Grandma’s Sicilian Sesame Cookies
This wonderful Sicilian cookie recipe was passed down to us from our beloved grandma and her sister, Aunt Sadie. Our mother taught us and we have been making these cookies every Christmas for as long as I can remember.
We use toasted sesame seeds for this recipe because it gives the cookie that distinctive rich sesame flavor. If you have raw seeds, toast them gently in the oven until browned. Or, toasted sesame seeds can be found in spice shops or Asian and middle eastern grocery stores. If you happen to live in a remote area and have limited resources… you can find seeds onine or purchase a 2 lb pack in our Our Amazon Store. 
We use about 1lb of seeds for a every batch of cookies. We moisten our sesame seeds with water and place them on a clean cotton cloth as that allows the seeds to adhere to the dough more easily. The cookie dough is rolled into thin ropes and then cut into 3″ pieces and then rolled into the moistened seeds. We shaped them into crescent or “S” shapes and placed on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
The cookies bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approx 10 minutes or until they are lightly browned and then transferred to a large rack for cooling. Store your cookies in a sealed container or zip lock bags so they remain fresh. One batch will yeild about 2-3 dozen cookies.
They are incredibly delicious when dipped into creamy cappuccino….yum…bet you can’t eat just one.
- 1/4 lb butter, softened
- 1/4 lb Crisco shortening
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 31/2- 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 16 oz toasted sesame seeds
- Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at at time to mixture, beat until smooth.
- Mix flour and baking powder together.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix by hand .until a ball of dough forms. The dough should be moist but not sticky. Add a little more flour if too sticky.
- Moisten the sesame seeds with a little water and drain onto dry cotton kitchen cloth.
- Take a small portion of dough and roll dough into a thin log and cut into 3″ pieces.
- Roll each piece in moistened seeds and shape into crescent or “S” shapes and place on greased cookie sheets.
- Bake in 350 degree oven until lightly browned. About 10 minutes
- Transfer cooked cookies on rack to cool.
- Store cookies in large sealed container or zip lock bags to keep fresh.
- Yields approx 2-3 dozen
Enjoy….Kathleen Barbato…..3 Italian Sisters♥
