Italian Sesame Seed Cookies are the perfect sweet treat to serve with a cup of coffee or espresso.
Holiday cookie baking season has begun – and these simple, sweet Italian Sesame Seed Cookies are a must-make treat for the cookie tray.
This very simple, buttery Italian Sesame Seed Cookie recipe comes from our favorite Italian cookbook, The North End Italian Cookbook. These sweet-but-not-too-sweet cookies can be flavored with either vanilla extra or anise extract, depending on your tastes.
How do you make Italian Sesame Seed Cookies?
The Italian Sesame Seed Cookie batter comes together in a snap and is made with simple ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen.
You’ll cream together butter, granulated sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla (or anise) extract and baking powder. Then you’ll add flour until a soft and pliable dough comes together.
After allowing the dough to rest a bit, you’ll form balls that are dipped first in milk, then in sesame seeds. Then each ball is shaped into a rectangle and placed on a cookie sheet for baking.
Your Italian Sesame Seed Cookies bake up light and airy and the sesame seed coating adds a little crunch as well as flavor to every bite!
I noted above that you can swap in different extracts based on your flavor preferences, and you can also swap in toasted sesame seeds for a more intense sesame flavor if you like!
These Italian Sesame Seed Cookies are the perfect addition to your holiday cookie tray – especially if you want to offer a lighter, simpler cookie option in addition to the more rich and indulgent cookies on the dessert table. I think they are perfect served with a shot of espresso or a cup of coffee.
You may enjoy these other classic Italian Cookies:
- Crispy Zaletti Cookies
- Amaretto Biscotti
- Sicilian Twists (Infasciadedde)
- Pasta Frolla Christmas Jam Cookies
- Italian Anisette Cookies
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PinIngredients
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
½ cup plus two tablespoons whole milk, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 cups all-purpose flour, or less
2 ½ cups sesame seeds, see Notes below
Instructions
Place softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer with paddle attachment and beat until smooth and pale, about one minute.
With mixer running on low, add one egg at a time. Scrape bowl and mix again.
Add two tablespoons of milk along with vanilla and mix just a few seconds to incorporate.
Add baking powder and mix.
With mixer running, gradually add flour until you have used 3 ½ cups. Check consistency of dough. It should be soft and pliable but not sticky. Use a little more flour as needed.
Use remaining flour to dust your counter and pour dough out onto flour and knead a few minutes, cover and let rest 15 minutes.
While dough is resting, preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place oven rack in top most position.
After resting, pour ½ cup of milk into a medium bowl and the sesame seeds into another.
Using a one-ounce scoop, scoop out 36 portions of dough onto your counter using all of the dough. Then roll each in between your palms to form 36 balls.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Take one ball at a time and dip in milk then roll in the sesame seeds. Pick up the coated ball and form into a rectangle with your hands getting the height between half an inch and three quarters of an inch high and place on cookie sheet.
Repeat for all 36 balls and place on the two pans, 18 per sheet. They don’t rise or spread very much so they can be somewhat close together. I staggered the rows to fit 18 per pan with plenty of space between them.
Bake on top oven rack for 15 minutes, baking one pan at a time.
Use a spatula and slide them off onto a cooling rack that is sitting over a sheet pan to catch the sesame seeds that fall off.
Cool and serve.
Notes
Club stores and some supermarkets often sell sesame seeds in larger 16-ounce containers or you can order them here.
Keywords: Italian Sesame Seed Cookies
Oh my goodness! This recipe was a trip down memory lane. I used to buy similar cookies from a bakery in San Francisco on the border of the Chinatown and the Italian districts in the 80s. I savored these and didn’t want to share with my parents or siblings! I can’t wait to try these!
I hope our recipe is as good as the ones you remember Laurie!