While I have not had any benne candy in years...may be even more than 5 years. I love the candy and the wafers. They are good and also good for you. The best place to buy it is down in the Market in Charleston. Good to the last bite!
Benne cakes are a food from West Africa introduced to this area by slaves. "Benne" means sesame seeds. The sesame seeds are eaten for good luck. Wafers and cookies made from benne are now a part of Kwanzaa ("first fruit" in Swahili), the African-American family festival that lasts from December 26 through January 1.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup sesame seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
(OPTIONAL: Add just a "jot" of sesame oil to the butter and sugar while creaming the mixture.)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cream butter and sugar together and mix with other ingredients in the order given. Drop with a teaspoon onto a well-greased cookie pan, far enough apart to allow spreading while baking. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 7-10 minutes. (Yield: 7 dozen.)
1 comment:
I was searching for pluff mud to understand what it is, and found your blog. I have really enjoyed reading it. I am a transplant from WVa but have the same feelings as you have written about Charleston.I am so happy here that I don't want to live anywhere else inspite of hurricane season! Thanks for all the info and recipies.
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