Soft Black Sesame Sugar Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Soft, melt-in-your-mouth black sesame sugar cookies! They're super easy to make and a great way to use up black sesame powder.

Prep Time5

Cook Time9

Total Time14

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 225kcal

Get Recipe Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt.
In a large bowl, use silicone spatula to mix melted ½ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons black sesame powder until combined.
Add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
Dump in all of the dry ingredients and mix until no dry spots remain.

Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
In a small bowl or plate, add 3 tablespoons granulated sugar for rolling the cookie dough balls.
For regular sugar cookies, use cookie dough scoop to gather dough (about 2-3 tablespoons each). Roll into granulated sugar and place on lined baking tray, spacing cookies about 3-4 inches apart.
Optionally sprinkle on a few black sesame seeds. If they do not stick, lightly press them into the dough.
For bear sugar cookies, take about 1 tsp of dough, split it in 2, and roll them in granulated sugar. Place them on top left and right sides of a cookie dough ball on the baking sheet. Repeat for other bears, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool on pan for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer cookies to wire rack. Let cool completely.
TIP: For rounder cookies, place a larger circular cutter or mug on a freshly baked, warm cookie. Move it in a circular motion. This "cookie scoot" helps create perfectly round cookies for a more aesthetic look. However, it’s not necessary and purely for pretty plating purposes. 🙂

Note: You can a piping bag, toothpick, or cookie scribe to add on the details. I used piping bags.
Add 3 tablespoons white chocolate chips to small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted.
Leave about a tablespoon of melted white chocolate and transfer the rest to a piping bag. Use this for the snouts and ears.
To the remaining white chocolate, add a drop of pink/red oil-based food coloring. Transfer to piping bag and use this for the blush.
If you don't have oil-based food coloring, then the chocolate will seize/become lumpy. To counter this, stir in a tsp of neutral oil (canola, vegetable) at a time, until it becomes smooth again.
Melt 1 tablespoon milk or dark chocolate chips in another bowl, transfer to piping bag, and use this to draw on the eyes and nose.
Enjoy!

Baking tip:

- Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.

Ingredient notes:

For a richer molasses flavor, use dark brown sugar. Otherwise, light brown sugar works well, too.

Storage instructions:

Room temperature: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing instructions: Store cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Reheating instructions: Allow frozen cookies to thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Or, reheat in the microwave at 10-second intervals.