West African Benne Cakes

If you missed the Nigerian quicksand experiment, go back and read it first, then come back here for a yummy West African Benne Cake recipe!

These cookies are really easy to make and surprisingly tasty! I even had everything on hand which makes it much easier. The only odd-ball ingredients are the sesame seeds and if you’ve done any kind of Asian cooking you probably have some in your cupboard. If you don’t, go get some, they’re sort of an integral part of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the sugar and butter until creamy then stir in other wet ingredients.

Step 2: Add flour, baking powder, salt, and sesame seeds. I know, I know, it seems like A LOT of sesame seeds…just do it. Don’t be afraid.

Step 3: Drop teaspoonful 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes @ 325 degrees or until golden brown. The cakes will spread until wafer thin, so be sure to leave plenty of room around them!

Step 4: Remove promptly from cookie sheet. I let them cool just slightly so they don’t fall apart, then very carefully removed them while still warm. If you don’t remove them while warm, you’ll need to add a chisel and hammer to the ingredients list.

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