Charleston Benne Wafers

Benne is the Lowcountry word for sesame, carried here by enslaved West Africans, and these thin brown-sugar wafers are the city's signature cookie. Toasting the seeds first is what pulls out the nutty flavor that defines them.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup benne (sesame) seeds
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until they turn golden and smell nutty, about 4 to 5 minutes. Tip them onto a plate to cool.
2. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Cream the softened butter and brown sugar together until light, about 2 minutes.
4. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
5. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl, then stir into the butter mixture.
6. Fold in the cooled toasted sesame seeds.
7. Drop half-teaspoons of batter onto the parchment, spacing them at least 3 inches apart because they spread into thin wafers.
8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the wafers are evenly caramel brown across the top.
9. Let them firm up on the sheet for 2 minutes, then move them to a rack to crisp as they cool.

Tips

• Keep the mounds tiny and well spaced. These wafers spread to three times their size and will run together if crowded.
• Pull them when the whole wafer is brown, not just the edges. That full caramelization is what makes them snap.