November 1: Sesame, White Chip, and Oat Cookies

Sesame, White Chip, and Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) white whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 tablespoons (6 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted and cooled
1 cup white chocolate chips or white chips
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1/3 cup sweetened flaked, or sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Beat in the brown sugar and continue beating for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and beat in the eggs and vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the cooled toasted sesame seeds, white chips, oats, and coconut, if using.
4. Scoop up rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and shape into 3/4-inch balls. Arrange about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets and press down the tops slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry Ingredients

Addition of vanilla and eggs

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of sesame seeds

Addition of white chocolate and oats

Addition of coconut (optional)

Thoughts: I'm just going to throw out there that sesame seeds are expensive. I used a Spice Islands jar of sesame seeds that yielded about 2/3 cup and it cost $6. Sadly I feel that the sesame seeds was the taste of the cookie that we didn't like. The recipe calls for baking them for 11-13 minutes so I did that for the first batch (11 minutes) but then only 10 minutes for the next and I think they came out pretty much the same.