Keto Christmas treats: Benne Seed Cookies revisited

I was afraid I'd have to do without my one of my very favorite Christmas traditions, this year, since I'm on a fairly stringent plan, at least for the next year or more.  Benne seed cookies are probably my greatest weakness, since the frosting is made with rich browned butter, powdered sugar, and toasted sesame (benne) seeds.  And this year, I had a surplus of those seeds – including some black sesames, just crying out to be played with.  

And then I learned the virtue of Swerve.  No funky aftertaste, no digestive caveats, and no calories. 

This is not to say that the traditional cookie recipe is entirely guilt-free. It is not. There is almost an entire pound of butter going into the making of this six-dozen cookie recipe. But therein lies all one needs to consider. The rest is lean, mean, cookie machine stuff. And it's fairly uncomplicated. The cookie is an understated cross between shortbread and sugar cookie, and the frosting is an overwhelmingly rich, sweet, nutty, browned-butter fat bomb (with a hint of vanilla). What's not to love?

Keto-Friendly Benne Seed Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2/3 cup toasted benne (sesame) seeds

3 cups finely-ground blanched almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch salt

2/3 cup butter or ghee, softened only to room temperature

2/3 cup Swerve granulated sugar substitute

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons sugar-free vanilla extract


6 cups Swerve confectioner's sugar substitute
6 Tablespoons almond milk

2 teaspoons sugar-free vanilla extract

Directions:

cookies:

In a small /medium pan, melt butter over medium heat, cooking until particles begin to brown, then add in benne seeds. Allow to come to simmer, then set aside temporarily.

 Sift together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle (not the dough hook), cream 2/3 cup of butter or ghee and granulated sweetener, until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg, beat in well, then add second egg, beating well. 

Mix in 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Add about 1 cup of flour mixture, mixing well.

Carefully scoop up 4 Tablespoons of the sesame seeds, draining away as much of the butter as you can, and mix in well. Set aside the rest of the butter and sesame seed mixture.

Continue to gradually add the remaining dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, mixing completely. 

Using plastic wrap or nonstick parchment, form dough into two cylinders, about 1 1/2 inches (3 or 4 cm) in diameter. You should get a couple of footlong "sausages".

Refrigerate at least 4 hours to overnight, to allow the flours to absorb moisture so the cookies will hold together and not "taste dry", the way some foods using coconut flour tend to do. 

Make the frosting any time between now and the moment the cookies come out of the oven. You won't be able to frost these cookies until they're completely cooled & firm.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, slice the cookie dough off the "tubes", about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick (1 cm is ideal).  Arrange them on a parchment-covered cookie sheet, about 1/2 inch apart (they will not spread out and stick together, but give them enough room for the heat to circulate between them & brown the edges). Pop those sheets of cookie dough slices in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350º F. 

Bake until edges become golden brown (about 11-15 minutes). 

Allow to cool completely before trying to remove them from the cookie sheets.

Trowel on the frosting with enthusiasm. 



frosting:

In medium bowl (or in cleaned-out stand mixer bowl) combine remaining benne-seed-butter mixture, confectioner's sweetener, almond milk, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Stir until completely mixed, or beat until somewhat fluffy (my personal preference), for a more "rustic" finish. 

Store at room temperature. 

There will be enough of this to frost a double batch of cookies, or to load them up so that you can scarcely see cookie for the sweet, so pile the stuff on, as heavily as you want.

I am likely going to make a second batch of the cookies, since the frosting recipe is more than generous... and because why not? It's Christmas!