These Black Sesame Cookies are buttery, nutty, crisp and so addicting. With a unique combination of sweet and savory flavors, they are delightful with a cup of morning coffee or afternoon tea. The perfect holiday cookies to make and gift!
Have you tried black sesame seeds in cookies before? With a rich nutty aroma and textures, black sesame is easily one of the most popular ingredients used in Japanese baked goods and confectionery.
These Black Sesame Cookies (黒胡麻クッキー) are buttery and nutty, and I’m sure you are going to fall in love with them.
Black Sesame Seeds in Japanese Cuisine
Know as the very first culinary spice, sesame seeds are widely used in Japanese, Chinese, and many other Asian cultures. In Japanese cooking, you can find sesame seeds being used to flavor desserts and sweets such as mochi, ice cream, cakes, cookies, muffins and more. Its uses are so dynamic that we use it in both sweet and savory dishes.
In this icebox cookie recipe, sesame seeds impart an incredibly rich aroma and nutty flavor that it’s impossible not to love.
What Makes This Cookie a Favorite?
- Buttery & crisp
- Unique, nutty flavor from the black sesame seeds
- A touch of savory in the cookies (not overly sweet)
- Easy to bake
- Festive looking from the crushed sesame seeds (like sparkles)
- Freezer-friendly (up to a month!) and ideal for holiday gifting
Just like the Matcha Cookies, they are equally popular and sold everywhere at bakeries in Japan.
Two Types of Flours in Sesame Cookies
I used both all-purpose flour and almond flour/ meal to give these cookies an enhanced nutty flavor and texture. You can find almond flour and almond meal in the market, and both work for this recipe.
The main difference between the two is that the almond meal is much more coarsely ground. You’d be able to see small brown specks of almond skins in the final result. Since the speckled look is what we are after, an almond meal is great for these sesame cookies.
My favorite brand, Bob’s Red Mill, carries both Natural Almond Meal and Almond Meal/Flour. You can also find almond meal at Trader Joe’s at a cheaper price.
I hope you enjoy these delicious sweet and savory Black Sesame Cookies. You can use white, black, or both sesame seeds for these cookies. My favorite is definitely the black ones!
More Easy Holiday Cookies You’ll Love:
- Matcha Green Tea Cookies
- Butter Cookies
- Cherry Blossom Cookies
- Meyer Lemon Cookies
- Chinese Almond Cookies
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Black Sesame Cookies
Ingredients
- 120 g unsalted butter (½ cup (8 Tbsp, 1 stick) + ½ Tbsp)
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (weigh your flour; for weights, click the Metric button; or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 40 g almond meal (¼ cup + 4 tsp; I used Trader Joe‘s almond meal)
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 5 Tbsp toasted black sesame seeds
- 1 large egg yolk (use only the yolk for the most crumbly, rich, and crisp texture; you can add the whole egg, but the final texture will be different)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Gather all the ingredients. I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. For weights, click the Metric button above. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.
To Make the Dough
- Cut 120 g unsalted butter (½ cup + ½ Tbsp) into small cubes. Keep them refrigerated until ready to use (I cut it on parchment paper and wrap up the butter for easy transfer).
- In a food processor, combine 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour), 40 g almond meal (¼ cup + 4 tsp), 6 Tbsp sugar, and ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you don’t have a food processor, you can simply use a bowl to mix all the ingredients.
- If you want a finer texture for your 5 Tbsp toasted black sesame seeds, add them now to the food processor. If you prefer to keep them whole, add them later with the egg yolk.
- Take out the butter from the refrigerator, add to the food processor, and mix together. If you use a regular bowl to mix, use a dough/pastry blender to combine the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Lastly, add 1 large egg yolk.
- If the food processor is small (like mine) and it doesn’t look like it’s mixed completely, take it out and mix well with a silicone spatula.
To Roll and Chill the Dough
- Put the dough on your work surface. Form it into a ball and divide into 2 equal portions.
- Roll each portion into a log approximately 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. For me, it’s easier to work the dough when it is wrapped in plastic wrap. While rolling, unwrap some parts of the plastic wrap, then roll again. Form a nice shape.
- Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, for at least 1 hour (you can put them in the freezer to speed up the process as well). Tip: You can place the dough logs on a bed of raw rice to prevent them from becoming flat on the bottom.
To Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Remove the plastic wrap and cut the dough into discs about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. If you prefer thicker cookies, cut into discs about ½ inch (1.3 cm) for a total of 20 thick cookies.
- Place them on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. If you are baking in batches, make sure to keep the second batch in the refrigerator to chill until it‘s time to bake.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To Store
- Store cookies in an airtight container. Enjoy the cookies within 3 days while they are freshest, or keep them in the freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on December 13, 2012. The content has been updated in January 2020.
How do I make it less dry? It also didn’t have any crisp. I followed the recipe but used almond flour instead of almond meal.
Hi Chris! Thanks for trying this recipe! Is it possible that your cookie was undercooked or your oven temperature was not optimal? Any substitute you made to the recipe?
I usually cut down the sugar in dessert recipes but you mentioned that the cookies are not too sweet. Glad I followed the recipe exactly as the cookies are absolutely delicious!!
Hi Freda! Japanese (and Asian) dessert recipes are not too sweet, so you can probably do not need to adjust the amount of sugar (in most cases). 🙂 Thanks so much for trying this recipe and I’m glad you enjoyed it!!
Nami-san, disappointed with the recipe. I followed the instructions to the letter except I doubled the recipe and used margarine instead (which shouldn’t make a difference). I used a machine and the dough did not really come together. I then kneaded with hands – it was very crumbly. I put into cling film which made it easier to roll into a log but it was still breaking apart. I then refridgerated for 1.5 hours and when I went to cut, crumbled like sand.
Hi Andrew! You can do your own research on this topic, but DO NOT substitute margarine for butter. It does not work for butter cookies like this. Margarine is made from vegetable oil (among other things), meaning the fat used doesn’t solidify the way butter does, meaning there’s not just less flavor, but the lack of “solid” fat inhibits tenderness and flakiness and contributes to spreading. This recipe is tested many times it’s published and made by many of my readers, especially during Christmas and Chinese New Year time. Please give it a try with butter. I’m confident that you will succeed unless you make different substitutions or do not follow my recipe. Best wishes and good luck, Andrew!
Nami-san, thank you for your reply re margarine. I did not know it could not be substituted in this recipe. In the end, the cookies turned out well and tasty, just a crumbly mess when it came to roll them. Thank you for all your recipes and your wonderful blog. Andrew
I’m glad they came out okay! Thank you for letting me know and for your kind words. 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Turned out so good…can’t believe I made them! Thank you Nami.
Hi Namita! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Do you think a little almond extract would be good in these cookies? Is it too inauthentic to the recipe? I just love almond extract in literally everything, so had to ask 🙂
Hi Jade! Hahahaha! Sure, if you like, but I use almond flour for the texture, not so much about flavor. 🙂
These were great! Made them for my Japanese coworkers at my school and they enjoyed them. They asked me for the recipe, so now I’m translating it 🙂
I didn’t have almond meal, so I finely ground up almonds with a blender and it worked just fine. I also didn’t have a food processor, so I made sure to combine the cold butter really well with my hands, as you would with pie dough. I found it easier to combine the egg yolk with my hands and knead the dough instead of using a spatula or spoon. Turned out nice and crispy still.
Thanks for this yummy recipe, Nami!
Hi Megan! Aww thank you so much for trying this recipe and sharing this recipe with your Japanese coworkers! And thanks for sharing your helpful tip with us, too! 🙂
Hi Nami, I am excited to try this recipe because my mother loves black sesame. Do you have a recommendation how I should pack and mail them? Will they keep (it may take about a week to reach her)
Thankyou!
Hi Emma! Hmm Definitely airtight package works best. And ask her to toast them before enjoying them when she received them.
thank you!
Hi Nami! I can’t wait to try these! My son is allergic to nuts so my question is can I substitute the almond flour with something else?
Hi Debbie! You can make it with 100% flour if you like. 🙂
Hi Nami!
I’ve been hoping to make cookies out of the black sesame paste I have at home. Could I still make these cookies with the paste? If so, what would you recommend tweaking about this recipe?
Thank you!
Hi Stephanie! Since black sesame paste is more like a wet (and oily) ingredient, I can’t guess the measurement without testing it myself. 🙁 I’m sorry…
Thanks! I’ve tried at least a dozen of your recipes now and I love them all! This is the easiest cookie recipe I’ve ever followed, they go really well with a cup of earl gray tea
Hi James! I’m so glad you liked this recipe! Thank you for trying all my recipes. You’ve made my day! 🙂
As usual this was an excellent recipe from Nami. When I mixed all the ingredients together the dough was a little dry and needed some liquid to bring it all together. I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of Oat-Milk and then everything came together perfectly. The end result was perfect. Not too sweet and with a mild nutty flavor and great crumb.
Hi Gerard! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m glad additional milk helped the dry dough. 🙂
I’ve just attempted this. My dough is completely dry and crumbly. It is very difficult to put it together into a ball and the color is much lighter than yours. What is going on? Should I add another egg yolk?
Hi Eri! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m not too sure what could be the reason. Maybe a slight difference in dry/wet ingredients? I use a large egg yolk? I think another egg yolk is a bit too much. A little bit of butter and egg yolk might help? I know this recipe has been made quite often especially during the holidays in the past years (through Instagram and emails), and so far I received only 2-3 feedback mentioning the dry dough. I think, most of the cases, people have no issues. I’ll continue to keep an eye on everyone’s results to see if I should step in to make any changes.
The darkness of color could be due to the almond meal? I used almond meal instead of almond flour (which is lighter because of no almond skin included). You can use either almond meal or almond flour for this recipe.
I made these last week following the recipe exactly, and they’re delicious! My friends loved them! They’re light and buttery and barely sweet. My cookies came out very small, which was fine for my purposes, but I may try doing one larger log next time. Think I might also add half the sesame seeds later, so they’re not *all* blended into the cookie and to give a little texture.
Hi Ro! Thank you for trying this recipe! I love the idea of adding half of the sesame seeds later on! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂 xo
Hi! I made this and it tastes amazing but the dough sort of fell apart when I was trying to make it (didn’t stay together sorta has cracks in it). Any guesses what I did wrong? I measured it all out with a scale and I thought I followed everything to the T.
Hi Christian! Hmmm… Honestly, I’m not too sure. Since you used a scale, the only difference is the ingredients themselves and how we make it. How dry was it? You can increase the wet ingredients slightly if it’s really dry… but I live in California (dry!) so yours shouldn’t be dry compared to mine…
Hello Nami, really love your blog and wanted to try out this sesame cookies. I have a question regarding one of the ingredients. You recipe calls for: 40 g white and black sesame seeds (roasted/toasted) (1.4 oz). My understanding would be 20 g white and 20 g black sesame seeds. Is it correct?
Hi Sue! Oh my goodness! No, these are Black Sesame Cookies, and not white sesame seeds included (You could but that’s not my intention). Thanks for catching this mistake. I did some editing ingredients in my master ingredient list recently, and somehow black sesame seeds got changed to white and black sesame seeds!!!! SO glad you caught this and let me know. All my black sesame seed recipe could be messed up… THANK YOU again!!!!
Hi Nami,
thank you for all these delicious recipes! Our family has been trying one at least once a week 🙂
for black sesame cookies, can almond flour be substituted with regular or other non-nut flour? I’d like to make it for new year’s party but some people are allergic to nuts.
thanks,
Sara
Hi Sara! You can (but yields different texture of the cookies, less crisp without almond flour/meal), but I haven’t tried it and I’m not sure if you can simply swap. The dough may not come together… you probably need to play a bit to see if you need more wet ingredients or less flour… Sorry I wish I could help more.