Black Sesame Shortbread with Hibiscus Glaze
Black sesame shortbread cookies iced with naturally colored pink hibiscus glaze. Great with a cup of coffee or tea!Yield: about 5 dozen cookies
Servings: 60 cookies
Ingredients
Black Sesame Shortbread:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup black sesame flour *
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup coconut oil *
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 large egg yolks
Hibiscus Glaze:
- 1 Tablespoon dried hibiscus flowers
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, black sesame flour, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and coconut oil. Once smooth, add sugar and powdered sugar.
- Add dry mixture and mix on slow speed. Add egg yolks one at a time and mix until dough comes together.
- Scoop dough out of a bowl, divide into two equal parts and flatten gently into two rectangles. Wrap in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes (up to overnight).
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove shortbread dough from the fridge. If dough is too cold, allow to warm up slightly until dough is pliable. Roll out dough to a thickness of about ½-inch. If dough is too cold and starts to crumble while you roll, simply warm up the dough with your hands and press it into a ball. Once dough is pliable, re-roll. Use a lightly floured fluted 2-inch round cookie cutter to stamp out cookies. Ball up any scraps and re-roll as necessary.
- Place cookies on prepared baking sheet at least 1-inch in apart. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- Hibiscus Glaze: Bring water to a boil. Add dried hibiscus flowers. Allow to steep for 5-8 minutes until tea is super dark red. Place sifted powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add 3 Tbsp of hibiscus tea to powdered sugar. Stir until mixture is smooth. Dip cookies into hibiscus glaze or drizzle glaze over cookies and top with black sesame seeds.
Notes
Ingredients:
- Black sesame flour (also labeled black sesame powder or ground black sesame) is available at Asian supermarkets. It is stocked alongside the rice flours and tapioca starches.
- Black sesame tastes very nutty, almost like peanut butter, but toastier in flavor.
- Coconut oil is available in two options: refined and unrefined (virgin). Refined coconut oil has a neutral flavor. Unrefined (virgin) coconut oil will have a coconut flavor. I have tested the recipe using both. Alternatively, you may substitute for additional butter if you don't want to use coconut oil.
- Coconut oil gives the shortbread a nice soft, crumbly texture. It adds fat to the cookie without adding additional moisture/water the way butter would.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.