Strawberry and Black Sesame Cookies

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a cookie recipe despite the fact they’re some of the most popular on the blog! I’ve often talked about how I used to find that making cookies was tricky with the resulting cookies ending up bland and tough but after a lot of trial and error, I’ve grown to really enjoy the process.

I find small batch baking the easiest to do in my university kitchen, which made that recipe development process much easier. I would end up with batches of around 12 to 15 small cookies which I could easily consume over the next ‘few’ day(s). I found this bag of strawberry powder, which I bought from Hong Kong, was close to expiring, so I decided to invent these Strawberry and Black Sesame Cookies to prevent it from going to waste!

I really like the contrast of the colours of the pink cookies and the dark black sesame seeds. They also toast slightly during baking, adding a contrasting texture to the cookies with their crisp edges and soft centres, the trademark of a perfect cookie in my opinion.

I like to finish with a drizzle of white chocolate for a classy decorative touch. Like with most of my cookie recipes, the ingredient quantities can be easily scaled up to make extra dough that can be made ahead of time and frozen. With such a small batch, it can be made easily by hand with just a spoon and a bowl.

I found that the flavour of the cookies using the strawberry powder was reminiscent of strawberry milkshake so if you can’t find strawberry powder, then a good replacement is strawberry milkshake powder. Very often too, black sesame can be tricky to find, at least in the UK; it’s everywhere in Hong Kong not that I am complaining.

Here’s my YouTube video on how to make these cookies!

Check out some of my other recipes which use black sesame so buying a larger bag won’t go to waste!

No Churn Black Sesame Ice Cream

Dark Chocolate and Black Sesame Biscuits

50g margarine

10g granulated sugar

14g icing sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp soy milk

72g plain flour

¼ tsp baking powder

4g strawberry powder

Large handful of black sesame seeds

In a bowl, cream together the margarine with the two sugars and vanilla extract until it is well mixed. Carefully incorporate the soy milk. In a separate bowl, sieve together the plain flour, baking powder and strawberry powder. Add half of the dry ingredients to the margarine and sugar and mix gently to combine. Add the remaining half of the flour and bring together to almost a soft dough.

Tip the contents of the bowl out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to bring together to a ball of dough which is soft and pliable but should not be sticky. Wrap the dough in clingfilm, flatten into a disc and refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, form the dough into a log shape, being careful not to overwork the dough. Scatter a good handful of black sesame seeds on the surface and roll the log in the seeds so the outside is well coated, while squeezing the dough into a cuboid shape. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and freeze for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a baking tray with baking parchment or alternatively lightly grease a 12-hole bun tin. Use a sharp knife to slice off 7mm rounds of the dough. Shape the dough into neat squares and place on the baking tray.

Bake the biscuits for 12 minutes until they turn a light golden colour around the edges. If baking directly on the tin, transfer to a cooling rack immediately otherwise leave to cool on the parchment.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring between each one. Leave to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes and transfer to a piping bag. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies diagonally and allow to set before serving.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube channel and make sure to check out my most recent recipe post for Coconut Milk Pudding Dim Sum!

Also if you have enjoyed my recipes and my content, consider supporting me on Patreon; there you can find more information about Patreon, how you can support me and the blog and the perks that come along with that. Check out my Patron Appreciation Page while you’re down here too!