Open Sesame!

Last night I brought a bowl of these sesame cookies to kirtan as an offering of prasad to be shared after chanting. Our prasad usually consists of a dried fruit and nut mixture, so I think little cookies were a bit unexpected, judging by the expressions on people's faces as I handed them out. However, this kirtan celebrated the 4th anniversary of my yoga and meditation teacher moving onto the beautiful piece of land that's now home to their 12-sided studio (and their house), so I wanted to bring something special. I chose sesame not only because I love its flavor but because in Hinduism the sesame seed stands for immortality, and sesame oil is second only to ghee in auspiciousness.

These were definitely a hit, and people followed me around the studio foyer afterwards to get seconds from the bowl and to to ask for the recipe. If you like sesame halvah you'll love these cookies, and I found them pretty simple and fun to make. Of course I had help from J, who also joined me at kirtan for the first time.

The recipe is from Epicurious.com but I'll share it here. Though the official name of the recipe is Gilded Sesame Cookies, I left mine ungilded — I love the concept of silver or gold sesame seeds, but eating Luster Dust doesn't strike me as a healthful thing to do.

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup well-stirred tahini
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds (preferably hulled)
• 1/4 teaspoon gold or silver luster dust (optional)

• Special equipment: parchment paper

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then beat in tahini and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until a crumbly dough forms. Transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together sesame seeds and luster dust (if using) in a small bowl.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll balls 1 at a time in seeds to coat and arrange 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are puffed and starting to crack, 12 to 15 minutes total. Cool on sheets 10 minutes (cookies will be very fragile when hot), then transfer from parchment to a rack to cool completely.

Cooks' notes:

• For this cookie, it's best to use hulled sesame seeds, found at most supermarkets. They're not usually labeled "hulled"; look for sesame seeds that are pale ivory in color and more delicate than the mottled beige ones, which still have their outer coating and are found at natural foods stores and Asian markets.
• Dough can be chilled up to 1 day.
• Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days. •Luster dust is nontoxic. However, the FDA recommends that it be used for decorative purposes only. If you want to use a coloring that is entirely safe (though not available in gold or silver) try Crystal Colors at sugarpaste.com. The colors are great for kids.