshmallows and butter over medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Once the marshmallows are 90% melted, remove from heat and gradually mix in the rice krispies, seeds, and sesame oil. Once fully mixed, press evenly into the prepared pan.

6 cups rice krispies
6 tbsp unsalted butter
10 oz mini marshmallows
1/3 cup black sesame seeds
1/3 cup tan sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil

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Crispy Mochi Treat

I know that this recipe will not be for everyone. I know that some people will think, hey, you tried to convince me of these flavors years ago (long live my sesame ball cookie that only three people tasted). I know that some people will hate the consistency of mochi and not be able to fathom the thought of eating sweetened bean paste. But I dare you to show up to your next party with these on a tray as opposed to those brownies that you always make (don't get me wrong, those brownies are delicious but don't you want to be the coolest one there?).

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Crispy Mochi Treat

Sesame Rice Krispie Treats
6 cups rice krispies
6 tbsp unsalted butter
10 oz mini marshmallows
2/3 cup combination of tan and black sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil

Matcha Mochi Cake
1 lb glutinous rice flour
2 tbsp matcha powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups milk
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten

Red Bean Paste
Sweetened red bean paste can be found at an asian grocery store (or on amazon)

Make the rice krispie bars : Prepare a 9x13 square pan with parchment paper. Melt the marshmallows and butter over medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Once the marshmallows are 90% melted, remove from heat and gradually mix in the rice krispies, seeds, and sesame oil. Once fully mixed, press evenly into the prepared pan.

Make the matcha mochi: Prepare a second 9x13 pan with parchment paper and heat the oven to 350 ° F . Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined (either by hand or with a mixer). Add to prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the mochi cool completely before removing from pan.

Assembly: Slice mochi and rice krispie treat to desired thicknesses (they should be similar based on dimensions of baking pans). Use red bean paste as the middle layer -

Note: You will likely need to go an asian grocer to find the glutinous rice flour and red bean paste (I have made the paste by hand in the past but the canned version is really tasty and way more efficient).

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