Charleston Benne Wafers
- ¾ cup butter
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ cup sesame (benne) seeds, toasted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
Cream butter and sugar together and mix with other ingredients in the order given.
Sesame Seed Cookies
Benne Wafers

A classic Charleston recipe for benne wafer cookies brought to American by the enslaved African people. These thin crisp wafer cookies are now a lowcountry tradition.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ cup sesame (benne) seeds, toasted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar together and mix with other ingredients in the order given.
- Drop with a teaspoon about 1/2 a teaspoon onto a well-greased cookie pan, far enough apart to allow spreading while baking.
- Bake in a 325°F oven for 7 – 10 minutes.
Notes
Toasting the sesame seeds adds additional flavor.
Give these cookies plenty of room, they spread quite a bit.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
2 cookiesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 0gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g
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Author of Julia's Simply Southern
About Julia
Hey Y'all! I'm Julia, the cook and writer behind the recipes here at Julia's Simply Southern. I began my website so that I could share easy to follow recipes that anyone can use to put a home cooked meal on the dinner table. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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