Black Sesame Cookies with a Soft Center
Large black sesame cookies with roasted sesame in the dough and a sweet sesame-paste filling.
- Original yieldYield
- 6 large cookies6 large cookies
- PrepPrep time
- CookCook time
- TotalTotal time
Published Updated
Original recipe: 6 large cookies
The story behind the recipe
A warm black sesame cookie has a roasted, slightly bitter edge beneath its sweetness. Inside is a smooth sesame-paste filling, softer than the surrounding dough. These are six large, filled cookies with set edges and soft centers. The filling's texture depends on the paste and the cookie's temperature; a soft pocket is the intended result.
Two forms of sesame, two textures
Finely ground roasted seeds flavor the dough all the way to the edge. Paste makes the smooth center. Both are needed: paste cannot stand in for the dry sesame powder in the dough, and powder alone will not make the filling. That difference matters when choosing the two products, even though both may say black sesame on the package.
Read more about this recipe
Choose plain paste and roasted powder
Black sesame has a toasted, nutty flavor with a little bitterness. Namiko Hirasawa Chen describes that quality in her guide to black sesame paste and uses the paste in sweet and savory dishes. Here, the sugars round out that edge while leaving sesame as the main flavor.
Buy pure black sesame paste with sesame as its only ingredient. Sweetened dessert spreads bring a different sugar balance, and drink powders may contain sugar and other ingredients. Stir separated oil back into the paste before measuring. Choose finely ground roasted powder for the dough, rather than whole seeds that would break up its surface.
Freeze the filling before wrapping
Wrapping the center is the fiddly bit. The sweetened paste needs its full freezing time so it can be enclosed without smearing over the dough. You can mix the dough during that wait, but shaping begins when the filling is firm enough to handle. The freezing time is part of the preparation, not an optional pause after mixing.
Divide all the dough and filling between the six cookies. Pinch the dough closed around each portion and smooth the seam; a crack gives the warm filling a way out. Leaving enough room on the tray matters too. These large portions need space to spread, even if that means a second tray or another oven batch.
Set edges around a soft center
The edges and center should not feel identical when the cookies come out. Follow the set, dry-edge cue in the method while the middle remains soft. Extending the bake until the whole cookie feels firm would lose the contrast between the dough and its filling.
Let the cookies settle on the sheet before lifting them, then serve warm. Heat softens the center, while the roasted sesame in the dough gives the outside its deeper flavor. Save the elaborate toppings for another dessert. Roasted sesame already has plenty to say.
Make it your wayOriginal: 6 servings · Makes 6 large cookies
Original recipe: 6 large cookies
Ingredients
For 6 large cookies. Quantities are shown as written.
Source measurement convention: Metric. Explicit unit definitions take precedence; unconfirmed measures must be checked before conversion.
Original quantities for 6 large cookies.
- Pure black sesame paste (for filling)60 g
- Powdered sugar (for filling)15 g
- All-purpose flour125 g
- Finely ground roasted black sesame powder45 g
- Baking soda2 gAuthor measures: 1/2 metric tsp (1 metric tsp = 5 ml).
- Fine salt1 gAuthor measures: 1/4 metric tsp (1 metric tsp = 5 ml).
- Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature115 g
- Granulated sugar100 g
- Large egg, at room temperature1
Measurement notes
Measurement notes
Original ingredients
- 60 g pure black sesame paste (for filling)
- 15 g powdered sugar (for filling)
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 45 g finely ground roasted black sesame powder
- 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking soda
- 1 g (1/4 tsp) fine salt
- 115 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Equipment
Baking sheet- Parchment paper
Stand mixer or handheld electric mixer
Wire cooling rack
Instructions
Freeze the filling
Make and freeze the sesame filling
In a small bowl, mix together the pure black sesame paste and powdered sugar until smooth. Portion the filling into mounds of about 12.5 g each; the original batch makes six, while adjusted quantities change the number of cookies. Spoon the portions into small silicone molds or make mounds on a parchment-lined plate; if the paste is firm enough, roll it into balls. Freeze for at least 60 minutes, until firm enough to wrap in dough without smearing.
Mix the dough
Heat the oven and mix the dry ingredients
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, finely ground roasted black sesame powder, baking soda, and fine salt.
Cream the butter and sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until pale and creamy. Add the large egg and beat until fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Mix the cookie dough
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredient mixture in two additions, mixing just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Fill and bake
Wrap the filling in dough
Divide all of the mixed dough into as many equal portions as you have filling mounds, using a scale if helpful. Flatten one portion in your palm, place a frozen sesame filling portion in the center, and wrap the dough around it, pinching the seams closed. Roll gently into a ball. Place the cookies on the lined baking sheet with about 8 cm between their centers. Use a second sheet or bake another batch if your sheet cannot hold them with room to spread.
Bake and cool the cookies
Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges feel set and dry while the centers remain soft. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies directly to the rack. Serve warm for a soft sesame center.
Estimated calories 420 kcal
Nutrition portion: 1/6 of recipe · Original yield: 6 large cookies
Source & assumptions
Ingredient-based estimate using CoFID 2021 and representative pure sesame and all-purpose flour product labels. Approximately 420 kcal per large cookie; ingredients and preparation affect values.
Recipe notes
Original recipe notes
These notes describe the original recipe. Quantities mentioned here do not change when you adjust servings.
Sesame paste: Ensure you use pure 100% black sesame paste without added oil or water. If oil has separated at the top of the jar, stir thoroughly before measuring.
Sesame powder: Use finely ground roasted black sesame powder, not a sweetened sesame drink mix. The dough uses the powder separately from the paste in the filling.
Batch size: Keep each filling portion about 12.5 g and match the dough-portion count to the filling count. Half the original ingredients make three large cookies, one-and-a-half times make nine, and double make twelve. Keep the same cookie size, spacing and doneness cues; use more sheets or separate oven batches as needed. For a fractional egg, beat it and measure the required share rather than using a whole extra egg.
Sealing the dough: Thoroughly pinch and smooth the dough around the frozen core. Any cracks will allow the filling to bubble out during baking.
Make-ahead: Fully assembled dough balls can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Bake directly from frozen at 175°C (350°F) for about 13 to 15 minutes, continuing as needed until the same set-edge cue is reached.
Timing: The estimate includes 60 minutes to freeze the filling and 5 minutes cooling before handling. You can mix the dough while the filling freezes. Additional oven batches will take longer.
Read the scaling guide. Times, temperatures and equipment need their own consideration. Open the recipe tool to review and correct individual amounts.
Recipe details
- Cuisine
- Other / International
- Browse category
- Baking & Desserts
- More details
- black sesame cookiessesame-paste filling